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Section 26: Convert's descendants disqualified

Hindu Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
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Act 1956
Section 25 All 31 Sections The Schedule (Heirs) Section 27

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 26

Section 26 provides that descendants born to a Hindu who converts to another religion after conversion are disqualified from inheriting the property of their Hindu relatives unless converted back before succession opens.

  • Disqualification of Convert's Children: Where, before or after the commencement of this Act, a Hindu has ceased or ceases to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion, children born to him or her after such conversion and their descendants shall be disqualified from inheriting.
  • Exception for Reconverts: The disqualification ceases to operate if such children or descendants are Hindus at the time when the succession opens.
  • Personal Right of Convert Preserved: The convert himself or herself is not disqualified from inheriting from Hindu relatives under Section 28 r/w the Caste Disabilities Removal Act, 1850; the disqualification attaches strictly to children born post-conversion.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Balchand Jairamdas v. Nazneen (2014) SCC OnLine Bom 451: The Bombay High Court held that Section 26 disqualifies only the children born after conversion; the converting Hindu himself does not lose his right to inherit from his Hindu parents.
  • Shabana Khan v. D.B. Sulochana (2008) 2 ALD 818: Affirmed that children born to a convert prior to conversion remain Hindus and are not disqualified under Section 26.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In title or partition litigation involving conversion, distinguish between the convert and the post-conversion offspring. A converted Hindu child can inherit from parents, but children born after the conversion are barred by Section 26 unless they are practicing Hindus when succession opens.

Section 25 All 31 Sections The Schedule (Heirs) Section 27