Property Rights: Only coparceners are entitled to inherit property in Hindu families. Before the 2005 amendment, daughters were not considered coparceners and therefore received no share in the property. Following the 2005 law change, daughters gained equal rights as sons.
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Property Rights: For a long time, there has been confusion about whether daughters have an equal share in their family or their father’s property. However, amendments to the Hindu Succession Act have given daughters equal rights in their father’s property. The question arises: are daughters born before the enactment of this law in 1956 eligible for an equal share in the property of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)?
What does the law say?
According to a Mumbai-based CA and CFP, only coparceners are entitled to property in Hindu families. Before the 2005 amendment, daughters were not considered property heirs and therefore received no share. After the 2005 law change, daughters gained equal rights as sons, but many confusions still remain regarding this amendment, such as:
- Was it necessary for the father to be alive on September 9, 2005?
- Will only daughters born after September 9, 2005, be considered coparceners, or will daughters who were alive on that day also be entitled?
The Supreme Court Clears the Picture
After numerous cases were fought in various High Courts across the country, the Supreme Court delivered its verdict in the Vineeta Sharma case on August 11, 2020. The Supreme Court ruled that all daughters alive on September 9, 2005, are entitled to the benefits under the amended law and are therefore considered heirs to the property, regardless of whether the father was alive on the date the amendment came into effect. This means that all daughters born before or after the enactment of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, are entitled to an equal share. According to the Supreme Court’s decision, daughters’ share in the HUF property will be equal to that of their brothers.
