Summarize the following court judgment. Appeal No. 728 of 1964. Appeal by special leave from the. judgment and decree dated September 25	 1961 of the Punjab High Court in Civil Regular Second Appeal 343 of 1961. section K. Mehta and K. L. Mehta	 for the appellant. A. D. Mathur	 for the respondents. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Bhargava	 J. One Ramji Dass died leaving behind a widow	 Smt. Bhagwani. At the time of his death	 he owned some land and a house. 4 bighas and 17 biswas of the land were mortgaged by Smt. Bhagwani on 2nd May	 1948 in favour of respondent No. 3	 Babu Ram. Later	 on 22nd August	 1949	 she executed a deed of gift in respect of the house and the land covering an area of 50 bighas and 14 biswas in favour of Smt. Kala Wanti who was related to her as a grandniece. Sawan Ram appellant instituted a suit for a declaration that both these alienations were without legal necessity and were not binding on him	 claiming that he was the nearest reversioner of Ramji Dass	 being his collateral. In that	 suit	 Smt. Bhagwni the donee	 Smt. Kala Wanti	 respondent No. 1	 and the mortgagee	 Babu Ram	 respondent No. 3	 were impleaded as defendants. That suit was decreed and Smt. Bhagwani went up in appeal to the High Court. During the pendency of the appeal	 Smt. Bhagwani adopted respondent No. 2	 Deep Chand	 the son of Brahmanand and his wife	 respondent No. 1	 Smt. Kala Wanti. A deed of adoption was executed by her in that respect on 24th August	 1959. The appeal was dismissed in spite of this adoption. Bhagwani died on 31st October	 1959	 and thereupon	 the appellant brought a suit for possession of the house and the land which had been gifted by Smt. Bhagwani to respondent No. 1 as well as for possession of the land which she had mortgaged with respondent No. 3. It was claimed that Smt. Bhagwani had only a life interest in all these properties	 because she had divested herself of all the rights in those properties on 22nd August	 1949	 before the (No. 30 of 1956) came into force. The adoption of Deep Chand was also challenged as fictitious and ineffective. It was further urged that	 even if that adoption was valid	 Deep Chand became the adopted son of Smt. Bhagwani and could not succeed to the properties of Ramji Dass. The suit was dismissed by the trial court	 holding that the adoption of Deep Chand was valid and that	 though Smt. Bhagwani had not become the full owner of the property under the 	 Deep Chand was entitled to succeed to the property of Ramji Dass in preference to the appellant	 so that the appellant could not claim possession of these pro 689 perties. That order was upheld by the High Court. of Punjab	 and the appellant has now come up to this Court in appeal by special leave. In this appeal before us	 only two points have been urged by learned counsel for the appellant. The first point taken is that	 even though the appellant did not challenge the finding of fact that respondent No. 2 was	 in fact	 adopted by Smt. Bhagwani	 that adoption was invalid under clause (Ii) of section 6 read with sub section (2) of section 9 of the (No. 78 of 1956) (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"). It is urged that	 under section 9 (2) of the Act	 if the father of a child is alive	 he alone has the right to give in adoption	 though the right is not to be exercised	 save with the consent of the mother. In this case	 reliance was placed on the language of the deed of adoption dated 14th August	 1959	 to urge that Deep Chand was	 in fact	 given in adoption to Smt. Bhagwani by his mother	 respondent No. 1	 even though his father	 Brahmanand	 was alive. This point raised on behalf of the appellant is negatived by the evidence on the record. There is oral evidence of the adoption which has been accepted by the lower courts	 and it shows that. Deep Chand was given in adoption by both the parents to Smt. Bhagwani. Even the deed of adoption dated 24th August	 1959	 on which reliance was placed on behalf of the appellant in support of this argument	 does not bear out the suggestion that Deep Chand was given in adoption by his mother and not by his father. The deed clearly mentions that "the parents of Deep Chand have	 of their own free will	 given	 Deep Chand to me	 the executant	 today as my adopted son. " This recitation is followed by a sentence which states : "Mst. Kala Wanti	 mother of Deep Chand	 has put her thumb mark hereunder in token of her consent. " It was from this solitary sentence that inference was sought to be drawn that Deep Chand had been given in adoption by his mother	 Kala Wanti and not by the father. The deed	 in the earlier sentence quoted above	 clearly mentions that Deep Chand had been given in adoption by his "parents" which necessarily includes the father. This later sentence	 it appears	 was put in the deed	 because section 9(2) of the Act mentions that the father is not to exercise his right of giving his child in adoption	 save with the consent of the mother. "The consent of the mother" having been used in the Act which was applicable	 the draftsmen of the deed included in it the fact that Deep Chand 's mother had actually given her consent and obtained her thumb impression in token thereof. This mention of the consent cannot	 in these cir cumstances	 be held to show that it was the mother who	 in fact	 gave the child in adoption and not the father. The second point and the one	 on which reliance is