INDIA. New Delhi. On 11 August, the Apex Court Of India passed the landmark verdict concerning the inheritance of the female child in Hindu Undivided Family properties. In a notable ruling, the Supreme Court Of India averred that daughters are coparceners. They will have an equal share in the Hindu Undivided Family properties even if the father had died before the coming into operation of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act,2005.
The earlier conflict
Sons were always given more weightage than the daughters when it came to receiving genetic properties. The Hindu Succession Act, 1996 was amended on 5 September 2005. The amendment conferred equivalent claims to females in inheriting their parental properties. This reformation was implemented on 9 September 2005. However, the judgment was questionable in cases where the father expired before 2005.
Daughters are coparceners
All clouds of uncertainty were lifted by the Supreme Court of India when the bench comprised of Justice S Abdul Nazeer, Justice Arun Mishra, and Justice M R Shah ruled that the 2005 amendment would have retrospective effect in conferring rights on daughters. If a law is termed retrospective, it has effect from a date in the past before it was approved. This implies that female right over the parental property will stand even if the father died before the implementation of the Hindu Succession Amendment Act in 2005.
A daughter always remains a loving daughter
”Daughters have to be given an equal share of coparcenary rights in the share of property like the son”, Supreme Court Judge, Justice Mishra said while reading out the sentence. Females are now included in coparcenary which indicates that they have a legal right in their ancestral properties by birth. Now daughters, by birth, become a coparcener in the same manner as sons. “A daughter always remains a loving daughter, a son is a son until he gets a wife. A daughter is a daughter throughout her life.”, Justice Arun Mishra said.
A step toward gender equality
In a country like India, people perhaps have a feeling that a woman or girl is someone else’s property. Therefore, she is not liable to receive her hereditary properties. With this striking judgment, the Supreme Court Of India went a step ahead in preserving and defining gender equity.
