Appeal No 130 of 61
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and decree dated April 25 1959 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in First Appeal No 139 of 1955
MC Setalvad Attorney General of India section T Desai J B Dadachanji 0
C Mathur and Ravinder Narain for the appellants
Sarjoo Prasad and G C Mathur for respondents No 1 and 2
Ganpat Rai for respondent No 3 1962
February 23
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SHAH J
This appeal with special leave is against the decree of the Madhya Pradesh High Court confirming the decree of the 1st Additional District Judge Jabalpur in Civil Suit No 12 A of 1952
The dispute between the parties arose in a suit for partition of joint family property
The parties are Digambar Jains of the Porwal Sect and are residents of Jabalpur which at the material time 421 was in Madhya Pradesh
The following pedigree explains the relationship between the parties GaribdasMst
Khilonabai d 24734 Def 3 d3756 Gulzarilal d 13439 Munnalal Padamchand d10136 Ramchand Def 1 Def 2 Pyaribabu widow Bhuribai Chandrani bahu Def 4 Def 11 Def 8 Adupted son Rajkumar Def 12 adopted 26752 Saheblal Ballu Nand Hiralal Ishwari Kumar Prasad Plaintiff dead Def 5 Def 6 Def7 Rajendra Kumar Abhay Kumar Def 9 Def 10 Saheblal son of Munnalal filed Suit No 12A of 1952 in the Court of the 1st Additional Subordinate Judge Jabalpur on June 21 1952 for a decree of partition and separate possession of his 112th share in the joint family property
He claimed that in the property his father s branch was entitled to have a half share and the remaining half was owned by 422 Ram Chand and his branch
The Additional District Judge ordered that Khilonabai grandmother of Munnalal and Ram chand the wives of Munnalal and Ramchand and their sons and Bhuribai widow of Padamchand and Rajkumar who claimed to be a son of Padam Chand by adoption by Bhuribai on July 26 1952 be impleaded as defendants to the suit
At the trial of the suit the right of Saheblal to a share in the property was Dot questioned 
the dispute principally turned upon the claim made by Bhuribai and her adopted son Rajkumar to a share in the property
Padamchand had died before the enactment of the Hindu Womens  Rigbt to Property Act 1937 and his widow could not claim by virtue of that Act a share in the property of the family
But Bhuribai and Rajkumar pleaded that the parties were governed in the matter of adoption by the customary law prevalent amongst the Jains of Central India Madhya Pradesh Vindhya Pradesh
North and Western India and Rajkumar as a son adopted by Bhuribai to Padam Chand became a coparcener in the joint family and entitled to a share in the property and accretions thereto
The validity of the adoption of Rajkumar was challenged on many grounds one only of which is material in this appeal
It was submitted by the contesting defendants and Bhuribai had no authority express or implied from her husband Padam Chand to adopt a son and that the adoption of Rajkumar as a son without such authority was invalid the
Additional District Judge rejected this plea and ordered a preliminary decree for partition and declared that the share of the plaintiff was 124th of Munnalal his wife and 3 sons collectively was 524th of Ramchand and his sons 14th of Khilonabai 14th and the remaining 14th share belonged to Rajkumar
423 Against them decree Munnalal Ramchand Khilonabai wife and sons of Munnalal and the wife and sons of Ramchand who were defendants 1 to 10 preferred an appeal to the High Court of Madhya Pradesh
During the pendency of this appeal Khilonabai died on July 3 1956 and Ramchand and Munnalal applied to be impleaded as her legal representatives in respect of the interest in the property awarded to Khilonabai by the preliminary decree
By order dated December 12 1957 the District Judge held that the interest of Khilonabai devolved upon the applicants by virtue of sections 15 and 16 of the which was brought into operation on June 14 1956 and that the sons of Munnalal Ramchand and Padam Chand could not take a share in Khilonabai s interest
Before the High Court two questions were canvassed 1 as to the factum and validity of the adoption of Rajkumar and 2 devolution of the share of Khilonabai declared by the preliminary decree on her death
The High Court upheld the finding of the trial Court that Rajkumar was in fact adopted by Bhuribai as a son to her husband on July 26 1952 and that amongst the Jains residing in the North West Province Central India Northern India and in Bombay a widow could adopt a son to her deceased husband without any express authority in that behalf In so holding the High Court relied upon the judgments of the Privy Council in Pemraj vs Mst
Chand Kanwar and Mangibai Gulabchand vs Suganchand Baikamcand 1
But the High Court diclined to accept the view of the trial Court that the right of Khilonabai declared by the preliminary decree devolved upon Munnalal and Ramchand alone
In their view Khilonabai s interest under the decree being incohate was not Possessed by her within
the meaning of section 14 1 1947 LR 74 IA 254