mainly placed by learned counsel for the appellant	 is that	 according 690 to him	 under the Act	 an independent right of adoption is given to a Hindu female and if a widow adopts a son	 he becomes the adopted son of the widow only and is not to be deemed to be the son of her deceased husband. Under the Shastric Hindu Law	 no doubt	 if a Hindu widow made an adoption after the death of her husband on the basis of consent obtained from him in his lifetime	 the adopted son was deemed to be the son of the deceased husband also; but it is urged that the Act has completely changed this policy. In support of this proposition	 learned counsel drew our attention to the provisions of section 8 of the Act	 under which any female Hindu	 who is of sound mind	 who is not a minor	 and who is not married	 or if married	 whose marriage has been dissolved or whose husband is dead or has completely and finally renounced the world or has ceased to be a Hindu or has been declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be of unsound mind	 has been granted the capacity to take a son or a daughter in adoption. Then reference was made to section 12 of the Act	 which runs as follows : "12. An adopted child shall be deemed to be the child of his or her adoptive father or mother for all purposes with effect from the date of adoption and from such date all the ties of the child in the family of his or her birth shall be deemed to be severed and replaced by those created by the adoption in the adoptive family; Provided that (a) the child cannot marry any person whom he or she could not have married if he or she had continued in the family of his or her birth; (b) any property which vested in the adopted child before the adoption shall continue to vest in such person subject to the obligations	 if any	 attaching to the owner ship of such property	 including the obligation to maintain relatives in the family of his or her birth 	 (c) the adopted child shall not divest any person of any estate which vested in him or her before the adoption. " Reliance was also placed on sections 13 and 14 of the Act which are reproduced below: "13. Subject to any agreement to the contrary	 an adoption does not deprive the adoptive father or mother of the power to dispose of his or her property by transfer inter vivos or by will. (1) Where a Hindu who has a wife living adopts a child	 she shall be deemed to be the adoptive mother. 691 (2) Where an adoption has been made with the consent of more than one wife	 the senior most in marriage among them shall be deemed to be the adoptive mother and the others to be	 step mothers. (3) Where a widower or a bachelor adopts a child	 any wife whom he subsequently marries shall be. deemed to be; the stepmother of the adopted child. (4) Where a widow or an unmarried woman adopts a child	 any husband whom she marries subsequently shall be deemed to be the stepfather of the adopted child. " On the basis of these provisions	 it was urged that the scheme of the Act is that	 when a Hindu female adopts a child	 he becomes the adopted son of the Hindu female only and does not necessarily become the son of the deceased husband	 if the Hindu female be a widow. Emphasis was laid on the fact 'that even an unmarried female Hindu is permitted to take a son or daughter in adoption and in such a case	 naturally	 no question would arise of the adopted child becoming the adopted son of a Hindu male also. In this connection	 reliance was placed on a decision of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in Nara Hanumantha Rao vs Nara Hanumayya and Another(1). For convenience	 the facts of that case may be briefly reproduced as given in the head note to indicate the question of law that fell to be decided. A and his two sons B and C were members of a Hindu joint family. B died on 26th August	 1924 leaving behind his widow D. A died in the year 1936. On 17th June	 1957	 D adopted E	 and E filed the suit against C and his son F for partition and separate possession of a half share in the properties. The trial court held : (1) that there is a custom among the members of the Kamma caste	 to which the parties belonged	 whereby the adoption of a boy more than 15 years old is valid; and (2) that the adoption of E could not have the result of divesting the interest of B that had vested in C long prior to the date of the adoption	 having regard to the provisions of the Act. In appeal	 the High Court upheld the decision of the trial court on both the points that were raised. The existence of the caste custom	 by which boys aged more than 15 years could be adopted	 was held to be sufficiently proved by evidence. Then the High Court proceeded to consider the provisions of the Act to find out whether E could claim a share in the property of B	 the deceased husband of D who had adopted him. The learned Judges of the High Court enumerated the contents of the various relevant sections of the Act and then proceeded to consider whether E could claim a right in the property left by B. The Court	 after reproducing the provisions of section 12 of the Act held : (1) [1964] I Andhra Weekly Reporter	 156. 