SC Judgement on Inheritance of Daughters

January 24, 2022

In a significant verdict Supreme Court recently declared that; daughters will be entitled to inherit the properties of the father.

Key Facts

The apex court pronounced that, daughters of a male Hindu, dying intestate, will be entitled to inherit the self-acquired and other properties obtained in partition by the father.
Daughters will also get preference over other collateral members in the family.
As per court, if a property of a male Hindu dying intestate (without a will) is a self-acquired property or it has been obtained in the partition of a coparcenary or a family property, it would devolve by inheritance and not by survivorship. The daughter would be entitled to inherit such property.
Right of a widow or daughter to inherit the self-acquired property or share received in partition of a coparcenary property of a Hindu male dying intestate is well recognized under old customary Hindu Law as well as by several judicial pronouncements.

Background

This Judgement came on a petition filed appeal against the Madras High Court verdict, which dealt with the property rights of Hindu women and widows in accordance with the Hindu Succession Act. Court was dealing with the legal issue related to right of the daughter to inherit self-acquired property of her father, in the absence of any other legal heir.

Act dealing with this provision

Section 14 (I) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 converted all limited estates owned by women into absolute estates. The succession of these properties would take place, in the absence of a will or testament in line with Section 15 of the Act. The main aim of the legislature in enacting section 15(2) of the act is to ensure that, inherited property of a female Hindu dying intestate and issueless goes to the source.

Hindu Succession Act, 1956

The Act was enacted to amend and codify law related to intestate or unwilled succession, among Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs. The Act put forward a uniform and comprehensive system of inheritance and succession into one Act. The act abolished the limited estate of Hindu woman.

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