Chandigarh. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has given a very historic and far-reaching decision, settling an ancestral agricultural land dispute that is more than three decades old. The court has clarified in one of its important decisions that if a man and a woman live together as husband and wife for a long time, then the law fully accepts the concept of their marriage. In such a situation, any Will made in favor of that woman cannot be held invalid or illegal merely on the technical or social grounds that there is no legal document regarding their marriage or the traditional ‘Karewa marriage’, or that the woman is not a blood relative of the deceased. This entire matter is about 34 years old, which was related to the ownership of ancestral agricultural land in Jagadhri area of Yamunanagar. While hearing the case, High Court Justice Harkesh Manuja completely rejected the Regular Second Appeal filed by Surmukh Singh and other parties. Along with this, the High Court has completely upheld the earlier decisions given by the lower courts of Jagadhri in this case, in which the will made in favor of the woman was upheld. While going into the depth of this matter, the court also made a very humane and logical comment on family and social responsibilities. The Hon’ble Judge said that any childless person has the full legal right to bequeath his acquired or ancestral property in favor of any person who looks after him and serves him. The court made it clear that if a person does not have any children of his own and at the last stage of his life, some other person (be it a live-in partner or a servant) serves him selflessly, then under the principle of natural justice, that person has the full right to hand over his property as per his wish. If we look at the background of this case, the deceased person was living with his live-in partner (who lived with him like his wife for a long time). Before the man’s death, he had bequeathed his entire agricultural land and property to the woman. But after the death of the person, his other blood relatives and legal heirs challenged this will in the court. The petitioners argued that since no formal marriage has been established between the woman and the deceased, nor is she a blood relative of the family, she has no legal right over the ancestral property. However, after hearing the arguments of both the parties and carefully studying the evidence presented, the Punjab and Haryana High Court rejected all the claims of the petitioners outright. The court held that due to living as husband and wife under one roof for a long time, both society and law consider that relationship equivalent to marriage. In such a situation, the will of the testator and the rights given in return for his services cannot be changed on the basis of mere ancestral claims of the legal heirs. This decision of the High Court will prove to be a precedent in the future in matters related to live-in relationships, will rights and property protection of childless elderly people. This judgment has made it clear that what is most important while making a will is the intention of the testator and his gratitude towards the person serving him, and not just the traditional blood relation. After this historic decision, this complex legal dispute that has been going on for the last 34 years has now been put to rest forever and the victim woman has finally got justice after her long legal battle.
Will in the name of live-in partner: The High Court upheld the legal validity of the will as correct and proper.