69 2 "Under the terms of the above section	 an adopted child is deemed to be the child of his or her adoptive father or mother for all purposes with effect from the date of the adoption. Relying on the words "for all purposes"	 it is argued that the adopted child has the same rights and privileges in the family of the adopter as the legitimate child. From the language of the section	 it is manifest that an adopted child is deemed to be the child of his or her adoptive father or mother. The use of the word "or" between the words "father" and "mother ' makes this abundantly clear. The use of the expression "with effect from the date of adoption" as also the language of clause (c) of the Proviso are important. The expression "with effect from the date of adoption" introduces a vital change in the pre existing law. Under the law as it stood before the Act came into operation	 the ground on which an adopted son was held entitled to take in defeasance of the rights acquired prior to his adoption was that	 in the eye of law	 his adoption related back	 by a legal fiction	 to the date of death of his adoptive father. The rights of the adopted son	 which were rested on the theory of "relation back"	 can no longer be claimed by him. This is clear from the specific provision made in section 12 that the rights of the adopted are to be determined with effect from the date of adoption. Clause (c) of the Proviso to section 12 lays down the explicit rule that the adoption of a son or daughter	 by a male or female Hindu is not to result in the divesting of any estate vested in any person prior to the adoption. " When finally expressing its opinion on the question of law	 the Court said : "The Act has made a notable departure from the previous law in allowing a widow to adopt a son or daughter to herself in her own right. Under the Act	 there is no question of the adopted child divesting of any property vested in any person or even in herself. The provisions of section 13 make this position clear	 by providing that an adoption does not deprive the adoptive father or mother of the powers to dispose of his or her property by transfer inter vivos or by will. On a fair interpretation of the provisions of section 12 of the Act	 we are of the opinion that the section has the effect of abrogating the ordinary rule of Mitakshara law that	 as a result of the adoption made by the widow	 the adoptee acquires rights to the share of his. deceased 39 6 adoptive father which has passed by survivorship to his father 's brothers. " We are unable to accept this interpretation of the provisions of the Act by the Andhra Pradesh High Court as it appears to us that the High Court ignored two important provisions of the Act and did not consider their effect when arriving at its decision. The first provision	 which is of great significance	 is contained in section 5 (1) of the Act which lays down : "No adoption shall be made after the commencement of this Act by or to a Hindu except in accordance with the provisions contained in this Chapter	 and any adoption made in contravention of the said provisions shall be void. " It is significant that	 in this section	 the adoption to be made is mentioned as "by or to a Hindu". Thus	 adoption is envisaged as being of two kinds. One is adoption by a Hindu	 and the other is adoption to a Hindu. If the view canvassed on behalf of the appellant be accepted	 the consequence will be that there will be only adoptions by Hindus and not to Hindus. On the face of it	 adoption to a Hindu was intended to cover cases where an adoption is by one person	 while the child adopted becomes the adopted son of another person also. It is only in such a case that it can be said that the adoption has been made to that other person. The most common instance will naturally be that of adoption by a female Hindu who is married and whose husband is dead	 or has completely and finally renounced the world	 or has been declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be of unsound mind. In such a case	 the actual adoption would be by the female Hindu	 while the adoption will be not only to herself	 but also to her husband who is dead	 or has completely and finally renounced the world or has been declared to be of unsound mind. The second provision	 which was ignored by the Andhra Pradesh High Court	 is one contained in section 12 itself. 'The section	 in its principal clause	 not only lays down that the adopted child shall be deemed to be the child of his or her adoptive father or mother for all purposes with effect from. the date of the adoption	 but	 in addition	 goes on to define the rights of such an adopted child. It lays down that from such date all the ties of the child in the family of his or her birth shall be deemed to be severed and replaced by those created by the adoption in the adoptive family. A question naturally arises what is the adoptive family of a child who is adopted by a widow	 or by a married woman whose husband has completely and finally renounced the world or has been declared to be of unsound mind even though alive. It is well recognized that	 after a female is married	 she belongs to the family of her husband. The child adopted by her must also	 therefore	 belong to the same family. On adoption by a widow	 therefore	 the adopted son is to be deemed to be a member of the family of the deceased husband of the widow. Further still	 he loses all his rights in the family of his birth and those rights 694 are replaced by the rights created by the adoption in the adoptive family. The right	 which the child had	 to succeed to property by virtue of being the son of his natural father	 in the family of his birth	 is	 thus	 clearly to be replaced by similar rights