Succession to the property of Hindu Male and Female — MCQs

All questions with answers and explanations

Read the full set here, or use the practice card above to test yourself one question at a time.

1. Under Section 8, if there is no Class I heir, the property devolves upon:

   • The government directly
   • Class II heirs (correct answer)
   • Cognates directly, skipping agnates
   • Escheat to the state immediately

   Explanation. Section 8's cascading order moves to Class II only when Class I is completely empty.

2. Among Class I heirs, distribution follows:

   • Strict seniority by age
   • All take simultaneously, with no internal ranking (correct answer)
   • Only males take
   • The eldest son takes first

   Explanation. Under Section 9, all Class I heirs take simultaneously, unlike the ranked entries of Class II.

3. Under Section 10, the branch of a predeceased son collectively takes:

   • An equal share as every other individual heir
   • The one share their parent would have taken, divided among themselves (correct answer)
   • Nothing, if any Class I heir survives
   • Double the normal share as compensation

   Explanation. Rule 3 of section 10: the heirs in the branch of each pre-deceased son take between them one share.

4. In Class II, an earlier entry:

   • Shares equally with a later entry
   • Completely excludes a later entry (correct answer)
   • Is ignored if Entry I is empty
   • Applies only to male heirs

   Explanation. An earlier Class II entry with even one living heir completely excludes every later entry.

5. Under Section 12, among several agnates, preference goes first to:

   • The eldest agnate
   • Fewer degrees of ascent (correct answer)
   • Fewer degrees of descent
   • Whoever files the claim first

   Explanation. Fewer degrees of ascent decide preference first; descent is compared only if ascent is tied.

6. In Gurupad Khandappa Magdum v. Hirabai Khandappa Magdum (1978), the Court held that a notional partition:

   • Is irrelevant to Section 8
   • Must be given full fictional effect, including the widow's own share as a partitioner (correct answer)
   • Applies only to Class II heirs
   • Cannot include the widow at all

   Explanation. Gurupad requires the notional partition to generate every consequence a real partition would, including the widow's separate share as a partitioner.

7. In Commissioner of Wealth Tax, Kanpur v. Chander Sen (1986), property inherited by a son from his father under Section 8 was held to be:

   • Automatically ancestral, giving the son's own son a birthright
   • The son's individual, separate property (correct answer)
   • Government property
   • Jointly owned with the daughter automatically

   Explanation. Chander Sen held Section 8 inheritance is the heir's own individual property, reversing the old Mitakshara ancestral-property doctrine.

8. A relative connected to the intestate wholly through males is called:

   • A cognate
   • An agnate (correct answer)
   • A Class II heir only
   • A stridhan holder

   Explanation. An agnate is connected wholly through males; a cognate involves at least one female link in the chain.

9. Under Section 15(1), the first entry of heirs for a Hindu female is:

   • Her parents
   • Her sons, daughters and husband, together (correct answer)
   • Heirs of her husband
   • Heirs of her father

   Explanation. Section 15(1)(a) — her children and husband — is the first entry, taking simultaneously.

10. Section 15(2) applies only when the woman:

    • Was married more than once
    • Leaves no son, daughter, or child of a predeceased son/daughter (correct answer)
    • Owned agricultural land
    • Died before 1956

    Explanation. The source-based exception in Section 15(2) is entirely conditional on the woman leaving no children.

11. Property inherited by a woman from her father, if she leaves no children, devolves under Section 15(2)(a) upon:

    • Her husband's heirs
    • The heirs of her father (correct answer)
    • The state
    • Her mother's heirs only

    Explanation. Section 15(2)(a) sends property inherited from the father or mother to the heirs of her father, bypassing the general order.

12. Property inherited from her husband or father-in-law, if she leaves no children, devolves upon:

    • Her own parents
    • Heirs of her husband, under Section 15(2)(b) (correct answer)
    • The general Section 15(1) order
    • Her own siblings

    Explanation. Section 15(2)(b) sends property inherited from the husband or father-in-law to the husband's heirs.

13. Self-acquired property of a Hindu female not falling under Section 15(2) is governed by:

    • Section 15(2)(a)
    • Section 15(2)(b)
    • The general order in Section 15(1) (correct answer)
    • Section 8

    Explanation. Self-acquired property always follows the general Section 15(1) order; the source-exception never applies to it.

14. In Kerala, Act 17 of 2016 sends property a woman inherited from a pre-deceased son to:

    • Her husband's heirs
    • The heirs of that son (correct answer)
    • The Government
    • Her father's heirs

    Explanation. Kerala Act 17 of 2016 added a third exception: property inherited from a pre-deceased son goes to the heirs of that son.

15. Under Section 13, degrees of ascent and descent are counted:

    • Excluding the intestate
    • Inclusive of the intestate (correct answer)
    • Only upwards
    • Only by age

    Explanation. Section 13(2) counts degrees inclusive of the intestate, and each generation is one degree.

16. Under Section 16, Rule 3, heirs of the husband/father/mother are worked out as if:

    • That person died intestate immediately after the woman, owning that property (correct answer)
    • They were Class I heirs of a male
    • The woman herself was still alive
    • The property was agricultural land

    Explanation. Rule 3 treats the husband, father or mother as having died intestate owning that property immediately after the woman's own death.