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Section 53: Liability of ancestral property

Code of Civil Procedure • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1908
Section 52 All 158 Sections of Code of Civil Procedure Section 54

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 53

Section 53 establishes the statutory liability of ancestral property in the hands of sons and other descendants for the debts of a deceased ancestor, deeming ancestral property to be property of the deceased under Sections 50 and 52.

  • Ancestral Property Deeming Clause: For the purposes of Section 50 and Section 52, property in the hands of a son or other descendant which is liable under Hindu law for the payment of the debt of a deceased ancestor, in respect of which a decree has been passed, shall be deemed to be property of the deceased which has come to the hands of the son or other descendant as his legal representative.
  • Pious Obligation Nexus: Codifies the Hindu law doctrine of pious obligation for non-immoral (avyavaharika) debts into statutory civil execution.
  • Execution Without Separate Suit: Decree obtained against the father can be executed directly against ancestral property in the hands of sons without filing a fresh suit.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Pannalal v. Mt. Naraini, AIR 1952 SC 170: The Supreme Court authoritatively analyzed Section 53, holding that a decree obtained against a Hindu father can be executed directly under Section 53 against ancestral property in the hands of sons unless the sons prove the debt was tainted by immorality.
  • Sidheshwar Mukherjee v. Bhubneshwar Prasad Narain Singh, AIR 1953 SC 487: The Supreme Court confirmed that Section 53 bridges procedural execution with substantive Hindu pious obligation.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Sons resisting execution under Section 53 must plead and prove by specific evidence that the father's debt was contracted for illegal or immoral purposes (Avyavaharika); general denial will not shield coparcenary property.

Section 52 All 158 Sections of Code of Civil Procedure Section 54