The Supreme Court today passed a landmark judgement on the Hindu Succession Act, 2005. The apex court ruled that the Act can be applied to daughters who were born prior to 2005 also. According to the ruling, daughters can claim legal rights in a Hindu family property, irrespective of their own date of birth or whether their father was alive in 2005 or not.
Top court rules in favour of daughters’ rights in Hindu Undivided Family properties. Says she will have a share after 2005 amendment
This is irrespective of whether father is alive or not at the time of the 2005 amendment, she will have the coparcenary rights. #propertyrights
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) August 11, 2020
The Supreme Court bench of Justices Arun Mishra, S Abdul Nazeer and MR Shah gave the verdict today while hearing pleas against a Delhi High Court judgement. The order had highlighted two previous contradictory judgements on the matter. One judgement limited the daughter’s right in case of her father’s demise prior to 2005. The other, however, cited equal rights for sons and daughters.
During today’s hearing, the bench said –
“The provisions contained in substituted Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 confer status of coparcener on the daughter born before or after amendment in the same manner as son with same rights and liabilities.”
“Daughters shall remain coparceners throughout their lives”
Justice Mishra referred to an old Irish saying, “A son is a son till he takes him a wife, a daughter is a daughter all of her life,” while commenting on the daughter’s right to remain a coparcener throughout her life.
“Daughters must be given equal rights as sons…The daughter shall remain a coparcener throughout life, irrespective of whether her father is alive or not,” Justice Mishra said. He further added that the law will be applied even in cases where the father passed away before September 9, 2005, when the amendment was implemented.
Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act
The law states –
“On and from the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, in a Joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara law, the daughter of a coparcener shall: (a) by birth become a coparcener in her own right in the same manner as the son; (b) have the same rights in the coparcenary property as she would have had if she had been a son; and (c) be subject to the same liabilities in respect of the said coparcenary property as that of a son.”
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