SC: Adopted Child Cannot Challenge Property Rights of Adoptive Mother Acquired Before Adoption

The Supreme Court ruled that a female Hindu’s property acquired before adoption remains her absolute property under Section 14(1) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and cannot be divested by an adopted child under Section 12(c) of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.

It upheld a Karnataka High Court decision validating an adoptive mother's sale deed and rejected the appellant’s claim under the ‘Doctrine of Relation Back.’

The Court emphasized that the mother’s ownership rights and lawful transactions made before adoption remain binding.

Precedents like Kasabai Tukaram Karvar (2022) and Shripad Gajanan Suthankar (1974) supported the decision.