Partition of Family Property in Hyderabad and Telangana

Partition is the division of property owned jointly, for example by brothers and sisters after a parent’s death, so that each person owns a defined share separately. In Hyderabad and Telangana, partition can be done by agreement through a registered partition deed, or through a partition suit in a civil court. This guide explains who has a share, including daughters, how a partition deed works, stamp duty and registration fees, how a partition suit proceeds, the time limits, and updating land records.

Who has a share · Daughters · Partition by agreement · Stamp duty and fees · Partition suit · Sale instead of division · Time limits · Land records

Who has a share

For Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs, shares are decided by the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (it does not apply to members of Scheduled Tribes unless the Central Government directs otherwise, section 2). When a Hindu man dies without a will, his property goes first to his Class I heirs, who take together and to the exclusion of all others (sections 8 and 9). Class I heirs include his sons, daughters, widow and mother, and the children of a son or daughter who died before him. Among them, the widow (or all widows together), each son, each daughter and the mother take one share each, and the branch of each pre-deceased son or daughter takes one share between them (section 10). Heirs who inherit together take the property as tenants-in-common, not as joint tenants (section 19).

Property possessed by a Hindu woman is held by her as full owner, not as a limited owner, except property acquired by gift or under a will, other instrument, decree or order of a civil court, or award whose terms give her only a restricted estate (section 14). If she dies without a will, her property goes first to her sons and daughters (including the children of a pre-deceased son or daughter) and her husband, with special rules for property she inherited from her parents or from her husband or father-in-law (sections 15 and 16).

Where property inherited by two or more Class I heirs is immovable property or a business, and one heir proposes to transfer their share, the other heirs have a preferential right to buy it; if they cannot agree on the price, the court decides it (section 22).

For Christians, the Indian Succession Act, 1925 sets the shares: for example, a widow takes one-third and the lineal descendants two-thirds, and children alone share equally (sections 33 and 37). Parsis have separate rules in the same Act (section 51). Succession among Muslims follows separate rules of Muslim personal law; take advice on the shares that apply, especially for agricultural land.

Daughters’ rights in joint family property

Since 9 September 2005, section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, as substituted by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, provides that in a Hindu joint family governed by Mitakshara law, the daughter of a coparcener becomes a coparcener by birth “in her own right in the same manner as the son”, with the same rights and liabilities in the coparcenary property as a son.

• Earlier partitions (as defined below) are protected: the new rule does not affect any disposition, alienation, partition or will that took place before 20 December 2004 (proviso to section 6(1), and section 6(5)).
• What counts as a partition: for section 6, “partition” means a partition made by a deed of partition duly registered under the Registration Act, 1908, or a partition effected by a decree of a court (Explanation to section 6(5)).
• Death on or after 9 September 2005: where a Hindu dies after the amendment, his interest in Mitakshara joint family property passes by will or by succession under the Act, not by survivorship, and the daughter is allotted the same share as a son (section 6(3)).

In Vineeta Sharma v Rakesh Sharma (decided 11 August 2020), a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court held that:

• the substituted section 6 gives coparcener status to daughters born before or after the amendment, in the same manner as sons, with the same rights and liabilities;
• because the right is by birth, it is not necessary that the father should have been living on 9 September 2005;
• a plea of oral partition cannot be accepted as the statutorily recognised mode of partition; it may be accepted only in exceptional cases where it is supported by public documents and the partition is finally evinced as if effected by a court decree, and a plea based on oral evidence alone is to be rejected;
• a “decree of a court” in the Explanation means a final decree; a preliminary decree declares shares but does not itself effect the partition, so, even where a preliminary decree has been passed, daughters are to be given a share equal to a son’s in pending final-decree proceedings or in an appeal.

Partition by agreement: the partition deed

Where all the co-owners agree, they can divide the property by a written partition deed.

• Registration: a document that creates, declares, assigns, limits or extinguishes a right in immovable property worth Rs 100 or more must be registered (Registration Act, section 17(1)(b)). The Telangana Registration and Stamps Department lists partition among the documents that must be registered, and says that if partition is effected through an instrument it must be registered.
• If it is not registered: an unregistered document that should have been registered does not affect the immovable property and cannot be received as evidence of the transaction, though it may be received as evidence of a contract in a suit for specific performance, or of a collateral transaction that does not itself need a registered document (section 49 and proviso).
• Unequal shares and releases: the department’s FAQ states that parties may agree to unequal shares, and that where some heirs are to keep the property and the others take money for their shares, this can be done by partition or by release.
• Memorandum of past partition: under the Indian Stamp Act as it applies in Telangana, an “instrument of partition” includes “a memorandum regarding past partition” (section 2(15)), so it is treated as an instrument of partition for stamp duty; the department also states that stamp duty is payable on any kind of partition. Paying stamp duty does not make an unregistered document effective where registration is required (section 49).

In Vineeta Sharma the Supreme Court said that, for a daughter’s coparcenary rights, a plea of oral partition or an unregistered memorandum of partition without contemporaneous public documents needs rejection.

