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Section 28: Effect of transfer of property on right to maintenance

Hindu Adoptions & Maintenance • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1956
Section 27 All 30 Sections of Hindu Adoptions & Maintenance Section 29

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 28

Section 28 regulates the legal enforceability of a maintenance right against transferred property, protecting the maintenance holder against gratuitous transferees and transferees with notice.

  • Enforceability Against Transferees with Notice: Where a dependant has a right to receive maintenance out of an estate, and such estate or any part thereof is transferred, the right to receive maintenance may be enforced against the transferee if the transferee has notice of the right.
  • Liability of Gratuitous Transferees: The right may be enforced against the transferee if the transfer is gratuitous (e.g., by gift, settlement, or nominal consideration), regardless of notice.
  • Bona Fide Purchaser Exception: The right cannot be enforced against a transferee for consideration and without notice of the right to maintenance.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • K. Perumal v. K. Rajendran AIR 2001 Mad 284: The High Court held that where a husband transfers his property by gift deed to his brother or relative to defeat his wife's maintenance claim, the transfer is gratuitous and the property remains liable for maintenance under Section 28.
  • Ramamurthi v. Kanakaratnam AIR 1948 Mad 208: Recognized that a transferee who takes property with knowledge that a destitute wife or dependant is residing therein and claiming maintenance is bound by the maintenance liability under Section 28.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

If a husband or deceased's heir transfers ancestral or estate property to a third party during the pendency of maintenance litigation, immediately implead the transferee under Order I Rule 10 CPC. Plead that the transfer was gratuitous or made with notice, rendering the property liable under Section 28.

Section 27 All 30 Sections of Hindu Adoptions & Maintenance Section 29