Daughters’ Property Rights Under the Hindu Succession Act

Abstract

Earlier, daughter in a joint Hindu family had a right to sustenance, but not in the control and ownership of property. Daughters’ right to equality has been recognized by the law by amending the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 by the laudable initiative taken inter alia by the then chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and the recent amendment of 2005 by the central legislature. But, the law has not been effectively implemented inter alia due to the male chauvinism, lack of awareness among the daughters and the greedy attitude of the brothers. The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 — which substituted Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 — came into force on September 9, 2005. However, even after the amended law came into force and the judicial pronouncements are in favor of the Hindu daughter, the daughter has been still neglected at the first instance, in her own natal family and everywhere, because of blatant disregard and unjustified violation of these provisions. If there is no conscious exercise of the right by the people, particularly the daughters, there cannot be effective enforcement of the right created by the law. This paper analyzes the legal position and narrates a typical case study of the factors affecting the Hindu daughter’s claim for the ancestral property.