Under a preliminary decree, in a partition suit, no property is acquired by the female and it is only under the final decree that a person can be said to acquire the ownership in the property. Preliminary decree only declares the share in property under the provisions of Hindu law.
Image Source: d111vui60acwyt.cloudfront.net
Thus Section 14(2) is not applicable in such cases. The decree contemplated by sub-section (2) signifies a decree finally adjudicating the right of the parties and such a decree must be one affording basis for the title and it must not be merely a declaratory decree.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
A decree within the meaning of Section 14(2) cannot be a decree which is under appeal but only a decree which has become final. In H. Uduman v. Venkatachala Mudaliar the court held that if before the date of the decree, the female Hindu had no interest in property and her only source of title is the decree which confers upon her a restricted estate, Section 14(2) will apply and such a restricted estate would not be enlarged into an absolute estate under Section 14(1).
Where in a family settlement which was rendered into a deed, a female Hindu acquired a limited right in certain property and all her previous rights were put to an end, the court held it to be her restricted right under sub-section (2) of Section 14 of the Act. It cannot be converted into her absolute estate within the meaning of Section 14(1).