Women

According to Section 6 of the amended Hindu Succession Act (2005), daughters have the same rights and responsibilities as male heirs within the family. They hold equal entitlement to the family’s assets and property. Section 23 of the act, which prevented female heirs from seeking division of joint family homes, has been repealed, giving them the right to request such divisions.

In the absence of a will, the Hindu Succession Act mandates equal distribution of property between female and male heirs. However, if a will exists and female heirs have been unjustly deprived of their rightful share, legal recourse is possible. Seeking advice from a knowledgeable lawyer is advisable to challenge such instances, potentially resulting in the nullification of the unfair will.

The landmark Supreme Court ruling in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma established a significant precedent. It affirmed that the coparcenary rights of daughters are formed by birth and are not dependent on whether the father coparcener is alive or deceased at the time of the amendment’s implementation. This ruling overturned the previous judgment in Phulvati v. Prakash, clarifying the transfer of coparcenary rights from father to daughter.

The Supreme Court’s interpretation deems the implications of Section 6 retroactive rather than prospective. It establishes that daughters are granted coparcenary status from November 9, 2005, the amendment’s effective date, with their birth being the determining factor. This retroactivity reflects the understanding that the rights would not exist without the daughters’ births, which occurred in the past.

These legal provisions and case law developments reinforce the importance of daughters’ equal inheritance rights and set precedents for ensuring fairness in inheritance practices.