Section 23 dwelling-house protection applies only to a family abode, and survives even with one male heir.

Section 23 of the Hindu Succession Act protects only a dwelling-house actually retained as a family abode, so a house let out to strangers does not qualify and the special bar on partition does not apply. The provision turns on continuing inhabited possession and a real right of residence, not on the structure alone. Section 23 also applies where the intestate leaves one male heir and one or more female Class I heirs: the singular reading does not defeat the protection, and the female heir's right to partition remains postponed while the house continues as the family dwelling.

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Issues: (i) Whether a tenanted property can be treated as a dwelling-house entitled to the protection of Section 23 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. (ii) Whether Section 23 applies where the intestate leaves a single male heir and one or more female Class I heirs.

Issue (i): Whether a tenanted property can be treated as a dwelling-house entitled to the protection of Section 23 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.

Analysis: The expression "dwelling-house" in Section 23 was construed to mean a house actually occupied as a family abode by members of the intestate's family, with the element of continuing occupation or a real right of re-entry. A house let out to strangers ceases to answer that description because the family is no longer in inhabited possession and the female heirs' right of residence cannot be meaningfully exercised against third-party occupation. The special protection against partition therefore depends on the house remaining a family dwelling in fact, not merely in structure.

Conclusion: A tenanted house is not a dwelling-house for Section 23, and the protection of impartibility does not apply.

Issue (ii): Whether Section 23 applies where the intestate leaves a single male heir and one or more female Class I heirs.

Analysis: Section 23 was treated as a special exception to the general rule of succession under Section 8, designed to preserve the family dwelling-house and prevent fragmentation. The plural expression concerning male heirs was read in a manner consistent with the object of the provision and with the aid of the General Clauses Act, so that the protection would not fail merely because there is only one male heir. The female heir's right to claim partition remains deferred while the sole male heir retains and occupies the dwelling-house, subject to the statutory right of residence and the contingencies recognised by the provision.

Conclusion: Section 23 is attracted even where there is only one male heir and one or more female heirs; the female heir's right to partition remains deferred so long as the house continues as a family dwelling.

Final Conclusion: The appeal fails because the property was found to have been let out and therefore fell outside the protection of Section 23, so the decree for partition could not be disturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: Section 23 of the Hindu Succession Act protects only a dwelling-house actually retained as a family abode, and its postponement of female heirs' partition rights applies even with a single male heir so long as the house remains so occupied.

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