Daughters cannot inherit ancestral property if father died before 2005

Initially, the Hindu Succession Act 1956 gave the sons the right to be coparceners since birth. Only the sons had a right in the ancestral property since birth and could ask for partition of the HUF (Hindu Undivided Family) property and a share in such property. The daughters had no right to be coparceners and could not ask for partition. They were only considered as members of the HUF and could only seek maintenance from the HUF property. Moreover, they even lost this right once they got married, after which a woman was supposed to become a part of her husband’s family.
 

Changes in the Hindu Succession Law after 2005

It was after the Amendment of the Hindu Succession Act on September 9 2005, which brought about positive changes ensuring equality between the sons and daughters. The 2005 amendment gave the daughters equal rights as that of the sons, i.e. right of coparcenary since birth, along with the right to ask for partition and the right to equal share in ancestral property as that of the sons. Every daughter, whether married or unmarried, is now considered a member of her father’s HUF and can even be appointed a ‘Karta’ for his HUF property. Not just rights, the daughter even gets the same duties, liabilities and disabilities that were earlier limited to just the sons in the HUF.
 

Question of Daughter Inheriting HUF Property of Father if he dies before 2005

The Supreme Court declared that the coparcener rights after the year 2005 would be applicable to “living daughters of living coparceners as on 9th September, 2005, irrespective of when such daughters are born”.

The Supreme Court has now recently clarified and added the restriction that the daughter can only hold the right to the ancestral property if it is the case that the father died after the amendment of 2005. If the father died before the amendment of 2005, the daughter would not get the benefit of the amendment provisions of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005.

In other words, the Amendment Act has no retrospective effect and for the daughter to be a coparcener and to get right of equal share in the property, the father would have to be alive till September 2005.

To answer the query, you being a daughter cannot claim right in ancestral property since your father passed away before 2005 i.e. before the date of the amendment.