# Madras High Court rules father’s gift to daughter not joint family property 2026-08-14T14:31:50+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Madras High Court has ruled that a father gifting property to his minor daughter in a matrimonial settlement cannot be treated as joint family property unless proved to have been purchased from joint family funds. A Division Bench dismissed appeals from S Duraimanickam and his brother SDS Selvam, who claimed the 1989 property was bought from joint family nucleus. The court noted Duraimanickam had personal income from employment and his father, former minister S.D. Somasundaram, had not filed income tax returns. The bench also held that Duraimanickam could not challenge his own 2002 gift deed decades later under the Limitation Act. The court confirmed Ilavarasi as absolute owner and directed her father to hand over possession. ## Coverage - livelaw.in Tags: Ilavarasi, Madras High Court, S Duraimanickam, Transfer of Property Act Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/madras-high-court-rules-fathers-gift-to-daughter-not-joint-family-property/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/madras-high-court-rules-fathers-gift-to-daughter-not-joint-family-property/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.