Paying EMIs Alone Not Enough: Husband Can't Claim Exclusive Ownership Of Jointly Held Property: Delhi HC
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday observed that if the property stands in the joint names of the spouses, the husband cannot claim exclusive ownership of a property, merely on the ground that he alone provided the purchase consideration including the EMIs.
While hearing a batch of appeals arising out of matrimonial dispute between a couple, Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar stated that such a plea would contravene Section 4 of the Benami Act, which imposes an absolute bar against the enforcement of rights in respect of property held benami.
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The court pointed out that a person who claims to be the the real owner of a property standing in another’s name can either institute proceedings or raise a defence asserting such ownership as per the provision.
The petitioner is thus prevented from contending that the amount from the sale of the joint property belongs to him alone, due to the combined effect of the presumption of equal ownership between spouses and the statutory prohibition under Section 4.
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