India apex court gives equal inheritance right to daughters |
In a landmark judgment on Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India has ruled that daughters will have inheritance rights equal to those of sons from properties of fathers and grandfathers right from the codification of the law in 1956. Putting to rest the male dominance in division of Hindu ancestral property, the Supreme Court cleared the legal cobwebs to declare that daughters will have inheritance rights equal to those of sons from properties of fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers right from the codification of the law in 1956. A bench of Justices Arun Mishra, S Abdul Nazeer and M R Shah ironed out the confusion arising from the apex court`s conflicting interpretations of the amended Section 6 of Hindu Succession Act, which came into force from September 9, 2005. The bench said whether the father was alive or not, daughters born before September 9, 2005, too could claim equal right in inheritance. In a 121-page judgement, Justice Mishra said, “The provisions contained in substituted Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, confer status of coparcener (equal rights in inheritance) on the daughter born before or after amendment in the same manner as son with same rights and liabilities. The rights can be claimed by the daughter born earlier with effect from September 9, 2005.”
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