Doctrine of Escheat:
The Supreme Court recently held that a State Government cannot invoke the doctrine of escheat under Section 29 of the Hindu Succession Act once a Hindu male has executed a Will, which has been declared to be valid and has been granted probate by a Court.
- It is a significant legal concept that ensures no property is left without ownership, reverting it to the state if the original owner dies without legal heirs or fails to make a will.
- This legal process addresses the handling of unclaimed assets, protecting societal interests and maintaining order within the legal framework.
- The doctrine addresses two primary situations:
- when a person dies intestate (without a will) and without heirs, and
- when property remains unclaimed or abandoned for a specific period.
- The underlying principle of escheat is that property must always have an identifiable owner, and in the absence of heirs, the government assumes ownership.
- In modern legal systems, escheat serves as a way to maintain orderly succession and prevent assets from being wasted or misused.
- Escheat originates from the Old French word “eschete,” meaning “to fall to”.
- The concept of escheat is rooted in the feudal system of medieval Europe, where land was held by tenants under a lord.
- If the tenant died without an heir or was convicted of certain crimes like treason, the land would escheat, or revert, to the lord.
- This system allowed for continuous control of land, ensuring that property remained within the hierarchy of the feudal structure.
- Over time, this evolved to include the monarch or the state as the ultimate recipient of property without heirs.
- In modern legal systems, escheat ensures that unclaimed or ownerless property does not remain in limbo but is transferred to the state.
- The state assumes ownership of such property, either permanently or temporarily, until rightful claimants can be found.
- Escheat laws vary across jurisdictions, with some countries having well-defined processes for handling unclaimed assets.
- In India, escheat is regulated primarily through Section 29 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and Article 296 of the Constitution.
- These provisions outline the circumstances under which property escheats to the state, safeguarding against unclaimed or abandoned property.
