RIGHT OF DECEASED SHARE HOLDER IN INHERITED PROPERTY, DID NOT DISSIPATE WITH HIS/HER DEATH:

The question of inheritance is of complicated nature and people of subcontinent either misunderstood the concept of inheritance or they simply do not want to share the property. Our religion is very simple and it also a code of life based upon the principals of sharia and if we obey by them our lives would be simple and without complications.

The matters of inheritance are of utmost care and delicacy and one who is responsible for the distribution must be vigilant about the distribution of shares as Allah declares that

“He who usurp the inheritance right of others will burn in hell.”

The inheritance rights in Pakistan are mostly governed by combination of civil, Islamic and customary laws and traditions. Civil laws such as transfer of property act, Contract Act etc. are used to govern ownership and transfer of property and inheritance rights are enforced under Sharia Laws.

However, it is something very strange and unfortunate that we despite living in a Islamic country and claiming to be a Islamic society still try to usurp inheritance rights of other legal heirs specially sisters and daughters. In most the cases, the legal heirs like daughters, sisters, mothers and any even male members amongst the legal heirs does not claim their respective shares from the inherited property left by the deceased and after their death, the chapter of distribution of properties, thinks to be closed as many argue that the right to claim vanishes with the death of the successor in interest and they have to avail it during their lifetime and if they do not avail it they relinquish it.

This argument was settled in the case of Faqir Ahmed Khan (Deceased) Vs Riaz Ahmed and others 2020 SCMR 346 it is decided by the bench that the right of an heir to claim inheritance did not dissipate with his death as upon his death, it passed on to his heirs and so on and so forth. If a Muslim heir had not received his share in his lifetime in the property of his father or mother to which he is entitled the same right stood transferred to his heirs.

The argument that if a Muslim did not claim his or her share from the property of his deceased father or mother does that right dissipate with his death or not. To answer this it is very important to understand the basic principles of inheritance in Islamic jurisprudence which clearly states that when a Muslim dies his property or other assets becomes the matter of inheritance and the right of inheritance of the legal heirs of the said deceased opens and it shall not be at rest until each and every one of them receives its share. “Allah command you as regards to your children’s inheritance; to the male a portion equal to that of two female” Quran (4:11) and if someone has not received or claimed inherited share in his lifetime his share in the property to which he was entitled under sharia and he died then the same right stands transferred to his or her heirs. Death cannot prevent a rightful heir to claim his share in the inheritance of his predecessor to which predecessor was entitled under the provisions of Muslim personal law.

The right of inheritance in Muslim personal law or sharia is a continuing one and it cannot be stopped or considered to be diminished with the death of any legal heir it simply devolved to his legal heirs. Furthermore, factum of inheritance and the devolution thereof is always automatic and instantaneous as it was held in 1999MLD 703.  It is also worth noting here that in 2016 an inheritance matter was duly disposed of by the Supreme Court which was titled as Noor Jahan case, in the said case the bench observed that “A sister, to claim her rightful inheritance, was compelled to go to court and suffered long years of agony. However, before [she] could get what was rightfully hers, she too departed from this world… A quarter of century has elapsed since the death of Haji Sahraney (the deceased father). Such a state of affairs, to say the least, is not unfortunate.” The right of inheritance is a continuous right and it is like a river flowing from top to bottom and it is also proven by Sharia and the law of the land.

NOTE

This information provided in the article do not constitute legal advice and are not intended by the author.

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