"Ancestral Property"

“Ancestral property”: The property which descends from father, father’s father and great grandfather i.e. a person’s descendant’s up to three generations, viz., sons, son’s son, son’s son’s son acquire an interest by birth.
Such property will devolve by survivorship and not by succession in which male issues of a coparcener acquire an interest by birth.  That is by a Hindu from anyone of the three immediate paternal ancestors mentioned herein.  

It is confined to property inherited from the three immediate paternal ancestors and the property inherited from a maternal grandfather is the absolute property of the inheritor in which his son does not acquire any interest by birth.

Any property inherited by a person from his female relatives, cannot be termed as ancestral property. 

A property obtained by a male Hindu by way of a gift or will from his father, grandfather or great grandfather would be ancestral or self acquired, the Supreme Court held that it depends upon the intention of the father or grandfather as expressed in the deed of gift on will or to be gathered from the terms of the document and surrounding circumstances.

If a grandfather intends that the father should take the property exclusively, it would be his separate property. If a grandfather intends that the father should take the property for the benefit of the branch of the family it would be an ancestral property in the hands of the father, for his sons would get equal rights with him in the property.

Whatever the property till the day of partition that shall be treated as joint family property. The property earned by the brothers after partition shall not be regarded as joint family property. 

The income of joint family business constitutes joint family property.

Similarly any property acquired in exchange of a joint family property would also be held to be joint family property.