Changes in female’s property right under Hindu Succession Act

The major changes in women’s property rights under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, occurred with the amendment in 2005. The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 brought about significant modifications, particularly in the context of daughters’ inheritance rights. Here are the key changes:

Equal Inheritance Rights for Daughters:

1. Coparcenary Rights: Before the 2005 amendment, only sons had coparcenary rights in a Hindu joint family. The daughter was not considered a coparcener and did not have a birthright to ancestral property.
2. Amendment of Section 6: The 2005 amendment amended Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, granting equal rights to daughters in the ancestral property. Now, daughters are coparceners by birth and have the same rights and liabilities as sons.
3. Equal Share: Daughters have the right to inherit ancestral property on an equal footing with sons. The amendment aimed to eliminate the gender-based discrimination in matters of inheritance.

Applicability:

1. Retroactive Application: The amendment is retrospective, meaning it applies to daughters born before or after the enactment of the amendment. This ensures that even daughters who were born before 2005 have a share in the ancestral property.
2. Living Daughters: The amendment applies to daughters who are alive as of September 9, 2005, the date when the amendment came into effect. Living daughters are entitled to claim their share in the ancestral property.

Implications:

1. Partition and Alienation: Daughters, as coparceners, have the right to ask for partition of the ancestral property and can also alienate their share.
2. Survivorship: In case of the death of a coparcener daughter, her share in the ancestral property will devolve by testamentary or intestate succession.

Streedhan and Other Rights:

1. Streedhan: While the Hindu Succession Act primarily deals with inheritance, the concept of ‘Stridhan’ (woman’s own property) remains under other family and marriage laws.
2. Rights in Parental Property: The daughter’s rights under the Hindu Succession Act are distinct from the rights she may have in her parents’ self-acquired property.