2 AIR 1948 PC 177
424 of the  and on her death it merged into the estate The High Court observed  The result is that the interest of Smt
Khilonabai remained incohate and fluctuating so that after her death the interest declared by the preliminary decree is available for partition as joint family property and consequently ss15 and 16 of the are inapplicable to the interest
As the property never became her absolute property by virtue of s14 of the Act the same remained joint family property
 Accordingly the decree of the trial Court was modified and 13rd Share in the joint family property was awarded to Rajkumar 13rd to the branch of Munnalal and the remaining 13rd to the branch
of Ramchand and adjustments were made on that footing in the shares of the plaintiff and other members of the family
In this appeal by defendant No 1 Munnalal 2 Ramchand and 4 to 10 three contentions were raised  1 in the absence of express authority from her husband Bhuribai could not adopt a son 2 that the interest of Khilonabai under the preliminary decree became her absolute property by virtue of s14 of the and on her death it devolved upon her grandsons Munnalal and Ramchand defendants 1 and 2 and 3 the trial Court was in error in delegating to a Commissioner judicial function such as ascertainment of property to be divided and effecting parti tion
The third question is easily answered
The trial court appointed a commissioner to propose a partition of joint family property and for that purpose the court authorised him to ascertain the property the debts which the family owed and also the individual liability of the parties for the debts
For deciding those questions the Commissioner was empowered to record statements of the parties frame 425 issues and to record evidence as might be necessary
The commissioner was also directed to submit his proposals relating to the right of Bhuribai to be maintained out of the joint family property
This order it appears was passed with the consent of all the parties
It is true that the decree drawn up by the trial Court is not strictly in accordance with the directions given in the judgment
But it is manifest that the trial Judge only directed the Commissioner to submit his proposals for partition of the property and for that purpose authorised him to ascertain the property which was available for partition and to ascertain the liability of the joint family
By so authorising the Commissioner the trial Court did not abdicate its functions to the comissioner  the commissioner was merely called upon to make proposals for partition on which the parties would be heard and the Court would adjudicate upon such proposals in the light of the decree and the contentions of the parties
The proposals of the commissioner cannot from their very nature be binding upon the parties nor the reasons in support thereof
The order it may be remembered was made with the consent of the parties and no objection to the order was it appears pressed before the High Court
We do not think that any case is made out for modifying that part of the order
The parties to this dispute are Digamber Jains of the Porwal sect and are resident of Jabalpur
Jains have generally been regarded as heterodox Hindus and in the absence of special custom they are governed by the rules applicable to Hindus
As observed by the Privy Council in Sheokuarbai vs Jeoraff1 The Jains are of Hindu origin they are Hindu dissenters and although as was pointed out by Mr Mayne in paragraph 46 of his Hindu Law and Usages Generally adhering to ordinary Hindu law that is the law of the three 1 426 superior castes they recognise no divine authority in the Vedas and do not practise the Shradhs or ceremony for the dead The due performance of the Shradhs or religious ceremonies for the dead is at the base of the religious theory of adoption but the Jains have so generally adopted the Hindu law that the Hindu rules of adoption are applied to them in the absence of some contrary usage x x x But amongst the Jainsa custom enabling a widow to adopt a son to her husband without express authority has been reco
gnised by judicial decisions spread over a period longer than a century
In Pemraj vs Musammad Chand Kanwar1 the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council after a review of the case law observed   x x x x in many other parts of India parts other than the Provinces of Madras and the Punjab it has now been established by decisions based on evidence from widely separated districts and from different sects that the Jains observe the custom by which a widow may adopt to her husband without his authority
This custom is based on religious tenants common to all sects of Jains and particularly their disbelief of the doctrine that the spiritual welfare of the deceased husband may be affected by the adoption and though it cannot be shown that in any of the decided cases the parties were of the Khandelwal sect yet in none of the cases has a distinction been drawn between one sect and another
