The Social Life of Property: Kinship, Law and Land Litigation in India

Abstract

Land and family property disputes constitute a significant proportion of cases in Indian courts, yet they are often interpreted primarily as outcomes of legal inefficiencies. This paper argues that such disputes are better understood through a socio-legal framework that conceptualises property not merely as a legal asset but as an institution, a set of practices, an object, and an idea embedded in social relations. The intersection of kinship structures, gendered patterns of succession, and administrative practices produces complex and protracted arenas of litigation. Drawing on a case study of an urban family property dispute adjudicated in the district court of Saket, New Delhi, the paper illustrates how legal entitlements are deeply entangled with social relationships. It further examines the role of property records as instruments of power that contribute to the reproduction of social inequalities. By bridging legal analysis with sociological insights, the paper highlights the need to reconceptualise property disputes beyond procedural and institutional limitations.