Daughter entitled to equal share in Hindu Undivided Family: Kerala HC

In a landmark verdict strengthening women’s rights in ancestral property, the Kerala High Court has recently ruled that a daughter of a Hindu father who died after December 20, 2004, is entitled to an equal share in Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) property, under the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005.

The court held that Sections 3 and 4 of the Kerala Joint Hindu Family System (Abolition) Act 1975 are repugnant to Section 6 of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, and hence, cannot prevail.

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A single bench of Justice Easwaran S held that the 2005 amendment grants daughters coparcenary rights by birth, which the Kerala law fails to recognize. The Court stated that from 20 December 2004 onwards, daughters in Kerala have equal rights in ancestral property unless a partition occurred before that date.

“On and from the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment Act), 2005, daughter of a Hindu, who dies after 20.12.2004, in the State of Kerala is entitled to equal share in the ancestral property, subject to the exception provided under sub-Section (5) of Section 6 and the Explanation to sub-Section (5) of Section 6,” the court said.

The judgment opened with a verse which likened daughters to Goddess Lakshmi. Justice Easwaran S also quoted a verse in ‘Skanda Purana’ that “One daughter is equal to ten sons. Whatever ‘phala’ (merits, good results) a person attains by siring and upbringing ten sons, the same ‘phala’ is attained by begetting a single daughter.” The statement, however, does not always stand as a true reflection of a daughter’s right when it comes to the right of inheritance to her father’s property, said the court.

The court issued the order in a petition filed by N P Rajani and her three sisters from Kozhikode, who sought their rightful share in the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) property after their father died in 2005. Their brother, citing a will executed by the father in his favour, argued that her claim was barred by the 1975 Kerala Joint Hindu Family System (Abolition) Act, which abolished the joint family system in the state.