Muhammad Husain Khan v. Babu Kishva Nandan Sahai AIR 1937 PC 233

This case deals with property from maternal ancestors shall not be considered as ancestral property and to be held distinctively by the transferee.

Om Ganesh Prasad was the proprietor of the village in dispute who died on 10^th May 1914 who inherited the property from his maternal grandfather.
Earlier the death of Ganesh he made a second will at Allahabad he dedicated his will to some religious and charitable purpose and also appointed seven executors and trustees for the execution of the will.
A caveat was filed by Bindeshri in the High Court against the probate on which all the executors and trustees agreed for him to be in proprietary possession of his father’s property.
The property was in joint interest with his son Bindeshri Prasad, who sold the property by auction on 25^th January 1925.
His son then instituted a suit in the High Court of Judicature Allahabad court claiming false sale has been vitiated against his property and during the pendency of the suit he died.
His wife Giri Bala filed an application to put her name in her husband's place in the suit.
She also claimed that her father-in-law made will in the name of her husband and after her husband’s death the property shall be transferred in her name, and she will be having full interest in the estate.
She also claimed the village sale should be made inoperative as she owns the land.
The court allowed amendments which were later objected by the defendants by filing an appeal before the Bombay High court.
It was contented by the plaintiff that the property was ancestral property and that it cannot be disposed of.

Whether a property inherited from maternal grandparent can be called ancestral property and can such property be jointly held by the inherent of the person to whom the property has been inherited?

The Bombay High Court referred to Mitakshra School and interpreted the definition of ancestral property.
- It was stated that ancestral property is a property that may be inherited from father, Paternal grandfather or paternal great grandfather.
- It was also pointed out that the property inherited from maternal ancestors is separate from their daughter's son.

The Bombay High Court concluded that based on Mitakshra Schools’s definition for ancestral property the estate held by Ganesh was not an ancestral property and therefore he had complete right to jointly hold the property with his son and to give right to her daughter-in-law.