POTTI LAKSHMI PERUMALLU vs POTTI KRISHNAVENAMMA

The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the lower courts that the will executed by S was inoperative as he was a member of a Hindu joint family at the time of his death, thus the respondent widow was entitled to a half share in the property under the Hindu Women’s Rights to Property Act, 1937. The court clarified that the widow's entitlement is based on the rights her husband would have had if he were alive at the time of partition, emphasizing that the will did not indicate an intention to sever the coparcenary. The court rejected the appellant's claims regarding the will's effect on family arrangements and the calculation of the widow's share.