2. INTRODUCTION
■ The institution of joint Hindu Family is very ancient.
■ It’s a unique system of sue-genesis in nature
■ It has evolved from the ancient patriarchal family which can be described as the
earliest unit of human society.
■ In simple terms, a joint Hindu family is a group of relatives tied together by ties of
kinship & marriage and descended from a common ancestor.
■ It includes children, children’s children down the line, spouses.
■ A joint Hindu Family is normally joint in worship/Food/business. Even daughter in
laws/widowed daughters who has returned to their parental side are part of a Hindu
joint family.
■ A joint family may encompass countless generations.
■ It is said that HJF is survived even during Ancient Aryan communities of Asia and
Europe families
3. ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF HINDU JOINT
FAMILY
■ Presumption of Jointness
■ Perpetuity
■ Not a juristic person
■ Headship of karta
■ Coparcenary
■ Un obstructed heritage
■ survivorship
4. KARTA
■ Karta means manager of joint family and joint family properties.
■ He is the person who takes care of day to day expenses of the family looks after the
family and protects the joint family properties
■ In the entire Hindu Joint Family ‘Karta’ or ‘Manager’ occupies a very important
position.
■ There is no office or institution in any other system of the world can be compared with
it.
■ He is a person with limited power, but he possess such vast power within ambit of
joint family which nobody enjoys.
5. Who can be a Karta:-
■ It is a presumption that ordinarily senior most male member is the Karta and Karta is
always a member in the family no outsider or stranger can become a Karta.
■ The senior most male member so long as he is alive may be, aged, infirm or ailing
continues as Karta. By his death Karta-ship will pass on to next senior most male
member.
■ In the presence of senior most male member a junior cannot act as Karta but if all
coparcener agree, a junior also can become a Karta.
■ Karta owes his position by consent or agreement of all coparceners.
6. Junior Male member
■ In the presence of a senior male member, when all the copartners give consent
even Junior member can also become karta.
■ Narendrakumar Modi vs CIT (1976 SC 1953)
Father(Karta) executed a GPA in favour of 3rd son Gulabchand in 1948 and relinquished
his share in 1954 then in 1954 existing members underwent oral partition and the CIT
has not accepted the submission of Income tax by the Gulabchand. SC held that taking
into GPA and relinquishment deed and next elder member is 70yrs it can be accepted
that junior member can become karta.
7. FEMALE MEMBER
■ Generally female member cannot become Karta but in exceptional circumstances
female also can act as Karta.
■ C.P. Berai vs Laxmi Narayan (AIR 1949 Nag 128)Nagpur High Court held the
view that mother even though not a coparcener, in the absence of adult male
member can act as Karta.
■ In Commissioner of Income Tax Vs. Seth Govind Ram( AIR 1966 SC 2), the Supreme
Court held mother, or any female member could not be Karta of joint family and
therefore cannot alienate joint family property.
■ In Shreya Vidyarthi v. Ashok Vidyarthi, AIR 2016 SC 139 – SC held that Woman can
be a karta of HUF.
■ In Sujata Sharma v. Manu Gupta, (2016) 226 DLT 647 – Delhi High court held that
Married daughter can be a karta of HUF
8. POWERS OF KARTA
■ 1) Power of management:- He is the head of the family; his management powers are absolute. He may
manage the family affairs and family property and business the way he likes for the benefit of estate no one
can question his management.
■ 2) Right to Income:- It is general rule that all members who works or do business out of joint family property
must hand over income to Karta. It is for Karta to allot funds to the members and look after needs and
requirements, so long as family remains joint, no member can ask for any specified share in the income.
■ 3) Right to representation:- He represent the family, represents the family in all matters, legal, social and
religious. He can enter any transaction on behalf of the family, his acts are binding on the entire joint family.
■ 4) Power to compromise:- He has power to compromise all disputes relating to family property or their
management. He can compromise pending suits, family debts, and other transactions. However if his act is
not bonafide can be challenged in a partition.
■ 5) Power to refer a dispute to arbitration:- Karta has power to refer any dispute to arbitration and Arbitrator’s
award is binding on all the members.
■ 6) Power of acknowledgement and to contract debts:- Karta has power to acknowledge on behalf of the
family any debt due to the family, also has power to pay debt or to make pack payment of debt. He has
power to contract debts for the family such debts incurred in the ordinary course of business are binding on
entire joint family. Even Karta when takes loan or execute promissory note for family purpose or for family
business joint family is liable to pay such loan.
■ 7) Power to enter contracts:- Karta has power to enter into contract and such contract is enforceable against
the family.
■ 8) Power of alienation:- Nobody in the family has power to alienate joint family property. However Karta has
power of alienation under 3 circumstances. a) Legal necessity, b) Benefit of estate. c) Indispensable duties.
9. LIABILITIES OF KARTA:
■ 1) Liable to maintain:- Karta is responsible to maintain all the members of joint family. If he
improperly excludes any member from maintenance, he can be sued for maintenance and also
arrears of maintenance.
■ 2) Liability to render accounts:- As long as family remains joint, Karta is not supposed to keep
accounts, but when partition takes place at that time, he is liable to account for family property.
If any of the coparcener is not satisfied with his account can institute a suit against Karta to
discover the truth and to know any misappropriation is made by Karta.
■ 3) Liability to recover debts due to the family:- Karts should realize all debts due to the family
within reasonable time but should not allow them to bar by limitation.
■ 4) Liability to spend reasonably:- As Karta of joint family has control over the income and
expenditure of the family, he is custodian of surplus income. However he should spend family
funds reasonably and for the purpose of the family.
■ 5) Liability not to alienate coparcenary property:- Unless it is for benefit of family, estate or for
necessity Karta cannot alienate joint family property without the consent of all the coparceners.
■ 6) Liable not to start new business:- Unless adult coparceners of the family expressly or
impliedly consents, Karta cannot impose a risk of a new business upon them.
