Staff Reporter:
The government is set to amend the Transfer of Property Act to allow parents to retain lifetime possession and enjoyment of property even after gifting it to their children, a move aimed at protecting elderly parents and reducing the large number of property-related civil disputes.
Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman announced the proposed amendment on Thursday while addressing the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on legal aid between the National Legal Aid Services Organisation (NLASO), BRAC and BLAST at the ministry’s conference room. “We are considering amendment to the relevant law because most civil cases in Bangladesh arise from disputes over property distribution and ownership,” the minister said.
Under Muslim law, property may be transferred through heba (gift), while Hindu law recognises wills and Muslim law also provides for wills (wasiyat). At present, parents who transfer property through heba immediately lose ownership, often leaving them dependent on their children with little legal protection if they are neglected.
To address this, the government plans to amend provisions relating to gifts under the Transfer of Property Act, drawing on a 1963 judgment of the Pakistan Supreme Court.
Under the proposed law, parents who gift property would retain a usufruct right, enabling them to occupy and enjoy the property for the rest of their lives despite transferring ownership.
Asaduzzaman said parents could make a gift while continuing to live on and use the property throughout their lifetime. Although ownership would pass to the children, neither party would be able to sell the property unilaterally.
Any sale by the parents would require the children’s consent, while the children would also need the parents’ permission to dispose of the property during the parents’ lifetime.
The proposed amendment would also include safeguards for exceptional circumstances. If a parent urgently needs medical treatment and the children refuse consent to sell the property, the district judge would be empowered to decide whether the sale should be permitted. The minister expressed hope that the reform would reduce property-related litigation by providing clearer legal safeguards.
He also said the government was strengthening the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) system through partnerships with organisations experienced in legal aid and mediation to reduce case backlogs and provide faster services.
Replying to a question about ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s possible return to Bangladesh, Asaduzzaman said, “How she will come is her problem. It is not my problem. When she enters our territory, once she comes within that jurisdiction, I will apply the law in accordance with the authority that the law has given me.”
He added that if Hasina returns, the law will take its own course and she could be arrested immediately.
