CHAPTER II INTESTATE SUCCESSION · General provisions relating to succession

Section 22: Preferential right to acquire property in certain cases

The Hindu Succession Act, 1956

(1) Where, after the commencement of this Act, an interest in any immovable property of an intestate, or in any business carried on by him or her, whether solely or in conjunction with others, devolves upon two or more heirs specified in class I of the Schedule, and any one of such heirs proposes to transfer his or her interest in the property or business, the other heirs shall have a preferential right to acquire the interest proposed to be transferred.

(2) The consideration for which any interest in the property of the deceased may be transferred under this section shall, in the absence of any agreement between the parties, be determined by the court on application being made to it in this behalf, and if any person proposing to acquire the interest is not willing to acquire it for the consideration so determined, such person shall be liable to pay all costs of or incident to the application.

(3) If there are two or more heirs specified in class I of the Schedule proposing to acquire any interest under this section, that heir who offers the highest consideration for the transfer shall be preferred.

Explanation.―In this section, “court” means the court within the limits of whose jurisdiction the immovable property is situate or the business is carried on, and includes any other court which the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf.

Questions on this section

5 questions in 5 of our papers cite Section 22. Try these from the free papers:

1. Consider the following statements about Mahinder v. Puran Singh (14 July 2026): 1. The Court referred Babu Ram v. Santokh Singh (2019) to a larger Bench for reconsideration. 2. The Court traced Parliament's competence to enact Section 22 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 to Entry 5 of List III (wills, intestacy and succession), which does not exclude agricultural land. 3. The Court held that Section 22 is invalid in its application to agricultural land because Atam Prakash v. State of Haryana (1986) struck down Section 15 of the Punjab Pre-emption Act, 1913. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
2. Match the Supreme Court judgments of July 2026 (List I) with the provision chiefly interpreted (List II): List I A. A.K. Ghosh & Company v. Biman Bose B. Mahinder v. Puran Singh C. Mahendra Singh v. State of Chhattisgarh D. Himanshu Chordia v. State of Rajasthan List II 1. Section 22, Hindu Succession Act, 1956 2. Order VIII Rule 6G, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 3. Section 125(4), Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 4. Section 299, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
3. Assertion (A): In Mahinder v. Puran Singh (2026), the Supreme Court held that the preferential right of a Class I heir under Section 22 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 applies to agricultural land as well. Reason (R): Entry 5 of List III ('wills, intestacy and succession') does not exclude agricultural land, and Section 22 is in pith and substance a law of succession rather than of transfer of property.

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