gift deed

Hello

Generally, gift of immovable property given by the donor to the donee cannot be revoked or cancelled.

However, Section 126 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 deals with revoking or suspending a gift.

According to the section, the donor and donee may agree that on the happening of any specified event which does not depend upon the will of the donor a gift shall be suspended or revoked. A Gift can also be revoked wholly or partly at the will of the donor if so is agreed between the parties.
Canceling or revoking a Gift
Section 126 lays down two modes of revocation of Gift:
Revocation by mutual agreement of donor and donee:

Donor and Donee may agree that the gift shall be suspended or revoked upon happening of an event not dependent upon the donor. The condition revoking the gift must be express; it should not be merely in the form of a wish or desire. In other words, the condition on the non-fulfillment of which the donor may revoke the gift must be expressly laid down in the gift deed.
 
However, even if a condition is not laid down in the gift deed itself, and has been provided under a mutual agreement separately which forms a part of the transaction of a gift, the condition would be valid and enforceable.
 
Revocation by rescission as in the case of contracts:

The gift is a gratuitous transfer of ownership made voluntarily. However, if it could be proved that the gift was not made voluntarily, i.e., the consent of the donor was not free, the gift must be revoked. The gift is always preceded by an express or implied contract; offer by donor and acceptance by done. Thus, if the preceding contract itself is rescinded or revoked there is no question of taking place of transfer (gift) made under it. Accordingly, under section 126 of the Act, a gift is revoked on any of the grounds on which it might be rescinded had it been a contract.
 
Therefore, where consent for the gift has been obtained by coercion, undue influence, fraud or misrepresentation, the deed is voidable at the option of the party whose consent was so obtained. It is to be noted, that the period of limitation for the revocation of gifts on the ground of fraud, coercion, misrepresentation or undue influence is three years from the date on which the same comes to the knowledge of the donor.

If the gift deed is registered, then you need to file a court case for revoking the gift deed.

Hope this answer helps you.

Best regards,

Subhasri Chatterjee

A registered gift deed of immovable property can not be revoked however donor can file civil suit for cancellations of gift deed on ground of fraud,cheating and coercion.

1. Gift Deed can be revoked under the Senior Citizen laws, by filing appropriate suit in the local Civil Court. There are several HC /SC judgments relating to this.

Keep Smiling .... Hemant Agarwal
VISIT: www.chshelpforum.com

Gift Deed is not revocable unless both mutually agree to suspend revoke.

But there are circumstances such as

1.gift deed executed by fraud or under coercion, misrepresentation

2. if the Deed contemplates a condition that can give rise to cancellation of deed (For example not taking care pf parents which also forms part of the Act

In order to ensure that parents and senior citizens are taken care of properly by their children or legal heirs, the central government passed ‘The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007’ (The Maintenance Act), which provides for certain circumstances under which gifts of property made by parents and senior citizens can be cancelled, at the option of the parent/senior citizen. This provisions is contained in Section 23 of The Maintenance Act and it reads as under:

“Where any senior citizen who, after the commencement of this Act, has transferred by way of gift or otherwise, his property, subject to the condition that the transferee shall provide the basic amenities and basic physical needs to the transferor and such transferee refuses or fails to provide such amenities and physical needs, the said transfer of property shall be deemed to have been made by fraud or coercion or under undue influence and shall, at the option of the transferor, be declared void by the tribunal.”

As Section 23 of The Maintenance Act specifically provides that where the property has been gifted on the understanding that the transferee child/legal heir shall provide the basic needs and maintain the senior citizen or parent, any failure on the part of the child to honour such promise made, is tantamount to fraud. Such promise may be express or may be implied and may be inferred from the circumstances surrounding the transaction. Under such circumstances, the agreement to transfer the property shall be deemed to have been obtained by way of fraud and can be voidable by the aggrieved parent/senior citizen.

What is the reason for seeking revocation of gift deed?

What is your locus standi / concern to the alleged Gift Deed vis-a-vis this post, if it is not an academic exercise ?