New Delhi – A husband cannot assert exclusive ownership over a property jointly acquired and registered in the name of both spouses, solely on the basis that he paid the EMIs, the Delhi High Court has held.

A bench of justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar made the observation on September 22.

“Once the property stands in the joint names of the spouses, the husband cannot be permitted to claim exclusive ownership merely on the ground that he alone provided the purchase consideration,” the court said.

It said the husband’s claim would contravene Section 4 of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, which bars a person, claiming to be the real owner of the property, from instituting any suit, claim or action to enforce rights against any other person in whos

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