bona vacantia
Meaning. Ownerless property, which passes to the State.
Bona vacantia (vacant goods) means property that has no owner, for example property of a person who dies without heirs, or assets of a dissolved company not distributed to anyone. Since property cannot remain without an owner, the law vests it in the State.
In India, Article 296 of the Constitution provides that property accruing by escheat, lapse or as bona vacantia vests in the State if it is in a State, and otherwise in the Union. For the estate of an intestate Hindu with no heir, s.29 of the Hindu Succession Act provides that it devolves on the Government, subject to its obligations and liabilities.
Example
When the last surviving trustee died without heirs and the trust failed, the residue passed to the State as bona vacantia under Article 296.
In Indian law
- Article 296, Constitution of India
- Section 29, Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (failure of heirs)