WHAT IS ELECTION UNDER THE TRANSFER OF PROPERTY ACT-1882

Table of Contents

Introduction

Acceptance of the benefit by the person on whom it is conferred constitutes an election by him to confirm the transfer, if he is aware of his duty to elect and of those circumstances which would influence the judgment of a reasonable man in making an election, or if he waives inquiry into the events.

Election when necessary

Where a person professes to transfer property which he has no right to transfer, and as part of the same transaction confers any benefit on the owner of the property, the such owner must elect either to confirm such transfer or to dissent from it;

and in the latter case he shall relinquish the benefit so conferred, and the use so relinquished shall revert to the transferor or his representative as if it had not been disposed of, subject nevertheless,

where the transfer is gratuitous, and the transferor has, before the election, died or otherwise became incapable of making a fresh transfer, and in all cases where the transfer is for consideration, to the charge of making good to the disappointed transferee the amount or value of the property attempted to be transferred to him.

Illustrations

The farm of Sultanpur is the property of C and worth Rs. 800. A by an instrument of gift professes to transfer it to B, giving by the same instrument Rs. 1,000 to C. C elects to retain the farm. He forfeits the gift of Rs. 1,000. In the same case, A dies before the election. His representative must out of the Rs. 1,000 pay Rs. 800 to B.

The rule in the first paragraph of this section applies whether the transferor does or does not believe that which he professes to transfer to be his own.

A person taking no benefit directly under a transaction, but deriving a benefit under it indirectly, need not elect.

A person who in his own capacity takes a benefit under the transaction may in another dissent therefrom.

The exception to the last preceding four rules: Where a particular benefit is expressed to be conferred on the owner of the property which the transferor professes to transfer, and such benefit is expressed to be in lieu of that property if the such owner claims the property, he must relinquish the particular benefit, but he is not bound to relinquish any other benefit conferred upon him by the same transaction.

Such knowledge or waiver shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be presumed, if the person on whom the benefit has been conferred has enjoyed it for two years without doing any act to express dissent.

Such knowledge or waiver may be inferred from any act of his which renders it impossible to place the persons interested in the property professed to be transferred in the same condition as if such act had not been done.

Illustration

A transfers to B an estate to which C is entitled, and as part of the same transaction gives C a coal mine. C takes possession of the mine and exhausts it. He has thereby confirmed the transfer of the estate to B.

If he does not within one year after the date of the transfer signify to the transferor or his representatives his intention to confirm or to dissent from the transfer, the transferor or his representative may, upon the expiration of that period, require him to make his election; and, if he does not comply with such requisition within a reasonable time after he has received it, he shall be deemed to have elected to confirm the transfer.

In case of disability, the election shall be postponed until the disability ceases, or until the election is made by some competent authority.

Apportionment of periodical payments on the determination of interest of person entitled – Section 36

In the absence of a contract or local usage to the contrary, all rents, annuities, pensions, dividends, and other periodical payments in the nature of income shall, upon the transfer of the interest of the person entitled to receive such payments, be deemed, as between the transferor and the transferee, to accrue due from day to day, and to be apportionable accordingly, but to be payable on the days appointed for the payment thereof.

Apportionment of the benefit of obligation on severance – Section 37

When, in consequence of a transfer, the property is divided and held in several shares, and thereupon the benefit of any obligation relating to the property as a whole passes from one to several owners of the property, the corresponding duty shall, in the absence of a contract, to the contrary amongst the owners, be performed in favor of each of such owners in proportion to the value of his share in the property, provided that the duty can be severed and that the severance does not substantially increase the burden of the obligation;

but if the duty cannot be severed, or if the severance would substantially increase the burden of the obligation the duty shall be performed for the benefit of such one of the several owners as they shall jointly designate for that purpose:

PROVIDED that no person on whom the burden of the obligation lies shall be answerable for failure to discharge it in the manner provided by this section, unless and until he has had reasonable notice of the severance.

Nothing in this section applies to leases for agricultural purposes unless and until the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette so directs.

Illustrations

(a) A sells to B, C, and D a house situated in a village and leased to E at an annual rent of Rs. 30 and delivery of one fat sheep, B having provided half the purchase money and C and D one quarter each. E, having notice of this, must pay Rs. 15 to B, Rs. 7.50 to C, and Rs. 7.50 to D and must deliver the sheep according to the joint direction of B, C, and D.

(b) In the same case, each house in the village is bound to provide ten days’ labor each year on a dyke to prevent inundation. E had agreed as a term of his lease to perform this work for A, B, C and D severally require E to perform the ten days’ work due on account of the house of each. E is not bound to do more than ten days’ work in all, according to such directions as B, C and D may join in giving.