Introduction

The powers of the Karta are vast with very few limitations. Karta’s liabilities are numerous and multifarious. The Karta of the joint family is responsible for maintaining all members of the family.

Powers of Karta

• Power of Alienation:
  • It is recognized by the Dharmashastra that joint family property can be alienated by the Karta for certain purposes only.
  • An absolute denial of permission to the Karta to alienate the property even when the family needs money can be disadvantageous to the family itself. Thus, Karta can do it, when alienation was unavoidable.
  • The Karta may alienate the joint family property in the following cases:
    • Legal necessity
    • Benefit of estate
    • Acts of indispensable duty
  • When Karta exercised power of alienation in these exceptional cases, the consent of other coparceners will be implied.
  • The Karta’s alienation in the aforesaid cases binds the interest of the coparceners.
• Power of Management of Family Affairs/Property:
  • His power is absolute, as no one (including the court) can question his management or mismanagement.
  • He is not bound to save, economize or invest.
  • He may discriminate between the members.
  • The karta has the right to decide or allocate specific portions of the house for the family member’s residence, which the latter have to obey.
  • No individual coparcener can either retain the exclusive possession of joint family property without his permission.
  • If the coparcener’s presence in the family proves to be nuisance then the Karta has the power to throw him out of the house. The only remedy available to such a coparcener is to ask for partition.
• Right to Income and Expenditure:
  • All income of the family must be handed over to the Karta and it is for the Karta to allot funds to the members.
  • The decision of how to spend the joint family income and on whom to spend is with the Karta.
• Right to Representation:
  • He has the right to represent in all matters such as legal, social, religious, revenue etc.
  • He acts on behalf of the family and his acts are binding on the members of the family.
  • The Karta may sue or be sued in respect of any transaction entered into by him on behalf of the family.
• Power of Compromise:
  • He has the power to compromise in all the disputes relating to family properties or their management.
  • He has no right to give up a substantial portion of debt.
  • The compromise must be for the benefit of the family. If his act is not bonafide it can be challenged in the partition.
  • The Karta cannot enter into a compromise which is for his personal advantage.
  • The Karta has the power to refer disputes relating to joint family property to arbitration provided that he does so for the benefit of the family.
• Power to Contract:
  • He has an implied authority to contract debts and pledge the credit of family for ordinary purposes of family business.
  • Such debts are binding on the entire family.

Duties of Karta

• He has the duty of maintaining the members of the family. If the Karta improperly excludes any member for maintenance or does not properly maintain them, then he can be sued for maintenance as well as for the arrears of maintenance.
• To pay taxes on behalf of the family and he can be sued for all his dealings on behalf of the family.
• To recover debts due to the family.
• The Karta is not supposed to keep accounts of how he has spent the family funds, but where a coparcener demands partition, he can require the Karta to give him accounts.
• Partition when demanded is a great check on Karta’s power.