in the adoptive family and	 consequently	 he would certainly obtain those rights in the capacity of a member of that family as an adopted son of the deceased husband of the widow	 or the married female	 taking him in adoption. This provision in section 12 of the Act	 thus	 itself makes it clear that	 on adoption by a Hindu female who has 'been married	 the adopted son will	 in effect	 be the adopted son of her husband also. This aspect was ignored by the Andhra Pradesh High Court when dealing with the effect 	of the language used in other parts of this section. It may	 however	 be mentioned that the conclusion which we have arrived at does not indicate that the ultimate decision given by the Andhra Pradesh High Court was in any way incorrect. As we have mentioned earlier	 the question in that case as whether E	 after the adoption by D	 the widow of B	 could divest C of the rights which had already vested in C before the adoption. It is significant that by the year 1936 C was the sole male member of 	the Hindu joint family which owned the disputed property. B died in the year 1924 and A died in 1936. By that time	 the Hindu Women 's Rights to Property Act had not been enacted and	 consequently	 C	 as the sole male survivor of the family became full owner of that property. In these circumstances	 it was clear that after	 the adoption of E by D	 E could not divest C of the rights already vested in him in view of the special provision contained in clause (c) of the proviso to section 12 of the Act. It appears that	 by making such a provision	 the Act has narrowed down the rights of an adopted child as compared with the rights of a child born posthumously. Under the Shastric law	 if a child was adopted by a widow	 he was treated as a natural born child and	 consequently	 he could divest other members of the family of rights vested in them prior to his adoption. It was only with the limited object of avoiding any such consequence on the adoption of a child by a Hindu widow that these provisions in clause (c) of the proviso to section 12	 and section 13 of the Act were incorporated. In that respect	 the rights of the adopted child were restricted. It is to be noted that this restriction was placed on the rights of a child adopted by either a male Hindu or a female Hindu and not merely in a case of adoption by a female Hindu. This restriction on the rights of the adopted child cannot	 therefore	 in our opinion	 lead to any inference that a child adopted by a widow will not be deemed to be the adopted son of her deceased husband. The second ground taken on behalf of the appellant also	 therefore	 fails. The appeal is	 consequently	 dismissed with costs. Y.P. Appeal dismissed.

A widow	 whose husband had died before the Hindu Succession Act came into force	 adopted respondent 2 after the enforcement of the Act. On the widow 's death	 the appellant the nearest reversioner of her husband	 filed a suit challenging the adoption. The trial court dismissed the suit	 which	 in appeal	 the High Court upheld. In appeal	 to this Court the appellant contended that (i) the adoption was invalid under (ii) of section 6 read with section 9 (2) of the as the son was given in adoption by his mother	 even though his father was alive; and (ii) under the 	 an independent right of adoption is given to Hindu female and if a widow adopts a son	 he becomes the adopted son of the widow only and was not deemed to be the son of her deceased husband. HELD : The appeal must be dismissed. (i) The evidence on record established that the son was given in adoption by both the parents. The deed of adoption mentions that the had been given in adoption by his "Parents which necessarily includes the father. The following sentence stating that the mother of the boy had 'put her thumb mark hereunder in token of her consent	 ' was put in the deed	 because section 9(2) of the Adoptions and Maintenance Act mentions that the father is not to exercise his right of giving his child in adoption	 save with the consent of the mother. "The consent of the	 mother" having been used in the Act which was applicable	 the draftsmen of the deed included in it the fact that the boy 's mother had actually given her consent and obtained her thumb impression in token thereof. 689D H] (ii) The provision in section 12 of the Act	 makes it clear that	 on adoption by a Hindu female who has been married	 the adopted son will	 in effect	 be the adopted son of her husband also. Under the Shastric Law if a child was adopted by a widow	 he was treated as a natural born child and	 consequently	 he could divest other members of the family of rights vested in them prior to his adoption. It was only with the limited object of avoiding any such consequence on the adoption of a child by a Hindu widow that the provisions in clause (c) of the proviso to section 12	 and section 13 of the Act were incorporated. In that respect	 the rights of the adopted child were restricted. It is to be noted that this restriction was placed on the rights of a child adopted by either a male Hindu or a female Hindu and not merely in a case of adoption by a female Hindu. This restriction on the rights of the adopted child cannot	 therefore	 lead to any inference that a child adopted by a widow will not be deemed to be the adopted son of her deceased husband. [694B C	F H] Nara Hanumantha Rao vs Nara Hanumayya and another	 [1964] 1 Andhra Weekly Reporter	 156	 discussed.