For Valid Oral Gift (Hiba) Under Mohammedan Law, Public Possession Must Be Proved; Absence Of Mutation Raises Doubt: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court analysed requirements for a valid oral gift (hiba) under Mohammedan law, stressing that proof of public delivery and possession is essential and that absence of mutation in revenue records creates legitimate doubt. The Court recalled doctrinal requisites: an unequivocal transfer of possession with intention to gift and contemporaneous acceptance, and it scrutinised documentary and factual indicators such as mutation, possession and conduct of parties. Where mutation (entry in revenue records) is missing, the Court held that the purported oral gift’s credibility weakens, requiring clear and cogent proof of public possession. The judgment clarifies evidentiary thresholds in Islamic jurisprudence as applied in Indian courts, guiding trial courts on burden and evaluation of oral-transfer claims.