Gujarat High Court: No Concept of Ancestral Property or Birthright Under Muslim Law

The Gujarat High Court rejected a Muslim woman’s plea for a share in her father’s ancestral estate, holding that the concept of ancestral property and right by birth is wholly alien to Muslim law.

The plaintiff had sought a declaration and injunction over ancestral property, claiming entitlement under general inheritance principles.

The Court observed that under Muslim law, ancestral or coparcenary rights do not exist and succession is governed by fixed shares as per religious law.

It held that mere birth in a family does not confer a right to ancestral property in Muslim law and dismissed the suit.

[Yusufbhai Walibhai Patel & Ors. v. Zubedaben Abbasbhai Patel & Ors.]