Court orders that daughters are entitled to half of their father's property, but when can they not claim the property

"Have you heard that the Supreme Court gave a historic verdict in 2020 to give daughters the right to ancestral property from their birth? Know how Indian law changed the status of daughters' property rights and who gets the real rights!"

In India, whenever a daughter is born in the house, it is considered auspicious and blessed. This saying is often heard that "Lakshmi has come", but when it comes to giving that Lakshmi her rights, many times the society backs off. This situation becomes even more complicated especially about property rights. Daughters should get equal rights in their father's property, but despite this, many times society and family deny this right. In this article, we will know how many rights daughters have in property under Indian law, and when they do not get a chance to present their claim.

Daughters rights on father's property

In India, daughters have had many misconceptions about their property rights since the beginning. Due to this, many times daughters were not given a share in their father's property. However, legal changes have been made in this matter over time. The Hindu Succession Act, implemented in 1956, was amended in 2005, giving daughters equal rights as sons in their father's ancestral property.

This amendment was passed by the Indian Parliament to create a solid legal basis for giving equal rights to daughters. Before 2005, daughters were not considered entitled to property, but this amendment made their rights more clear and considered them completely equal to men.

When daughters cannot claim their father's property

However, in some circumstances, daughters do not get rights over their father's property. If the father transfers his entire property to the son before his death, then in this situation the daughter does not get any kind of right. This situation is related only to the self-acquired property of the father. If the property is ancestral, that is, the father has received that property from his ancestors, then in such a case the father cannot give it away as per his wish. Both the son and the daughter have equal rights over the ancestral property, and they get equal rights.

See also

Provision of rights of daughters in Indian law

Indian law has clear provisions regarding the rights of daughters on property. Under the Hindu Succession Act, daughters get equal rights in their father's ancestral property. Similarly, under Muslim Personal Law, daughters also get rights on ancestral property. On 9 September 2005, Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 was amended to ensure that daughters also have equal rights in their father's property, provided they were alive before the amendment.

Recently, in a landmark decision given by the Supreme Court on 11 August 2020, Vineeta Sharma vs Rakesh Sharma (2020), the court clarified that daughters are entitled to ancestral property from birth. According to this decision, despite the amendment made in 2005, even if the father is not alive, the daughter will still get her rights in the property.

(FAQs)

1. Do daughters have equal rights in their father's property?
2. Yes, under the Hindu Succession Act, daughters have equal rights as sons in their father's ancestral property.
3. Does a daughter also get rights on self-acquired property?
4. If the father has transferred his self-acquired property to the son, then in this case the daughter will not get property rights.
5. Do daughters born before 2005 also have property rights?
6. After the amendment in 2005, daughters got the right to ancestral property from birth, whether they were born earlier or later.

PC:Nebio.in