A co-owner living in Europe can demand partition of jointly owned or inherited property in India at any time. If the family will not divide by agreement, the civil court passes a preliminary decree declaring each share and a final decree dividing the property by metes and bounds, or orders sale where division is impractical. For agricultural land in several states, partition is done by the revenue officer instead.
- Document route
- Local notary + apostille, or Indian Embassy
- Time difference
- 3.5 to 5.5 hours behind IST
- Handled in India at
- Civil court or revenue officer
- Travel to India
- Rarely; evidence by video
How it works from Europe
We begin by fixing the shares. For a Hindu, Sikh, Jain or Buddhist family, sons and daughters take equally as coparceners in ancestral property and as class one heirs in a parent's separate property. We obtain the jamabandi or equivalent record, the mutation history and any earlier family settlement, and check whether any co-owner has already sold more than his share. A notice proposing an amicable division usually comes first, because a registered family settlement is quicker and cheaper than a decree.
If that fails, the suit is filed where the property lies, joining every co-owner and all the joint properties. We ask for an injunction against sale and construction, and for accounts of income taken by those in possession. After the preliminary decree, the court appoints a commissioner to propose the division on the ground. In Punjab, Haryana and some other states, agricultural land is partitioned by application to the Assistant Collector, with the civil court deciding only disputed questions of title.
What is different for NRIs in Europe
- A daughter's equal coparcenary right applies whether or not her father was alive on 9 September 2005, as settled by the Supreme Court.
- There is no fixed limitation for seeking partition among co-owners, but a co-owner who has openly denied your title for twelve years may plead ouster.
- Sign nothing described as a routine paper for the bank or the patwari without advice. Relinquishment deeds are often obtained this way from relatives abroad.
Step by step from Europe
Free review call
Calls are held in the European morning, while offices in India are open. We read your papers on a partition claim first, so the call is about your options and not a repeat of the facts.
Authority from Europe
Where a representative must act for you in India on a partition claim, you sign before a local notary and obtain the apostille of that country with an English translation, or attend the Indian embassy. We draft the document and send signing instructions.
Work in India
In India, we send the notice for amicable division and, failing that, file the suit with an application to stop any sale of the joint property. Updates for clients in Europe go by email and WhatsApp with scans of whatever is filed.
Result and handover
At the end you receive the decree or registered settlement and we see the division through to the revenue record. Originals are couriered to your address in Europe if you need them.
The law in full
This page covers what changes when you handle a partition claim from Europe. For the Indian law, the complete document checklist, common mistakes and more questions, read our main page on Property Partition Suit. For other matters, see all legal services for NRIs in Europe or the Property & Real Estate practice area.
Questions from NRIs in Europe
Can I file a partition suit in India while living in Italy or Spain?
Yes. You authorise a representative by an apostilled power of attorney and give evidence by video conference where the court permits.
My brothers say I gave up my share by leaving for Europe. Is that correct?
No. A share in inherited property is lost only by a registered relinquishment, gift or sale, or by a court decree. Moving abroad changes nothing.
What if the house cannot be divided?
The court can order it sold and the price divided, giving co-owners the first option to buy out the others at a valuation.