It is now in their Lordship  opinion no longer premature to hold that the custom prevails generally among all Jains except in those areas in which there are special reasons not operative in the rest of India which explains why the custom has not established itself
Mayne in his treaties on Hindu Law and Usage at page 209 has lent the weight of his authority to the proposition that among the Jains except in the Madras Presidency a sonless widow can adopt a son to her 1 1947 LK 74 IA 254
427 husband without his authority or the consent of his sapindas
This view was reiterated by the Privy Council in a case reported in Mangibai Gulabchand vs
Suganchand Bhikamchand 1
The Attorney General for the appellants however contends that there is no evidence of a custom authorising the widow of a Porwal Digamber Jain residing in Jabalpur to adopt a son to her husband without express authority
Counsel sub mitted that the observations in the two cases relating to the custom of adoption must be restricted to the sects to which the parties to these cases belonged and in so far as they purport to extend the custom to all Jain residents in India outside Madras and the Punjab they are mere dicta and not binding upon this Court
In Pemraj s case the parties belonged to the Khandelwal sect domiciled and resident in Ajmer and in Mangibai s case the parties were Marwari Jains of the Vis Oswal sect who having migrated from Jodhpur had settled down in the Thana District of the Bombay Province but the opinion of the Judicial Committee expressly proceeded upon a well recognised custom applicable to all Jains in the territory of India excepting Madras and the Punjab and not upon proof of a restricted custom governing the sects of Jains to which the parties belonged
Undoubtedly as observed by this Court in Saraswathi  Ammal vs Jagadamhal 2 in dealing with the quantum of proof required to prove a family or loca I custom  it is incumbent on a party getting up a custom to allege and prove the custom on which he relies and it is not any theory of custom or deductions from other customs which can be made a rule of decision but only any customs applicable to the parties concerned that can be the rule of decision in particular case
x x x 1
AIR 1948 PC 177
2  428 Theory and custom are antitheses custom cannot be a matter mere of theory but must always be a matter of fact and one custom cannot be deducted from another
A community living in one particular district may have evolved a particular custom but from that it does not follow that the community living in another district is necessarily following the same custom
 But the application of the custom to the parties to this appeal does not appear to proceed upon analogies or deductions
It governs the parties because the custom has become a part of the law applicable to Jains in India except in Madras and the Punjab by a long and uninterrupted course of acceptance
A review of the cases decided by different Courts clearlyshows that the custom is generally applicable to Jains all over India except the Jain domiciled in Madras and the Punjab
The earliest case of which a report is available is Maharaja Govindnath Bay vs Ray Chand 1 decided by the Saddar Court Calcutta in 1933 in that case the validity of an adoption by a Jain Widow of a son without express authority from her husband was questioned
The Court after consulting the Pandits held that by Jain law a sonless widow could adopt a son just as her husband for the performance of religious rites and that the section of the vitis or priests to the adoption is not essential
In Bhagwandas Tejmal V Rajmal alias Hiralal Lachmidas2 the Bombay High Court opined that the widow of a Jain was a delegate either by express or implied authority to adopt a son but she could not delegate to another person that authority to adopt a son to her husband after her death
In Sheo Singh Rai vs Mussumut Dakho and Moorari Lal 3 decided in 1878 the Privy Council affirmed the view of the North West Provinces High Court that a sonless widow of a Jain had the right of adoption without the permission of her husband or the consent 1 2 1873 10 Bom
HC Rep 241
3 1878 LR 5 I 87 429 of his heirs
In that case before the Subordinate Judge and before the High Court evidence was recorded of the custom applicable to Jains generally in different place such as Delhi Jaipur Mathura Banaras and it was held that  the custom was established by evidence
The parties to the suit were Agarwal Jains of Meerut District but decision of the Board proceeded upon a custom found on evidence to be common to all Jains
In Lakhmi Chand vs Catto Bai
1 decided in 1886 again the power of a Jain widow to adopt a son to her deceased husband was held proved
In Manik Chand Golecha vs Jagat Settani 2 decided in 1889 the High Court of Bengal upheld a custom in respect of adoption by a widow of an
Oswal Jain
The decision of the Court did not proceed upon any custom peculiar to the Oswal sect
