SEMESTER V

INTERIM REPORT: FAMILY LAW II

“A DAUGHTER’S RIGHT IN FATHER’S PROPERTY: JUDICIAL

ANALYSIS”

SUBMITTED TO:

PROF. TWINKLE MAHESWARY

NMIMS SCHOOL OF LAW

SUBMITTED BY:
RITESH MADRECHA
D007
BBA LL.B.(D)
INTRODUCTION

The Hindu Succession Act 1956 at the time of enactment didn’t have any provision regarding
the rights of daughters in the coparcenary property of their father. The initial belief of the
Hindu Undivided Family was that since daughters get married, they become part of another
family, and hence are not entitled to inherit the coparcenary property of the father’s. Since
then, a string of legislation was passed, and debates on this gender-discriminatory legislation
continue to hit the shore as to why daughters should not be given the same rights as sons in
their father’s property.

In 2005, the Hindu Succession Act was amended to eliminate gender-discriminatory clauses
relating to property rights. In fact, the Supreme Court's decision to provide girls and boys the
same rights was a significant step forward. All daughters, including married daughters, were
included as co-owners in the HUF when a clause that barred daughters' rights from co-
ownership was amended.

People were confused by the Supreme Court's contradictory rulings in the Phulavati v/s
Danamma case. What degree does a daughter have coparcenary rights over her family's
estate? An appeal might now be filed with the Supreme Court. Viveka Sharma v Rakesh
Sharma, the Supreme Court's decision in this case, clarified that a daughter of a combined
Hindu family has the right to inherit coparcenary property.

AIM

The present paper aims to analyse the daughter’s right to property inheritance in her father’s
property, with a primary focus on the persistent gender-discriminatory provisions and
conditions before the implementation of the Hindu Succession Act 2005. For the study
purpose, the paper has provided a detailed overview of the scope of the daughter’s property
rights before and after amendment in the Hindu Succession Act with the help of relevant case
laws. Focus has primarily been laid upon the judicial trend over the years regarding the topic
of the paper.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS

 What are the characteristics of a Hindu Undivided Family vis-à-vis coparcenary?

 What reformations took place regarding the property rights of Hindu women over the
years?

 What are the landmark cases regarding Hindu women’s property right over the years?

 What was the effect of amendment act of 2005 on the position of daughters?

 What were the recent judicial interpretations of sec 6 of the 2005 amendment act?

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

 To identify the important characteristics of a Hindu Undivided Family regarding a

coparcenary.

 To determine the reformations that took place over the years regarding property rights
of a Hindu woman.

 To conduct a judicial analysis of the position of daughters in father’s property through

studying various landmark judgements.

 To investigate the anomaly created over section 6 of the amendment act of 2005.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The researcher would first look into the older laws where, as per Mitakhashara Law, a son
would inherit his deceased father’s property and will have a rightful share in the joint family
property, whereas, the daughter of the deceased father would only get a share out of the
notional partition. Meaning, daughters don’t have the right to inherit the father’s property by
virtue of birth in Mitakashara law. The researcher would then study the position of a
coparcenary in a Hindu Undivided family and analyse the position of both sons and daughters
over time. The paper would then provide an understanding of the reformations that toom
place through the years ending the age-old gender bias in property matters. The most
significant part of this paper would be the analysis of the cases and judgements over the years
which shaped the legislations and current position of a daughter in father’s property. Finally,
the researcher would provide an opinion based on the reforms and judicial trends over the
years, regarding the topic.