Benami ownership claims barred after 1988, while testamentary proceedings remain maintainable despite disputes over beneficiary shares.

A suit seeking declaration of ownership in immovable property was held barred where the claim was founded on contribution of funds, possession, surrounding conduct and an asserted intention to transfer, because Section 4 of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 prevents enforcement of rights in property held benami after the Act came into force. The Court noted that contribution to purchase price or construction does not by itself create title, and informal writings cannot replace a registered conveyance. By contrast, a testamentary petition was maintainable because the probate court's role is limited to deciding whether the propounded document is the deceased's valid Will; disputed beneficiary shares or title consequences do not defeat maintainability.

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Issues: (i) Whether the plaintiff's suit seeking declaration of ownership in immovable property was maintainable in view of the bar against benami claims; (ii) Whether the testamentary petition filed by ISKCON could proceed where the Will, if proved, bequeathed sale proceeds and not the entire property to ISKCON.

Issue (i): Whether the plaintiff's suit seeking declaration of ownership in immovable property was maintainable in view of the bar against benami claims.

Analysis: The plaint itself proceeded on the basis that title to the property stood in the name of the father, and the plaintiff's claim rested on contribution of funds, possession, surrounding conduct, and an asserted intention to transfer. The Court held that after the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 came into force, a suit filed thereafter to enforce a right in respect of property held benami was barred by Section 4. A mere contribution toward purchase price or construction did not create title, and an alleged intention to transfer or informal writings could not substitute for a registered conveyance. The claim for declaration therefore disclosed no cause of action and could not succeed.

Conclusion: The suit for declaration of ownership was barred and was dismissed.

Issue (ii): Whether the testamentary petition filed by ISKCON could proceed where the Will, if proved, bequeathed sale proceeds and not the entire property to ISKCON.

Analysis: The Court held that in testamentary jurisdiction it is concerned with whether the document propounded is the validly executed last Will of the deceased, and not with adjudicating inter se rights between beneficiaries under the Will. Even if ISKCON was entitled only to a share in the sale proceeds and not to the whole property, it was still a beneficiary under the document and could seek Letters of Administration. The Court declined to record findings on the disputed validity or effect of the clause relating to forfeiture or on competing title questions.

Conclusion: The testamentary petition was held maintainable and was directed to proceed.

Final Conclusion: The ownership suit failed at the threshold for want of a legally sustainable basis, while the testamentary proceeding survived for adjudication of the validity of the Will.

Ratio Decidendi: After commencement of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, a plaintiff cannot maintain a suit to enforce a benami ownership claim, and contribution toward purchase consideration or construction does not by itself create title in immovable property absent a registered conveyance.

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