‘Illegitimate’ children also have right to property: HC

The Kerala HC on Tuesday said illegitimate children too have rights in the property of their parents and asked the Centre to make necessary legislation, or otherwise amend Section 125 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

The HC Division Bench, comprising C N Ramachandran Nair and Haroon Al Rasheed, said both the legitimate and the illegitimate children of a parent should have equal rights over the property. That a man and woman had not been legally married should not be raised as an excuse to deny the succession of property for their children. The court observed that the legislation should be encompassing all religions. If that was not possible, separate rules should be implemented for each religion.

The court gave the verdict, while hearing an appeal filed by the wife of a doctor who was killed in a road accident. She challenged the verdict of a motor accident tribunal in Kottayam which said the doctor’s illegitimate wife and their children also had the right to get a share of the compensation. The HC upheld the decision of the accident tribunal.