Most of the people avoid creating a will for their lifetime and usually, it happens that people die without creating one. It is said that the person died “intestate” when a person dies without creating a will which usually happens. In these types of cases when a person dies “intestate”, the property of that person is inherited by his/her legal heir. Members of a Hindu undivided family can give up their right in the said immovable asset or property, by way of relinquishing their ownership. If there are two or more legal heirs of the property and they wish to divide the property further, they can resort to the relinquishment deed which allows a transfer of property easily. A relinquishment deed is then created by legal heirs and registered, to enable the co-owners to legally transfer their share in the property to another co-owner. A relinquishment deed is a lawfully set written document where a legal heir of the property gives up his legal rights in an inherited parental property for another legal heir such as his mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, and wife, etc. The process of transferring property from one legal heir to another legal heir with or without any consideration is known as “Relinquishment of Property”.
Suppose that there is a father, who has not left a will and has 3 legal heirs or sons and two of them live abroad so they find it difficult to manage their hometown estate. In this case, they may decide to transfer their rights in the name of the third brother, who resides close to the ancestral property to manage hometown estate. Let’s assume that the two brothers decide to give up their right over the property in hometown estate, without any payment. A relinquishment deed would need to be filed and registered by legal heirs, to legalize the process. Even if the two legal heirs took consideration for the transfer, a similar relinquishment deed would be filed and registered to make the transfer legally valid.
Moreover, a person needs to carefully understand the key components of the relinquishment deed to successfully create one which is also known as a release deed in legal parlance.
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A legal heir can transfer his right in property through few legal instruments, including the sale, or gift, or a will of the property. Transfer of rights in a property through a relinquishment deed is possible, only in cases of inherited properties. These would include all your inherited properties, upon which you have a right by birth under the Hindu law and the self-acquired property of your father, in case he dies intestate or without creating a will which usually happens.
Just the legal heirs of a property can relinquish their share in the property. Also, they can relinquish their share only in favor of other legal heirs or co-owners of the property such as mother, brother, sister, wife, and son, etc.
Section 17 (1) b of the Registration Act, 1908, provides that an instrument, using which a right is either created or transferred concerning inherited property, must be registered. Hence, a relinquishment deed must be filed and registered, to give it legal validation. Section 49 of the Registration Act mandates that an unregistered document that must be registered, as prescribed under Section 17, should be inadmissible in a court of law in case of a dispute.
Gift deed: A gift deed is a written document that transfers property to another owner as a gift. A Gift Deed is valid only when it is without any payment in return by one family member/ friend to another. It is necessary to register and file a Gift Deed, according to Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908.
Relinquishment deed: A relinquishment deed is a lawfully set written document where a legal heir of the property gives up his legal rights in an inherited parental property for another legal heir such as his mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, and wife, etc. The process of transferring property from one legal heir to another legal heir with or without any consideration is known as “Relinquishment of Property”.
| BASIS | GIFT DEED | RELINQUISHMENT DEED |
| Beneficiary | In a gift deed, an owner can give up his right to anyone he chooses, irrespective of whether that person is a legal heir of that property or not. | The relinquishment of property can only be done in the name of a person who is a co-owner of the property. |
| Consideration | the transferor does not take any money in place of giving up his right to the property | a relinquishment may be made for consideration or even without it in this case or deed. |
| Registration and stamp duty | Under Section 123 of the Transfer of Property Act, registering gift deeds is also compulsory. The stamp duty charges on registering a gift deed are higher, | Registering relinquishment deeds is also compulsory. The stamp duty charges on registering a relinquishment deed are less expensive than a gift deed. |
| Transfer to minor | A property can be gifted to a minor | Through a relinquishment deed, the property could also be transferred in favor of a minor, there is relatively no difference in it. |
| Cancellation | A gift deed becomes irrevocable after its execution. | a relinquishment deed also becomes irrevocable after its execution. |
Grounds for revocation of relinquishment deed are:
A legal heir who has transferred his right in the property can cancel a relinquishment deed on certain specific grounds, including:
Moreover, as all the parties involved in the signing of the deal must show cooperation in the process of cancellation, the aggrieved party will have to approach the civil court, in case the beneficiary refuses to give his consent to the cancellation.
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