Women’s Right to Inherit Property

The laws of inheritance applicable in India for Hindus dying intestate i.e. without leaving behind a will, are covered by the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') and amended over the years by the government to evolve into the state in which it exists today. There are several concepts associated with the Hindu inheritance laws which one must appreciate to understand the position of women and the rights guaranteed to them by provisions of the Act, such as:-
The term 'Hindu' as under the Act - the Act is applicable to all 'Hindus' where the term has been expanded to include all its forms or developments including Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, and also followers of Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj. Essentially the act applies to everyone who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi, or Jew by religion.
Coparcener - a coparcener is a person who acquires an interest or right to in property of the Hindu undivided family ('HUF') at birth. Thus, a coparcener has a right to inherit the property of his family simply by virtue of being born into the family.
Classification of heirs under the Act - The act classifies the various relatives of the deceased Hindu into different classes of heirs and provides the preferential order in which property is to be inherited by each class.
 

Daughters' right to father's property under the Act

When the Act first came into force, its provisions did not bestow the benefits of coparcenary upon daughters, thus only boys born into the family had an automatic right to the properties of the HUF. However, by an important amendment passed in 2005, the Act extended the title and benefits of coparcenary to women as well, giving them the same privileges as that of a son. Therefore, after the amendment, both sons and daughters were given the right of inheritance in the property of their deceased parents in equal shares. An important aspect of the amendment which was a point of contention among various courts of the country was the retrospective applicability of the amendment. The Indian judiciary was split on the issue of whether the amendment would only apply to cases of intestate death of Hindus after 09.09.2005 (date when the amendment came into force) or to cases prior to such date as well. Therefore, to bring clarity and finality to this question, the matter was referred to a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court which in August 2020 has settled the law on this issue. The outcome of the court ruling has extended the benefits of the 2005 amendment and coparcenary to all women irrespective of the date on which the amendment was brought into force. Thus, as the law stands today, daughters have equal rights of inheritance as that sons born as coparceners into the family.

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Are there any specific rules that apply only to properties left behind by women?

A property left behind by a woman should be divided equally among her children and her husband. If a child had already passed away, then that child's share would be divided between his children. If there is no spouse, child, or grandchild alive then the property would be divided between her parents. If her parents have also passed away then the property would be divided between the heirs of her parents.
 

Widow's right in her husband's property under the Act

The Hindu Succession Act of 1956 , Section 10, talks about how property is distributed when a husband passes away intestate. It says that property will be divided amongst the heirs of class I, where Rule 1 states that a widow of the deceased, or all widows, if more than one widow survives, shall receive one share. If a man dies intestate, and there are two widows, and one son, then the heirs of Class I will take all the property at once, and exclude everyone else. According to Rule 1 of Section 10, the two widows will each receive one half of the property and the son the other. When a husband passes away intestate, leaving two widows but no sons, they both inherit the property in an equal share. Both of them will be entitled to a half share if there is no other Class 1 heir. Remarried widows can retain their share of the deceased husband's estate. The Supreme Court of India ruled in 2008 that a widow can't be denied a share of her deceased husband's wealth if she remarries. According to this ruling, the widow is an absolute owner of her husband's assets to the extent her share under Hindu Succession Acts 1956 will prevail over the Hindu Widow's Remarriage Act 1856. The Supreme Court of India disagreed with the provisions of Hindu Widow's Remarriage Act of 1856, which stated that any rights or interests a widow might have in the property of her deceased husband, whether by way of inheritance or maintenance, would cease and be set aside upon her remarriage. In its ruling, the Supreme Court noted that the Hindu Succession Amendment Act had brought about a major change in Shastri Hindu Law and made Hindu widows equally eligible in matters of succession and inheritance with male heirs. The Apex Court ruled that section 4 of the Hindu Marriage Act  would override any Hindu law, including the Hindu Widow's Remarriage Act.

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Advocate Chikirsha Mohanty

Greater Kailash - 1, Delhi
5 years

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