1. Changes brought by Hindu
Succession Amendment Act 2005 in
original Succession Act
BY - ANAND PRATAP
ARYA VASHIST
SHARDA UNIVERSITY
2. This amending Act of 2005 is an attempt to remove the
discrimination as contained in the amended section 6 of the
Hindu Succession Act, 1956 by giving equal rights to
daughters in the Hindu mitakshara coparcenary property as
to sons have. The amended Section 6 deals with devolution
of interest in coparcenary property. Section 6(1) provides
that the daughter of a coparcener in a joint family governed
by the Mitakshara law shall, on and from the date of
commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act,
2005, by birth become a coparcener in her own right in the
same manner as the son
3. She shall have the same rights and be subjected to
the same disabilities in the coparcenary property as
that of a son and any reference to a Hindu
Mitakshara Coparcenary shall be deemed to include
a reference to a daughter of a coparcener. But this
provision does not apply to a married daughter
before the commencement of the Amendment Act,
2005
4. In Porchuri Sambasiva v. Porchari
Srinivassarao (2007) 59 AIC 14 (AP), it was
held that the daughter becomes coparcener
after The Hindu Succession (Amendment)
Act, 2005. The right of a daughter as
coparcener in family property arises only
after 2005 Amendment (Valliamal v.
Muniyappar (2009)
5. This is the product of 174th Report of the
Law Commission of India on "Property Rights
of Women:. 2005 act, by deleting a major
gender discriminatory clause - Section 4 (2) of
the 1956 HSA - has made women's inheritance
rights in agricultural land equal to men's.
7. Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act which
specifies how the property of a female Hindu will
devolve also contains certain discriminatory
provisions. It states that in the absence of class I
heirs( son, daughters & husband) the property of
a female Hindu will go to her husband's heirs and
only if these heirs are not then will the property
devolve upon her mother and father. However, in
the absence of the mother and father, the
property will again devolve upon the heirs of the
father and only if there are no heirs of father will
the property devolve upon the heirs of the
mother.
9. Section 6
Before 2005: Son has independent birth right
inn joint family property as a
coparcener,Daughter can not be coparcener
after 2005: son and daughter both have right
and liability from the date of birth as a
coparcener in joint family property
10. Section 4(2)
before 2005: inheritance of
agricultural land is subject to state
level tenurial laws, and not to the HAS
after 2005: inheritance right in all
agricultural land are subject to the HSA
11. Section 23
before 2005: In a dwelling house where member
are residing no female heir can claim partition
and Daughter have right of residance only when
she is unmarried, deserted, or widowed
after 2005: now daughters (married or
unmarried) have the same right to reside in and
to claim partition of the parental dwelling house
same as son
12. Reference to section 8
before 2005: the class 1 heirs of hindu male include the
children of predeceased children but these are
recognised up to two generation for predeceased son
and up to one generation of predeceased daughter
after 2005: class 1 heirs of hindu male include up to 2
generation of both Son and Daughter
13. SECTION 24
before 2005: A widow is not entitled to inherit the
intestate property as a widow if on the date the
succession popen she has remarried
after 2005: A remaaried widow can inharit the
property even if they remaried
