• Daughters rights on father property share

Two self acquired properties of my father have been divided through partition between me, my brother and father in 2003. My father passed away in 2013 and mother in 2022 and now my sisters are asking for a equal share on the properties.

1. Does my father share pass to my mother and then comes to children's? 
2. Partition happened in 2003 so does daughter's have share in father's share of property.
If yes does my father share equally goes to mother, son's and daughters?
3. Can I get a reference of any supreme court judgment with regards to the above?
Asked 1 month ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu

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12 Answers

Had their been no documentation(in your case the partition deed), the property incase of an intestate death involving an adult married male passes on to:

The class I legal heirs of his mother, wife and children. 

 

I take that your mother and grandmother both aren't surviving as on date; and thus, if we ignore the partition deed for a minute, the property will be divided amongst all the children.

 

Whether or not the claim of your sisters is having any force can be answered only after one goes through the partition deed of 2003 and its contents and nature.  

 

Vibhanshu Srivastava
Advocate, Lucknow
9659 Answers
307 Consultations

1. On the intestate (without executing a WILL) death of your father, the property which he owned, devolves equally to your paternal grandmother -if alive, your mother,  you and your other brothers and sisters.

2.  Yes, daughters have rightful and equal share on par with other legal heirs in deceased father's share of the property. In case of intestate death of your father, in the instant case assuming that your paternal grandmother is not alive, his share in the property devolves equally to your mother, brothers  and sisters.

3.  As per the Hindu Succession Act 1956 and its subsequent amendment in 2005.

Shashidhar S. Sastry
Advocate, Bangalore
5408 Answers
329 Consultations

1) Yes, if the partition deed is not registered then it will go to all legal heirs name in that first holder will be your mother and other's.

 

2) If the partition deed is registered in the year 2003, then your sister don't have any rights.

 

3) Yes, you can get it. It's chargeable.

Ganesh Kadam
Advocate, Pune
12987 Answers
262 Consultations

Father share devices your mother and children equally 

 

2) since father died intestate his share devolves on his class 1 legal heirs 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
96917 Answers
7819 Consultations

Mother and all children equally. 

Yes

 

Yogendra Singh Rajawat
Advocate, Jaipur
22991 Answers
31 Consultations

1. As per law, after the demise of your father , his property would be devolved upon all his legal heirs equally. 

- Since, the said properties were divided between you, brother and father , and hence after the demise of father intestate his share will also be divided between you and sister equally 

- Hence, your sister has equal right over the share of father , and your children having no right. 

2. Yes, even though sister has her right if just after demise of your father , the property was not shared between you and mother. 

Mohammed Shahzad
Advocate, Delhi
14495 Answers
221 Consultations

1. If the partition was done by a registered deed during the lifetime of your deceased father then the claim made by your sisters is not maintainable in law.

2. If there was a share allotted to your father in the partition then his share of property will again devolve equally on all his legal heirs.

3. This is position of law.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
87118 Answers
2338 Consultations

1. After your father's death, in the absence of any Will, his estate shall devolve equally on all his legal heirs, you and your brothers and sisters. This applies only to his partitioned share.

2. Yes, as regards his divided share after the partition in 2003.

3. This is in accordance with Sec-8 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, which is very clear on intestate succession in respect of a male.

Swaminathan Neelakantan
Advocate, Coimbatore
2910 Answers
20 Consultations

1 & 2. If your father has died intestate, his property or his share of the property will be equally inherited by all his legal heirs being your mother, his sons and his daughter (considering that his mother has already died).

 

3. It has been mentioned in Hindu Succession Act.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27457 Answers
726 Consultations

 

1. The share will be bequeathed equally to all legal heirs. i.e. on your father property - your mother and childrens has equal rights and share under Hindu Succession Act

2. before answering to the second question i just want to know whether the partition is registered or oral agreement?

if it is a registered one, only the parties in the partition documents has exclusive rights, if not an registered one, share and rights goes equally to all legal heirs.

3. Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020): The Supreme Court held that daughters have equal coparcenary rights in Hindu joint family property by birth, irrespective of whether the father was alive or not at the time of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005. This decision emphasized that daughters have the same rights as sons in ancestral property.

Shiva Bharathy
Advocate, Chennai
102 Answers
1 Consultation

Dear Client,

In the Present Scenario, there are two self-acquired properties of your father that have been divided in partition between you, your brother and your father, in 2003. Your father passed away in 2013 and your mother in 2022, and presently your sisters are asking for an equal share in the properties. Under the Hindu Succession Act, when a Hindu male dies, his property usually goes on to his legal heirs. However, it does not automatically pass on to your mother unless the same has been mentioned in his will. With respect to rights of daughters, according to the amendment made in 2005, married daughters are given a right in the father's property, in the same way as that of unmarried daughters. But, usually the property would be divided equally among all the legal heirs, including your mother, sons, and daughters. Arunachala Gounder (Dead) By Lrs v. Ponnusamy (2022) is one case where such a ruling was held by the Supreme Court. 

Hope you find this answer beneficial for resolving the dispute.

Anik Miu
Advocate, Bangalore
10159 Answers
119 Consultations

Daughter’s Right in Property

Background on Property Rights in India

Since medieval times till early 1900, Property Rights in India were governed by laws that differed from religion to religion,These property rights differed from region to region. 

 

Property Rights of Hindus before 1956, were governed by customary laws & Shashtric laws, these laws varied in some regions of India on caste basis. Mitakshara School of Thought largely governed the Hindu Property Rights.

Property rights of Hindus, Sikh, Jain & Buddhist after 1956, were governed by The Hindu Succession Act, 1956. 

