Supreme Court: When a daughter is born in a house, she is considered a form of Lakshmi. But when it comes to her rights, especially property rights, double standards are seen in the society.
The tendency to deprive daughters of their rights is seen more especially in the case of property. Many people do not know what rights are given to daughters in the law in the father’s property and under what circumstances they can be deprived of this right.
Daughters rights on father’s property
Many important laws have been made in India to give daughters their rights in property. Earlier there were no clear guidelines in this regard, due to which daughters were not able to get proper rights in property. The Hindu Succession Act, implemented in 1956, was amended in 2005 and daughters were given equal rights as sons in ancestral property.
Under this law, daughters have been given the same rights on their father’s property as sons. Earlier this right was limited to only male heirs, but after the amendment made in 2005, it was extended to daughters as well. This law ensures that daughters also have rights on their father’s ancestral property by birth.
When daughters cannot get rights in father’s property
However, daughters cannot inherit their father’s property under certain circumstances. A common situation is that the father has distributed his property before his death. If the father has given his self-acquired property to a particular heir, then the daughter cannot claim it.
But this condition applies only to self-acquired property. If the property is ancestral, that is, the father has inherited it from his ancestors, then the father cannot give it to any one heir. In such a situation, both the daughter and the son get equal rights.
Property rights of daughters in Indian law
According to the Hindu Succession Act of India, daughters also have equal rights in ancestral property. Similarly, in Muslim Personal Law, daughters and other women of the family have been given property rights.
Earlier, under the Hindu Succession Act, women were given rights only in the ancestral property of their husband and in-laws. But now they can get equal rights in their father’s property as well.
On 9 September 2005, Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 was amended, according to which if the father was alive till 9 September 2005, the daughter can also acquire rights in his property.
Landmark decision of the Supreme Court
On 11 August 2020, the Supreme Court delivered a historic judgment in the case of Vineeta Sharma vs Rakesh Sharma (2020) SC 641. In this judgment, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court clarified that a daughter gets the right to her father’s ancestral property from birth. In this judgment, it was said that whether the father is alive or not on the date of the 2005 amendment is irrelevant. That is, a daughter is the heir to her father’s property from birth and she can claim this right only from the date of the 2005 amendment.
Even though there may be many misconceptions in the society about the property rights of daughters, Indian law has clarified their rights. After the amendment of 2005 and the decision of the Supreme Court of 2020, daughters cannot be deprived of their rights. It has been ensured that daughters will also get the same rights in their father’s property as sons get. Despite this, due to lack of awareness in the society, many daughters are still deprived of their rights. In such a situation, it is important that they understand their legal rights and take appropriate steps for their rights.
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