Stamp duty and registration fees in Telangana

For the registration fee table, “family member” means father, mother, husband, wife, brother, sister, son and daughter, and includes grandparents, grandchildren and adoptive parents and children. Stamp duty is payable by the parties in proportion to their shares (Stamp Act, section 29(g)). The department’s online FAQ shows a Rs 20,000 cap for family partitions; G.O.Ms.No.59 of 20 July 2021, published on the department’s website, sets Rs 1,00,000. The registration-fee definition may not govern the stamp duty rate; confirm with the Sub-Registrar which relatives count as family members for stamp duty. The department is permitted to levy user charges in addition (Rs 500 for a document of up to 15 sheets and Rs 1,000 above that, under the user-charges order in force from 2 September 2021, published with the Table of Fees). Confirm the current figures with the Sub-Registrar before registration.

Partition suit

Where the co-owners do not agree, a co-owner can file a suit for partition and separate possession.

• Where to file: a suit for partition of immovable property is filed in the court within whose local limits the property is situated (Code of Civil Procedure, section 16(b)), in the court of the lowest grade competent to try it by value (section 15). If the property lies in more than one court’s area, the suit can be filed where any part of it lies, if the whole claim is within that court’s pecuniary limit (section 17). See our guide on how to file a civil suit in Hyderabad.
• Two stages: where partition cannot conveniently be made without further inquiry, the court may first pass a preliminary decree declaring the parties’ rights and shares (Order XX rule 18(2)). It can then appoint a commissioner, who divides the property into the declared shares, may award sums to equalise values if authorised, and reports; the court hears objections and confirms, varies or sets aside the report; if it confirms or varies it, it passes a decree accordingly, and if it sets it aside, it issues a new commission or other order (Order XXVI rules 13 and 14).
• Estates assessed to revenue: where the property is an estate assessed to revenue, the decree declares the rights and directs the partition to be made by the Collector (Order XX rule 18(1) and section 54). Whether a particular holding falls in this category is a legal question.
• Protecting the property meanwhile: if the property is in danger of being wasted, damaged or alienated (for example sold or mortgaged) by a party, or the defendant threatens to dispossess the plaintiff, the court can grant a temporary injunction while the suit is pending (Order XXXIX rule 1).
• Court fee: under section 34 of the Telangana Court-Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1956, a plaintiff who has been excluded from possession pays court fee on three-fourths of the market value of the immovable property in their share (or the market value of movables); a plaintiff still in joint possession pays a fixed fee. If the court refers the parties to a settlement process under section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the plaintiff can get back the full court fee (section 66-A).

When the court can order a sale instead

Under the Partition Act, 1893, as summarised by the Law Commission of India in its 86th Report (1980), where a property cannot reasonably or conveniently be divided because of its nature, the number of shareholders or other special circumstances, and a sale would be more beneficial for all, the court may, at the request of shareholders holding half or more, order the property sold and the proceeds distributed (section 2). Another shareholder can then apply to buy the shares of those asking for sale at a valuation fixed by the court (section 3). Where a share in a family dwelling-house has been transferred to an outsider who sues for partition, a family member who is a shareholder can undertake to buy that outsider’s share at a valuation (section 4).

Separately, under section 44 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, an outsider to whom a share in a dwelling-house belonging to an undivided family is transferred is not entitled to joint possession or common enjoyment of the house.

Time limits

The Limitation Act, 1963 does not have an article named for partition suits as such. Under Article 110, a person who has been excluded from joint family property and sues to enforce their share must do so within 12 years from the date the exclusion becomes known to them. Which time limit, if any, applies in a particular case depends on the facts, so take advice early, especially if another co-owner has taken exclusive possession.

Updating land records

The Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2025 provides for mutation, that is, changing the record of rights, on partition, inheritance or a court decree:

• for agricultural land partitioned by a registered document, the Tahsildar amends the record of rights after registration and an updated pattadar passbook is issued (section 5);
• for inheritance, an application is made online to the Tahsildar, with a joint statement by the legal heirs in intestate succession (section 7);
• for a court decree, the application goes to the Revenue Divisional Officer (section 8);
• for non-agricultural property, mutation is done under the municipal or panchayat law that applies, such as the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, 1955 (sections 5 and 7).

These details are taken from the Act as published in the Telangana Gazette; the Act comes into force on dates notified by the Government (section 1(3)), so check the current procedure and rules with the Tahsildar or the municipal office.

Related guides: property disputes, making a valid will, legal heir certificate and filing a civil suit.

For a discussion about a partition matter with Musab Hashmi & Associates, call +91 89771 24916 or send an enquiry. Do not include identity numbers or copies of documents in the first message.

General legal information, not legal advice. Checked on 26 October 2026 against the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (as amended in 2005), the Supreme Court judgment in Vineeta Sharma v Rakesh Sharma, the Indian Succession Act, 1925, the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the Limitation Act, 1963, the Registration Act, 1908, the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 as in force in Telangana, G.O.Ms.No.59 of 20 July 2021 and the registration Table of Fees of 2 September 2021, the Telangana Court-Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1956, the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, the Telangana Bhu Bharati (Record of Rights in Land) Act, 2025 as published in the Gazette, and the Telangana Registration and Stamps Department’s FAQ. The Partition Act, 1893 is described from the Law Commission of India’s 86th Report.