 

Property rights of Muslims, were largely governed by the imams , imams relied upon the sources of law which the prophet himself directed, some of which are The Qur'an, Sunna or Ahadis, Ijma & Qiyas. Muslim Law is still largely uncodified, & for the said reason courts rely upon the primary sources of Shia Law & the sources above mentioned. Property Rights of Muslim married under The Special Marriage Act, 1954 are not governed by Muslim Law for the purpose of inheritance, instead it is governed by Indian Succession Act, 1925.

 

Property Rights of Persons of other religions were also customary in past but after 1925, Property Rights are governed by Indian Succession Act, 1925.

 

Daughter’s Right in Property under Hindu Succession Act, 1956

The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, divided property under to subsets, which were self acquired property & ancestral property. Before The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, ancestral property was inherited as the Survivor-ship rule.As per the survivor-ship rule, coparceners were the persons having right over the ancestral property. As per The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 at that time, coparcners were those who were lenial descendants of the same ancestor, till 3 generations next to holder. The flaw in this provision was that it only allowed the male descendants of an ancestor to become coparceners, and in turn the right in inheriting the property were only given to males. This restricted right to inherit property of any female from Hindu, Sikh, Jain & Buddhist communities.

 

In 2005, to curb this discrimination, The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 amended the provisions of The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, including Section 6 of The Hindu Succession Act, 1956.The said amendment deleted the Survivor-ship rule. The said amendment bought Intestate Rule for Ancestral Property or when the person dies without will & Testamentary Rule for Self Acquired Property. According to this, a person can give his or her self acquired property by the way of will(testament) to any person. In the case of ancestral property or when a person dies without will, intestate rules govern the inheritance given to the coparceners. Intestate rule create 4 classes of persons as coparceners, which are to be given equal amount of share in property among the classes. These classes include both male & female members of the family, with daughters included in the Class 1 Persons. This rule made daughters coparceners from birth & gave them equal liability. 

 

Confusions in the Implementation of The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005

The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, came into force from 9 September, 2005. Soon after the enforcement date, while implementation of the provisions of the said amendment, judicial minds started to ponder over the question, as to whether on 9 September, 2005, it is necessary for the father to be alive for daughter to claim its right in ancestral property?

 

In 2016, the above question was answered for the first time by a Supreme Court Bench in the case of Prakash & Ors. V. Phulavati & Ors. The two judge bench headed by Honourable Justice Anil Dave & Honourable Justice A.K. Goyal, held that for a daughter to claim its right in property, father needs to be alive on 9 September, 2005. As per this judgement, both coparcener and his daughter needs to be alive on 9 September, 2005 for the daughters right in property. This judgement restricted the daughters right in property, where the coparcener has expired before September 9, 2005. 

 

In 2018, the above question was again put before a Supreme Court Bench in the case of Danamma& Ors. V. Amar & Ors.. The two judge bench headed by Honourable Justice A.K. Sikri & Honourable Justice Ashok Bhushan, held that for a daughter to claim its right in property, father need not be alive as on September 9, 2005. As per this judgement, even though the coparcener have expired before September 9, 2005 in 2001(in this case), prior to the amendment in The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the daughter can claim its right in her property. This judgement gave every daughter right to claim its right in the property.

 

The judgments, given in Prakash & Ors. V. Phulavati & Ors & Danamma& Ors. V. Amar & Ors., were giving conflicting opinions and no judgement was able to supersede the other judgement by authority, as both judgments were given by two judge Supreme Court Bench.

 

 The confusion created by these two judgments continued till 2020. In 2020, the question as to whether on 9 September, 2005, it is necessary for the father to be alive for daughter to claim its right in ancestral property, was again put before The Supreme Court in the case of Vineeta Sharma V. Rakesh Sharma & Ors. but this time the question was answered by a three judge bench, comprising of Honourable Justice Arun Mishra, Honourable Justice S. Abdul Nazeer & Honourable Justice M.R. Shah. The court held that Daughter’s Right in Coparcenary Property given under Section 6 of The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, for daughters born before September 9, 2005 has same rights as for daughters born on or after September 9,2005. The court further said that, the necessity of the father to be alive on September 9, 2005 is irrelevant and not required, as the daughter is alive on the September 9, 2005, she becomes coparcener from the date of amendment,I.e. September 9, 2005. The said amendment to Section 6 of The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, give status of coparcener to daughters born before or on or after September 9, 2005 in the same way it grant the status of coparcener to sons. As coparcener status under Section 6 of The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, is granted by birth it is not necessary for father of daughters to be alive on the  said date of amendment, I.e. September 9, 2005. This judgement ended the confusion and finally gave daughters their right in property.

 

The above judgement of Vineeta Sharma V. Rakesh Sharma & Ors., were relating to coparcenary/ ancestral property & not the self acquired property of father. Thus, the battle for rights were still not over.

 

In 2022, the question of daughters right in self acquired property was properly answered by the Supreme Court in the case of Arunachala Gounder (Dead) by Lrs VPonnusamy & Ors.. The two judge bench headed by Honourable Justice S. Abdul Nazeer & Honourable Justice Krishna Murari, held that  self acquired property of male dying intestate would be inherited by testament, and not secession & daughters will have right to inherit the said property or property obtained in partition in case of male expiring without testament or invalid testament. When female is expired instate without any children, then ancestral property inherited from father, the said property will be inherited by fathers heir in accordance with intestate rules. When a female is expired instate without any children, the ancestral property inherited from husband’s side, the said property will be inherited by husband’s heir in accordance with intestate rules. Thus, with this judgement daughters got their right in property.

Kishan Dutt Kalaskar
Advocate, Bangalore
6179 Answers
490 Consultations

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