Whether a widow can demand for partition for ancestral property

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In a landmark verdict, Bombay high court has ruled that a widow or mother of a coparcener can file a case for partition of the man's joint family property so she can get her share.
The Hindu Woman's Right to Succession Act of 1937 enabled a woman to seek a partition, but only till she was alive, and then her property reverted to the joint family. The Hindu Succession Act of 1956 entrusted this right to absolute owners in case of joint property, which meant the property could be divided only if other members demanded it. An amendment in 2005 gave daughters the same rights as sons regarding the father's property, but no such right was conferred on the widow or mother.
"The doctrine of ubi jus ibi remedium (where there is a right there is a remedy) must be pressed into service to hold that the widow or woman has right to file suit for partition in order to recover the property due to her husband in a joint family, notwithstanding the fact that the other coparceners (inheritors) in the joint family don't desire to have the partition. Such a widow has an independent right given by law through husband to have a share in the joint family property," a single-judge bench of Justice Arun Chaudhari held.

Advocate Siddhant Sharma LawRato