A mails a bank draft of Rs. 50,000 to B, his son as gift. B in return writes a letter to A....gift....
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Question: A mails a bank draft of Rs. 50,000 to B, his son as gift. B in return writes a letter to A accepting the gift. Before B posts it, he dies. Whether the gift is valid? Would it make any difference if A dies instead. [BJS 2018]Find the answer to the mains question of Property Law only on Legal Bites. [A mails a bank draft of Rs. 50,000 to B, his son as gift. B in return writes a letter to A accepting the gift. Before B posts it, he dies. Whether the gift is valid? Would it make...
Question: A mails a bank draft of Rs. 50,000 to B, his son as gift. B in return writes a letter to A accepting the gift. Before B posts it, he dies. Whether the gift is valid? Would it make any difference if A dies instead. [BJS 2018]
Find the answer to the mains question of Property Law only on Legal Bites. [A mails a bank draft of Rs. 50,000 to B, his son as gift. B in return writes a letter to A accepting the gift. Before B posts it, he dies. Whether the gift is valid? Would it make any difference if A dies instead.]
Answer
Under the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, Section 122 defines a gift as the transfer of certain existing movable or immovable property made voluntarily and without consideration by one person, called the donor, to another, called the donee, and accepted by or on behalf of the donee. A critical condition under this section is that the acceptance must be made during the lifetime of the donor and while he is still capable of giving.
In the present case, A mails a bank draft of ₹50,000 to B, his son, as a gift. B writes a letter of acceptance but unfortunately dies before posting it. The question arises whether the gift is valid. Since the property involved is a bank draft, it is considered movable property, and the law does not require a registered deed for a valid gift. However, what is essential is delivery and acceptance of the gift.
Although B intended to accept the gift and wrote a letter for that purpose, the acceptance remained uncommunicated as it was never posted. In law, mere intention or internal willingness to accept a gift is not sufficient. There must be some outward expression of acceptance—either by communication or by conduct that clearly demonstrates acceptance. Since B died before communicating his acceptance to A, the gift is incomplete and thus invalid.
Now, if the situation were reversed and A (the donor) died after sending the bank draft, but B had accepted the gift (e.g., by using or encashing the draft or posting the acceptance letter) during A’s lifetime, the gift would be considered valid. The essential legal requirement is that the acceptance must occur while the donor is alive and competent. Once validly accepted, the death of the donor thereafter does not invalidate the gift.
Judicial precedents such as K. Balakrishnan v. K. Kamalam [(2004) 1 SCC 581] and Moolchand v. Ganga Bai [AIR 1930 Nag 251] affirm that a gift is only complete upon acceptance by the donee during the donor’s lifetime. If the donee dies before accepting the gift, the gift fails.
Therefore, in the given scenario, the gift is not valid since B’s acceptance was not completed during his lifetime. If instead, A had died but B had accepted the gift in time, it would have been valid.
Mayank Shekhar
Mayank is an alumnus of the prestigious Faculty of Law, Delhi University. Under his leadership, Legal Bites has been researching and developing resources through blogging, educational resources, competitions, and seminars.