TRANSFER OF PROPERTY ACT, 1882 / CHAPTER II

Section 15: Transfer to a Class, Some of Whom Come Under Sections 13 and 14

Section 15 preserves a transfer made for a class of beneficiaries so far as it is legally valid. Where the interest fails for particular class members because of Section 13 or Section 14, the failure is confined to those members and does not invalidate the interest of the entire class.

Section 15: Full text of the law

Transfer to class some of whom come under sections 13 and 14

15. If, on a transfer of property, an interest therein is created for the benefit of a class of persons with regard to some of whom such interest fails by reason of any of the rules contained in sections 13 and 14, such interest fails in regard to those persons only and not in regard to the whole class.

Meaning and scope of Section 15

A class of persons is a group identified by a common description, such as the children or descendants of a named person, rather than solely by individual names. A transfer can create interests for several members of that class. Section 15 addresses the situation where the legal conditions for an interest are satisfied for some members but not for others.

The operative rule is partial invalidity: only the interests that offend Section 13 or Section 14 fail. An otherwise valid interest for another member of the same class is not defeated merely because the transfer also attempted to benefit an ineligible member.

Whether an individual interest is valid requires examining the instrument as a whole, the prior interests, the identities and existence of beneficiaries, and the point at which the interests are intended to take effect.

Section 13: Benefit of an unborn person

Section 13 governs an interest created for a person not in existence when the transfer is made, subject to a prior interest created by the same transfer. The unborn beneficiary's interest cannot take effect unless it extends to the whole remaining interest of the transferor in the property. A purported limited interest that does not meet this requirement fails.

Section 14: Rule against perpetuity

Section 14 prevents creation of an interest intended to take effect beyond the permissible period: the lifetime of one or more persons living at the date of transfer and the minority of a person in existence at the end of that lifetime period to whom the interest is to belong on attaining full age. It is not a general rule that all transfers become invalid after a fixed number of years.

When a class includes both beneficiaries whose interests comply with these provisions and beneficiaries whose interests do not, Section 15 separates the invalid interests from the valid ones.

Examples of the rule

Example 1: Invalid limited interest for an unborn beneficiary

A creates a life interest for B and thereafter purports to confer full ownership on B's existing daughter C, while giving B's future unborn child D only a life interest. Assuming the other legal requirements are met, D's attempted life interest fails under Section 13 because it does not extend to the whole remaining interest; the otherwise valid interest of C is not automatically invalidated merely because D was also included in the described group. The precise operation depends on the drafting and sequence of interests.

Example 2: An interest vesting too remotely

A transfer is drafted for a described group of descendants. Certain members can take within the period permitted by Section 14, but an interest for another member is expressly postponed beyond that period. The remote interest is invalid. Section 15 protects interests in the same class that independently satisfy the statutory rules.

These are explanatory hypotheticals, not illustrations enacted as part of Section 15.

Legal effect and drafting considerations

No automatic failure of the entire class: the statutory defect is limited to the particular beneficiary or beneficiaries affected by Sections 13 or 14.
No validation of prohibited interests: Section 15 does not override the requirements imposed by Sections 13 and 14.
Check subsequent gifts: Section 16 may affect a further interest intended to take effect upon the failure of a prior interest.
Public benefit transfers: Section 18 provides a specific exception for certain transfers for the benefit of the public.
Interpret the whole deed: distinguish class gifts from separate gifts to named persons, and verify applicable personal law, other statutory rules and the deed's actual language.

Frequently asked questions

Does one invalid beneficiary make a transfer to the whole class void?

No. Section 15 expressly provides that the interest fails only in relation to the persons affected by Sections 13 or 14, not the entire class.

Does Section 15 permit a life interest to be created for an unborn person?

No. Section 13 requires an interest created for an unborn beneficiary in the specified circumstances to extend to the transferor's whole remaining interest. Section 15 does not cure an interest that fails that requirement.

Is Section 15 the same as the rule against perpetuity?

No. Section 14 states the rule against perpetuity. Section 15 determines the consequence for a transfer to a class when only some members' interests fail under Section 13 or Section 14.

Official legal sources

Consult the India Code legislative database for the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 and any applicable amendments. The statutory language reproduced above should be read together with Sections 13, 14, 16 and 18 and the governing instrument.

General legal information; application to a particular transfer depends on its terms and applicable law.