In Harnabh Pershad alias Rajajee vs Mangil Das3 decided in 1899 it was held upon the evidence consisting partly of judicial decisions and partly of oral evidence that the custom that a sonless Jain widow was competent to adopt a son to her husband without his permission or the consent of his kinsmen was sufficiently established and that in this respect there was no material difference in the custom of the Aggarwal Choreewal Porwal Khandwal and Oswal sects of the Jaim  and that there was nothing to differentiate the Jains at Arrab from the Jains elsewhere
The judgment of the case proceeded upon an elaborate examination of numerous instances in which the custom was held established
In Manohar Lal vs Banarsi Das4 and in Asharfi Kumar vs Rupchand5 a similar custom was hold established
In the latter case a large number of witnesses were examined at different places and on a review of the decisions and the evidence the Court held the custom proved
The judgment of the Allahabad 1 All 319
2 Cal
5 1 8
3 Cal
4 1907 1LR 29 All
5 All197 430 High Court in Asharfi s case was affirmed by the Privy Council in RupChand vs Jambu Prasad
1 It may be stated that the right of a Jain widow to adopt without authority of her husband was not questioned before the Privy Council
In Jiwraj vs Mt Sheokuwarbai the Court of the Judicial Commissioner  Nagpur held that the permission of the husband was not necessary in the case of a Jain widow to adopt a son
This case was also carried to the Privy Council and the judgment was affirmed in Sheokuarbat vs Jeoraj 3
In Banarsi Das vs Samat Prasad 4 a similar custom was held established
The decisions in all these cases proceeded not upon any custom peculiar to the locali ty or to the sect of Jains to which they belonged but upon the view that being Jains they were governed by the custom which had by long acceptance become part of the law applicable to them
It is well settled that where a custom is repeatedly brought to the notice of the Courts of a country the courts may hold that custom introduced into the law without the necessity of proof in each
individual case
Rama Rao vs Raja of Pittapur 5
The plea about the invalidity of the adoption of Rajkumar by Bburibai must therefore fail
Khilonabai died after the was brought into operation on June 14 1956
This Act by section 21b applies to Hindus and also to persons who are Jains by religion
The preliminary decree was passed on July 29 1955 and thereby Khilonabai was declared entitled to a fourth share in the property of the family
Section 14 of the provides 141 Any property possessed by a female Hindu whether acquired before or after the commencement of this Act shall be 1 All 217
3 2 AIR 1920 Nag 162
4 All
1019 5 1918 LR 4 5 1A 148
431 held by her as full owner thereof and not as a limited owner
EXPLANATION
In this sub section property includes both movable property acquired by a female Hindu by inheritance or devise or at a partition or in lieu of maintenance or arrears of maintenance or by gift from any person whether a relative or not before at or after her marriage or by her own skill or exertion or by purchase or by prescription or in any other manner whatsoever and also by such property held by her as stridhana immediately before the commencement of this Act
2 Nothing contained in sub section 1 shall apply to any property acquired by way of gift or under a will or any other instrument or under a decree or order of a civil court or under an award where the terms of the gift will or other instrument or the decree order or award prescribe a restricted estate in such property
 Section 15 provides 115 1 The property of a female Hindu dying intestate shall devolve according to the rules set out in section 16 a firstly upon the sons and daughters including the children of any predeceased son or daughter and the husband b secondly upon the heirs of the husband c thirdly  upon the mother and father 432 d fourthly upon the heirs of the father e lastly upon the heirs of the mother 2 Notwithstanding anything contained in sub section 1 a any property inherited by a female Hindu from her father or mother shall devolve in the absence of any son or daughter of the deceased including the children of any predeceased son or daughter not upon the other heirs referred to in sub section 1 in the order specified therein but upon the heirs of the father and b any property inherited by a female Hindu from her husband or from her father in law shall devolve in the absence of any son or daughter of the deceased including the children of any predeceased son or daughter not upon the other heirs referred to in sub section 1 in the order specified therein but upon the heirs of the husband Section 16 which prescribes the order of succession and manner of distribution among the heirs of a Hindu female provides by Rule Among the heirs specified in sub section 1 of section 15 those in one entry shall be preferred to those in any succeeding entry and those included in the same entry shall take simultaneously 433 Counsel for Rajkumar concedes and in our judgment he is right in so conceding that if the share declared by the preliminary decree in favour of Khilonabai is property possessed by her at the date of her death it should devolve upon her grandsons Munnalal and Ramchand to the exclusion of Rajkumar adopted son of Padam Chand
