Delhi News: The Delhi High Court, during a hearing, stated that if a property is registered in both husband and wife’s names and purchased jointly, the husband cannot claim full ownership simply by claiming he paid the EMI. A bench of Justices Anil Kshetrapal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar made the observation.
The court stated that any property acquired in the names of both husband and wife is a right held by both husband and wife. The husband cannot claim that he personally contributed the entire amount to purchase the property.
The property was acquired in 2005
The court clarified that if a husband does this, the claim would be against Section 4 of the Benami Property Act. Under this law, a claim can be prevented by claiming to be the rightful owner of property held in someone else’s name. The wife argued in the High Court that half of the surplus amount belongs to her, as it is considered a woman’s personal property under Hindu law. Therefore, the woman has full rights over the property.
According to the petition, the couple in this case were married in 1999. They jointly purchased a house in Mumbai in 2005. However, they separated in 2006, and the husband filed for divorce that same year, which is still pending in court.
However, the flat was sold by the bank because the loan amount had not been repaid. However, the remaining funds were added and a total of ₹1.09 crore was paid to HSBC Bank. While the divorce proceedings were ongoing, the husband filed an application in 2012 to recover the ₹1.09 crore from the bank.
Wife’s argument in Delhi High Court?
The wife challenged the family court’s order in the Delhi High Court, arguing that the sale proceeds should be divided equally between the parties. In December 2017, the Delhi High Court ordered that 50% of the proceeds be released to the husband. In 2019, the Delhi High Court directed the Registrar General (RG) to place the remaining 50% of the proceeds in a fixed deposit with UCO Bank.
