Hindu Succession Act
The amendments to the act has empowered women and helped in building a fair society.
Hindu Succession Act
The Hindu Succession Act of 1956 is a significant legislation in India that governs the inheritance and succession rights of Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs. Under this Act, there are two main types of properties: Self-Acquired and Ancestral property. A will can only be written for Self-Acquired property, allowing the individual to specify how they want their assets distributed after their demise.
The concept of Coparceners is significant in the Act, referring to family members with rights on the ancestral property. In the original act, only male lineal descendants, including sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons, had coparcenary rights, granting them the ability to inherit ancestral property. This is commonly known as the Survivorship Rule.
Prior to the 2005 amendment, female descendants had no legal claim to the ancestral property of the family.
In the case of Self-Acquired property, if an individual passes away without leaving a will (Intestate), female descendants have inheritance rights in the property. This means that in the absence of a will, the property will be distributed among the legal heirs, including daughters, as per the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act.
The 2005 amendment was a significant step towards promoting gender equality.
2005 Amendment
The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 was discriminatory as it did not consider women as coparceners to inherit the ancestral property like the male members of the family. The act was amended in 2005 to address various gender inequalties.
The amendment updated Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act to provide coparcenary rights to the daughters from birth, thus enabling her to inherit ancestral property similar to sons. A daughter is entitled to demand a partition of the HUF and dispose off her share in the coparcenary property at her own will. Daughters also have the same liability as the sons.
Enforcement date for the amendment was set to be 9 September 2005.
Further Development
In the case of Prakash and others v. Phulavati (2016), the apex court ruled that if a coparcener(father) had passed away prior to Sept 9, 2005, the living daughter of the coparcener would have no right to coparcenary property in such case.
In another case of Danamma v. Amar (2018), the Supreme Court held that if the father passed away prior to date 09.09.2005 (the date on which amendment came) and a prior suit is pending for partition by a male coparcener, the female coparceners will be entitled to a share.
These two cases created an era of confusion on the interpretation of Section 6 of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005.
In the case of Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma 2020 the bench the Supreme Court ruled that daughters have an equal right in the parental property the same as the son, even if the father died before the Hindu succession (amendment) act 2005.
It also held that the rights under the amendment are applicable to living daughters of living coparceners as on the date 09.09.2005, irrespective of when such daughters are born.
The Repealing and Amending Act, 2015
The Repealing and Amending Act of 2015 does not take away the coparcenary rights of daughters.
The Repealing and Amending Act preserves the coparcenary rights of daughters, which were granted by the amendments made to the Hindu Succession Act in 2005. Rather than taking away these rights, the Repealing and Amending Act incorporates the 2005 amendments into the main Act, with a retrospective effect from the Act’s inception in 1956. This means that the amended provision is treated as if it were in effect since 1956.
In summary, the Repealing and Amending Act of 2015 safeguards and reinforces the coparcenary rights of daughters, ensuring that the amendments made in 2005 are legally recognized from the Act’s commencement in 1956. This is based on the Karnataka High Court judgement on September 2015 in Smt. Lokmani Vs Smt. Mahadevamma.
Cutover Date – 20 Dec 2004
In the Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma case in 2020, the Supreme Court of India ruled that any partition that occurred before 20 December 2004 cannot be reopened or challenged, even if female heirs were excluded from inheriting ancestral property at that time. This means that any property divisions or partitions that were legally executed before the specified date will remain valid and cannot be questioned based on gender discrimination or the rights of female heirs.
Loose your share
Women heirs can voluntarily give up or relinquish their share in the inheritance by signing a relinquishing deed or a similar document. This process is known as “relinquishment” or “waiver” of inheritance rights. The arrangement could be formalized through a written document or even through an oral agreement followed by formal registration.
It is essential for individuals, especially women, to be aware of the implications of relinquishing their inheritance rights. Once these rights are given away, it can indeed be challenging to reclaim them. Therefore, it is crucial for individuals to seek legal advice and fully understand the consequences of their actions before making such decisions.
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