This Court in Gumalapara Taggina Matada Kotturuswami vs Setra Veeravva 1 held that The word possessed in section 14 is used in a broad sense and in the context means the state of owning or having in one s power
The preliminary decree declared that Khilonabai was entitled to a share in the family estate and the estate being with the family of which she was a member and in joint enjoyment would be possessed by her
But counsel for Rajkumar submitted that under the preliminary decree passed in the suit for partition the interest of Khilonabai in the estate was merely inchoate for she had a mere right to be maintained out of the estate and that her right continued to retain that character till actual division was made and the share declared by the preliminary decree was separated to her on her death before actual division the inchoate interest again reverted to the estate out of which it was carved
Counsel relied upon the judgment of the judicial committee in Pratpamull Agarwalla vs Dhanabati Bibi 2 in support of his plea that under the Mitakshara law when the family estate is divided a wife or mother is entitled to a share but is not recognised as the owner of such share until the division of the property is actually madeas she has no preexisting right in the estate except a right of maintenance
Counsel submitted that this rule of Hindu law was not affected by anything contained in section 14 of the 
By section 14 1 the Legislature sought to convert the interest of a Hindu female which under the 1 1959 1 Supp
SCR 968
2 1935 LR 63 IA 33 434 Sastric Hindu law would have been regarded as a limited interest into an absolute interest and by the explanation thereto gave to the expression property the widest connotation
The expression includes property acquired by a Hindu female by inheritance or devise or at a partition or in lieu of maintenance or arrears of maintenance or by gift from any person whether a relative or not before at or after her marriage or by her own skill or exertion or by purchase or by prescription or in any other manner whatsoever
By section 141 manifestly it is intended to convert the interest which a Hindu female has in property however restricted the nature of that interest under the Sastric Hindu law may be into absolute estate
Pratap mull s case undoubtedly laid down that till actual division of the share declared in her favour by a preliminary decree for partition of the joint family estate a Hindu wife or mother was not recognized as owner but that rule cannot in our judgment apply after the enactment of the 
The Act is a codifying enactment and has made far reaching changes in the structure of the Hindu law of inheritance and succession
The Act confers upon Hindu females full rights of inheritance and sweeps away the traditional limitations on her powers of dispositions which were regarded under the Hindu law as inherent in her estate
She it under the Act regarded as a fresh stock of descent in respect of property possessed by her at the time of her death
It is true that under the Sastric Hindu law the share given to a Hindu widow on partition between her sons or her grandsons was in lieu of her right to maintenance
She was not entitled to claim partition
But the Legislature by enacting the Hindu Women s  Right to Property Act 1937 made a significant departure in that branch of the law the Act gave a Hindu widow the same interest in the property 435 which her husband had at the time of his death and if the estate was partitioned she became owner in severally of her share subject of course to the restrictions on disposition and the peculiar rule of extinction of the estate on death actual or civil
It cannot be amused having regard to this development that in enacting 8 14 of the  the Legislature merely intended to declare the rule enunciated by the Privy Council in Pratapmulls case
Section 4 of the Act gives an overriding effect to the provisions of the Act
It enactsSave as otherwise expressly provided in this Act a any text rule or interpretation of Hindi law or any custom or usage as part of that law in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall cease to have effect with respect to any matter for which provision is made in this Act  b x x x x X Manifestly the legislature intended to supersede the rules of Hindu law on all matters in respect of which there was an express provision made in the Act
Normally a rights declared in an estate by a preliminary decree would be regarded as property and there is nothing in the context in which section 14 occurs or in the phraseology used by the Legislature to warrant the view that such a right declared in relation to the estate of a joint family in favour of a Hindu widow is not property within the meaning of section 14
In the light of the scheme of the Act and its avowed purpose it would be difficult without doing violence to the language used in the enactment to assume that a right declared in property in favour of a person under a decree for partition is not a right to property
 If under a preliminary decree the right in favour of a Hindu male be regarded as property the right declared in favour of a Hindu female must also be regarded 436 as property
