19/08/2020
EDUCATIONAL POST SERIES!
WHICH CONTROVERSY LED TO THE RECENT SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT ON THE PROPERTY RIGHTS OF HINDU WOMEN?
(Part 3)
As discussed in Part 2 to this series of posts, some amendments were made in the Hindu Succession Act, 1955 in 2005, which was enforced on 09-09-2005.
Then, there was a confusion in the application of the amendment, i.e. whether the father must be alive on 09-09-2005 to be able to make his daughter also one of the heirs of the ancestral property? This was the controversy.
And it was first talked about in the case, PRAKASH v/s PHULVATI in 2016. The two Judge Bench of the Supreme Court held that the father must be alive on 09-09-2005, otherwise the daughter(s) would not be entitled to rights in the ancestral property.
Then the question was dealt in the case, DANAMMA v/s AMAR in 2018. Another two Judge Bench of the SC held that a daughter is entitled to ancestral property even if father is not alive on 09-09-2005.
Two contradicting judgements by SC, so, confusion was bound to arise, which was finally cleared by the SC in its much talked about recent judgement on the matter.
The case is, VINEETA SHARMA v/s RAKESH SHARMA (2020)
A triple Judge Bench of the SC has held that a daughter's right to ancestral property is BY BIRTH, just like that of a son.
The question of father being alive or not on 09-09-2005 need not arise.
PS. Hindus here include Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs.