What is difference between succession and survivorship as per Hindu Succession Act?

Prior to enactment of Hindu Succession Act 1956,on the death of one coparcener of joint family,other coparceners of joint family were getting property of joint family by survivorship and was not inherited by his legal heirs. This rule was partly abrogated by Hindu Succession Act 1956 and totally abrogated by Hindu Succession Amendment Act 2005.Now joint family property is inherited by legal heirs of deceased and not by other coparceners of joint family. Joint family property passes to legal heirs of deceased by succession or inheritance. 

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What is distinction between joint tenancy and tenants-in-common?

 The Hindu Succession Act by Section 19 clearly provides that each of the co-heirs takes per capita and takes as a tenant-in-common and not at all as a joint tenant or a joint owner. In the case of joint owners or co-owners or joint landlords on the death of one of them, the other co-owners or joint owners or joint landlords take the land by survivorship. That is not so in the case of tenants-in-common. On the death of any tenants-in-common the share of such a tenant-in-common goes not by survivorship, but to his or her own successors and the incidents of the joint tenancy and tenancy in common are distinct and separate. A distinction has been brought about between the joint tenants and the tenants-in-common in the definition of these two terms in the book 'Law Terms and Phrases' by Aiyer. "Tenancy-in-common" is where two or more persons have undivided possession but distinct estate in any subject of property, in equal or unequal shares, and either by the same or by different titles. On the death of a tenant-in-common the share goes to his representative, and not, as in a joint tenancy, to the survivors. Then a distinction has been brought about between a 'tenancy in common and joint tenancy' thus:

"The joint owners may be tenants-in-common or joint tenants (or coparceners), in the case of tenant-in-common they own the property in ascertained or defined shares, but the property has not been divided into shares. In the case of joint tenancy the joint owners own the property in coparcenary and their shares have not been ascertained and cannot be ascertained except perhaps at the tune of partition. In a tenancy-in-common a joint owner's share is inherited on his death by his personal heirs, whereas in a joint tenancy on the death of a joint owner the property belongs to the surviving joint owners. In a tenancy-in-common each joint owner owns or has a right in his share, in a joint tenancy all the joint owners together own the property, a joint owner having no ascertained share cannot be said to own a particular share in it."

Bombay High Court

Umabai Trimbakrao Talukdar And ... vs State Of Maharashtra And Ors. on 26 March, 1971

Equivalent citations: AIR 1971 Bom 293

Bench: D.B.Padhye

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