The High Court was therefore in our judgment in error in holding that the right declared in favour of Khilonabai was not possessed by her nor are we able to agree with the submission of the learned counsel for Raj Kumar that it was not property within the meaning of section 14 of the Act
On that view of the case by virtue of so 15 and 16 of the Act the interest declared in favour of Khilonabai devolved upon her sons Munnalal and Ramohand to the exclusion of her grandson Rajkumar
The decree passed by the High Court is therefore modified in this respect and the decree passed by the trial Court restored
Having regard to the partial success of the parties there will be no order as to costs in this appeal and in the High Court


Summary:
G a Digamber Jain of the Porwal sect died in 1934 leaving behind his widow Smt
K his son G who died in 1939 and three grandsons M P and R
In 1952 M s son S filed a suit for partition of the joint family properties
Rajkumar claiming to be a son of P adopted by his widow claimed a 14th share in the joint family property
The adoption was challenged on the ground that no express authority had been given by P to his widow to adopt
The trial court held that no express authority was required by a sinless Jain widow to adopt a son and that the adoption was duly and properly made
Accordingly a preliminary decree declaring the shares of Smt
K the branch of M the branch of R and of Rajkumar to be 14th each was passed
M and others pre ferred an appeal to the High Court mainly against the findings on the question of adoption
During the pendency of the appeal the  came into force
Shortly thereafter Smt
K died
The High Court upheld he decision of the trial court on the question of the adoption of Rajkumar
With respect to the share of Smt
K the High Court held that her interest declared by the preliminary decree was inchoate that she never became possessed 419 of any share within the meaning of s 14 of the Act and that it remained joint family property which became divisible amongst the parties proportionately to their shares
The appellants contended that the adoption of Rajkumar was invalid as no custom applicable to the Porwal sect of the jains had been established empowering a widow to adopt without the authority of her husband and that the 14th share of Smt
K declared by the preliminary decree had become her absolute property by virtue of section 14 of the Act and upon her death it descended to her grandsons M and R to the exclusion of other parties
Held that the adoption of Rajkumar was valid
A sonless Jain widow could adopt a son without the express authority of her husband
Such a custom among the Jains not domiciled in the States of Madras and the Punjab has been recognised by judicial decisions spread over a period longer than a century
Though none of these decisions related to the Porwal sect of Jabalpur to which the parties belonged
They laid down a general custom of the jains which were applicable to the parties
The decisions proceeded not upon
any custom peculiar to any locality or to any sect of the jains but
upon general custom which had by long acceptance become part of the law applicable to them
Where a custom is repeatedly brought to the notice of the Courts the courts may held that custom introduced into the law without the necessity of proof in each individual case
Pemraj vs Mst
Chand Kanwar 1947 L R 74 1
A 224 and Mangibai Gulabchand vs Suganchand Bhikamchand AIR 1948 P C 177 relied on
Sheokuarbai vs
Jeoraj  Saraswathi Ammal vs Jagadambal  Maharajah Govind nath Ray vs Gulal Chand 1833 5 Sel
Rep 276 Bhagwandas Tejmal vs Rajmal Alias Hiralal Lachmindas 1873 10 Bom
HC Rep 241 Sheo Singh Rai vs Mst
Dakho and Morari Lal 1878 LR 5 1
A 87 Lakhmi Chand vs Gatto Bai All 319 Manik Cha nd Golecha vs Jagit Settani Cal
518 Harar nabh Parshad alias Rajajee vs Mangil Das Cal 379 ManoharLal vs Banarsi Das All
495 Asharfi Kumar vs Rupchand All 197 Rup Chand vs Jambu Prasad All 2 47 Jiwaraj vs Mst
Sheokuwarbai AIR 1920 Nag 162 Banarsi Das vs Sumat Prasad All
1019 and Rama Rao vs Raja of Pittapur 1918 L R 43 1
A 148 referred to
Held further that the 14th share of Smt
K declared by the preliminury decree was possessed by her and on her 420 death it descended to her grandsons in accordance with provisions of sections 15 and 16 of the Act
The word possessed in section 14 was used in a broad sense meaning the state of owing or having in one s power
The rule laid down by the Privy Council that till actual division of the share declared in her favour by a preliminary decree for partition of thejoint family prop a Hindu wife or mother was not recognised as owner of that share cannot apply after the enactment of the 
Section 4 of the Act made it clear that the Legislature intended to supersede the rules of Hindu law on all rs in respect of which there was an express provision made in the Act
Gumalapura Taggina Matada Kotturuswami vs Setra Veerayya 1959 1 Supp
SCR 968 and Pratapmull Agarwalla vs Dhanabati Bibi 1935 LR 63 IA 33 referred to