Rights in land of my grandfather

753 votes

The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, was a pivotal change that granted daughters equal rights to ancestral property, similar to sons. This amendment ensured that daughters became coparceners by birth, allowing them to inherit, claim, and seek partition of ancestral property. The Supreme Court of India has reinforced this principle of gender equality through several key judgments: 1. Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020): The Court clarified that a daughter’s right to ancestral property is by birth and is not contingent upon the father’s survival as of the date of the 2005 amendment. This means that daughters have equal rights irrespective of whether their father was alive on September 9, 2005.  2. Arunachala Gounder v. Ponnusamy (2022): The Supreme Court held that a father’s self-acquired property would devolve upon his daughter in the absence of any other legal heir, further solidifying the daughter’s inheritance rights.  3. K.C. Laxmana v. K.C. Chandrappa Gowda (2022): The Court emphasized that a Hindu father or any other managing member of a Hindu Undivided Family has the power to gift ancestral property only for a ‘pious purpose,’ such as charitable or religious reasons. A gift made out of ‘love and affection’ does not qualify under this exception, thereby protecting the interests of all rightful heirs, including daughters.  These judgments collectively ensure that daughters have equal rights to inherit ancestral property, aligning with the constitutional mandate of gender equality.

Advocate Mahendrakumar S Sonawane LawRato