TREATMENT OF MINOR’S PROPERTY IN INDIA

Abstract The legal concept of guardianship of property takes birth from the very fact that minors or infants are incapable of managing their own property-related matters. The purpose of this kind of guardianship is to ensure that the property of the minor is dealt with in a careful, non-prejudicial and beneficial manner till the time he attains majority. This paper discusses the conception of property of a minor and the various facets of guardianship. It attempts to analyse the elements of guardianship in the light of various laws, while also looking into issues of alienation and partition of the minor’s property. The paper tries to make sense of the various provisions related to guardianship in personal laws and the secular legislation ‘Guardians and Wards Act, 1890’ [hereinafter “the GWA”] in an attempt to determine how they help safeguard the property of the minor. Personal laws governing Hindus, Muslims, Parsis and Christians of India have been examined. Delving into the different laws on guardianship and rights of the minor over his property offers us clarity in terms of scope and applicability, and offering this clarity is the objective of the paper.