Limited estate under a will does not enlarge into absolute ownership without a legal basis for enlargement.

A widow who took property under a genuine testamentary disposition was confined to the limited estate created by that will. Her possession remained referable to the will, not to any independent heirship right, and the limited estate could not enlarge into an absolute estate under the Hindu Succession Act without a legal basis for enlargement. The widow therefore held only a life estate, and no absolute title could pass through her subsequent will in favour of the appellant.

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Issues: Whether the widow acquired the suit properties only as a limited legatee under the testator's will, so as to prevent her estate from enlarging into an absolute interest.

Analysis: The concurrent finding that the will of 13 November 1937 was genuine and was the operative testamentary disposition could not be reopened. Under that will, the widow took only a life estate in the properties. Her possession, therefore, remained referable to the will and not to any independent right as heir. A limited estate created by the will could not be converted into an absolute estate under the Hindu Succession Act in the absence of a basis for such enlargement.

Conclusion: The widow had only a life estate under the will, and no absolute title could be claimed through her subsequent will in favour of the appellant.

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