Minors can, on reaching adulthood, cancel sale transactions made by guardians, says top court

The Supreme Court has ruled that minors, on attaining majority, can repudiate sale transactions executed by their guardians without the court's permission, and it is not mandatory for them to move court to cancel such sales.

- Utkarsh Anand

Clarifying an important point of law under the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, a bench of justices Pankaj Mithal and PB Varale held that when minors, after reaching majority, transfer the same property that was earlier sold by their guardians, such an act itself constitutes sufficient repudiation of the earlier transaction.

“The disposal of any immovable property by a natural guardian without the court's permission is voidable at the instance of the minor...the transfer which is voidable, can be repudiated by the minor on attaining majority by his action and not necessarily by the intervention of the court," noted the bench, adding that repudiation could be done either expressly -- by filing a suit or impliedly, through conduct, such as entering into a new sale.

This ruling is significant as the bench clarified a long-standing legal ambiguity. Previous Supreme Court decisions had not conclusively determined whether filing a separate suit was mandatory to repudiate property sales made by guardians without court sanction. By settling this uncertainty, the judgment provides clearer guidance on how minors can assert their property rights once they attain majority.

The ruling came last week in an appeal filed by one KS Shivappa, who had purchased two adjoining plots in Davanagere, Karnataka, from minors after they attained majority. The dispute centred around a plot of land, which had earlier been sold by the minors' father and natural guardian, Rudrappa.