Equal Inheritance Right to Daughters in Ancestral Property

In the year 2005, parliament amended the hindu succession Act. It governs on division of property among undevided family. Daughters are being allowed to have equal rights as son. They were made coparcener in the ancestral property. (Who is coparcener? Ans: A coparcener shares with others inheritance in the estate of a common ancestor.) Now the confusion whether this change comes into effect after sept 9 2005 or cases before that. Here supreme court has clarified that it does apply to the cases from before.

Followings are major findings by supreme court:

Section 6 of Hindu consession act confer status of coparcener to a daughter born before or after amendment in same manner as son. Now all the women has rights on ancestral property like brothers do irrespective of their birth date.

Rights can be claimed by daughter for partition which has taken place before 20, Dec 2004. Father of the coparcener need not be alive as on sept 9 2005. Now any case can technically come under this and fresh case can be made.

Daughters to be given share equal to that of son in pending proceedings or in an appeal. Plea of oral partition cannt be accepted based on oral evidence alone. All the pending matters to be decided within six months.

Importance of Daughter’s Death Date on Right

Death Date	Right Status
Before 9th Sep 2005	No
On 9th Sep 2005	Yes
After 9th Sep 2005	Yes

Another aspect, The Hindu Succession Act (amendment) 2005 does not have a retrospective effect. Although a female is entitled to have a share in the coparcenary property irrespective of her year of birth, but the year of death of the father has a paramount importance to determine whether the female/daughter has a right in the coparcenary property. Thus, if the father died before the amendment came into being, the daughter shall not receive the right/share by virtue of merely being born in the coparcenary.

What is your right as a daughter with regards to my father’s property?

You have the same right over your father’s property as your brothers. In case of ancestral property, you have a right to it by virtue of birth and can make a claim over it. In case of self-acquired property, if your father died without a will, you will have an equal right to it as you are a class I heir along with your brothers and mother. Hence, you can file a petition in the court seeking a right to the said property. In case of self-acquired property of a deceased, you can make a claim over it within 3 years from the date of death. If the property is unregistered, you can file a petition in the Court for determination of your right.

We have very few cases where daughters of the family went to court and challanged rights on ancestral properties. It will take a lot of cultral changes in society but if a daughter chose to do so, now this law will back them.