PROPERTY AND INHERITANCE RIGHTS LAWS FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
Laws in a patriarchal society are based on gender and the property and inheritance laws for women in India have traditionally been exploitative. It was post-independence and more so, in recent times that things started looking up. Since there is no Uniform Civil Code in India, hence claims on property and inheritance depend on the claimants’ faith. However, inheritance laws for women, whether they belong to any faith, community or sect, provide for women in a slightly different manner than men. Recent amendments in Hindu inheritance laws for women have brought some respite to daughters and wives. The Islamic Laws for women are however different and more rigid, and recent times have brought certain limited changes, though not pertaining to inheritance or property rights. Christian laws are more liberal.
However each faith has its own set of rules. There is The Hindu Succession Act 2005, The Hindu Succession Act 1956, and Hindu Succession Amendment Act 2005. Then there is the Muslim Personal Law Application Act 1937 and The Indian Succession Act 1925. Here we will refer to them as – Hindu Law, Muslim Law and Christian Law. Hindu Law is applicable on Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs. You may understand inheritance laws for women and their rights over ancestral property better at the end of the article.
The woman performs the role of wife, partner, organiser, administrator, director, re-creator, disburser, economist, mother, disciplinarian, teacher, health officer, artist and queen in the family at the same time. Apart from it, a woman plays a vital role in the socio-economic development of the society.
PROPERTY AND INHERITANCE LAWS FOR WOMEN UNDER HINDU LAW:
Property laws for women have undergone a lot of changes since olden times. Even after independence and framing of the rulebooks, various amendments have brought women’s rights at par with that of the males in the patriarchy. Currently, the inheritance laws for women of the Hindu faith stand as stated below.
- PROPERTY RIGHTS OF DAUGHTER:
As per the amendment made to Hindu Succession Act, 1956, in 2005 daughters have been given the legal right to get an equal share in ancestral property. This law was made in 1956 for the provision of claiming rights on property. After the 2005 amendment, the daughter also will have an equal right on the father’s coparcenary property (ancestral property of a Hindu undivided family) as the son. A daughter stands to inherit an equal share of the parental (father’s as well as mother’s) property, like her siblings. She is a coparcener in the ancestral property as her brothers and shares the same liabilities towards this said property. A married daughter can ask for maintenance or shelter in her parents’ residence if she is widowed, divorced or deserted. Once she attains adulthood, a daughter has complete rights over any property or asset that is gifted or Willed to her. However, if the father is alive and has transferred his self-acquired property to the sons or grandsons, then the daughters have no right to claim it. If the father died and the property has been transferred through a will, then the daughter may challenge that will in court on valid ground if any. But, if the father has died without writing a will, then the daughters have the equal rights in the property of the deceased father like the sons.
A daughter can acquire, hold, and dispose of, Property at par with any other man. Today, there are practically no restrictions on a woman’s capacity to acquire, hold, and dispose of, her Property.
Even in case of a married daughter who has died, her children are entitled to the shares that she would have received, if she was alive on the date of the partition. In case none of her children are alive on the day of partition, the grandchildren will be entitled to the shares that the daughter would have received on partition.
However, a daughter cannot gift her share in the HUF property while she is alive but she can give away her share in an HUF property by way of a will. If she dies without leaving a will, her share in the joint property will not devolve on other members of the HUF but pass on to her legal heirs.
August 11, 2020: In a landmark judgement, on August 11, 2020, the Supreme Court has held that daughters will have coparcenary rights on their father’s property, even if the latter died before the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, became effective. The SC’s observation came, while clearing the air on conflicting decisions given by courts in India in the past.
- PROPERTY RIGHTS OF A WIFE:
According to Hindu Succession Law, a married woman has total rights over her personal property that she can sell/gift/dispose of as per her wish. She is eligible for shelter, support and maintenance from her husband and his family in case of a HUF (Hindu Undivided Family). In the case of the division of property between her husband and her children, she also gets an equal share as others. And in case of her husband’s death, she is entitled to an equal share of the husband’s assets divided between her, her children and his mother.
Under the Hindu Marriage Act, a wife has the right to reside in her husband’s home or “matrimonial home” even if the property is owned by the husband. In case of a divorce or separation, the wife is entitled to claim maintenance from the husband, and she can also claim a share in the husband’s property, including self-acquired and ancestral property. In case the husband passes away, the wife has the right to a share in his property under the Hindu Succession Act, along with his other legal heirs.
Under Hindu Law, a wife has a right to claim a share in her husband’s ancestral property. The Hindu Succession Act of 1956 provides that a wife has an equal share as that of a son in ancestral property. However, this right only applies to properties that are ancestral and not to properties that have been self-acquired by the husband.
Under Muslim Personal Law, a wife has limited rights on her husband’s property. She is entitled to receive her dower (Mahr) from her husband, but she does not have a share in her husband’s property. However, she can claim maintenance from her husband, and she has the right of residence in her husband’s home during the subsistence of marriage.
Under Christian Personal Law, a wife has the right to claim maintenance from her husband, but she does not have a share in her husband’s property. However, she may be entitled to a share in the property under the Indian Succession Act, in case her husband passes away intestate (without leaving a will).
- PROPERTY RIGHTS OF A MOTHER:
A mother is a Class I heir which means, she inherits an equal share of her deceased son’s assets as do his wife and children. If the children divide the family asset after the father’s demise, a mother is entitled to an equal share of the property as each of her children. She is also entitled to shelter and maintenance from her eligible children. She has full rights over her properties and assets and can dispose of them the way she likes. If a mother dies intestate, under Hindu law, her children, children of predeceased children and her husband have an equal right to the property. In their absence, the property is inherited by other heirs as per the order of preference.
Thus if a mother dies intestate, under Hindu law, her children, children of predeceased children and her husband have an equal right to the property. In their absence, the property is inherited by other heirs as per the order of preference.
- PROPERTY RIGHTS OF A SISTER:
A sister is a Class II heir and can claim her deceased brother’s property only if he has no Class I heirs – mother, wife and children. Both the son (brother) and daughter (sister) have an equal right in the self-acquired as well as the ancestral property of the father. The marital status of the daughter (sister) makes no difference. The Amendment in Hindu Succession Act, 1956 came into effect on 09-09-2005. - PROPERTY RIGHTS OF A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW:
As per the inheritance laws for women in the Hindu Succession Act, the rights of a daughter-in-law are very limited. A daughter-in-law has no right over the properties owned by the parents-in-law – whether ancestral or self-acquired. She can acquire rights over such assets only through her husband’s inheritance and share. After the death of her husband, i.e., as a widow, a daughter-in-law has the right to her husband’s property left behind by him. This property can be either ancestral or self-acquired. The right acquired by her is as a widow of the deceased husband.
The daughter-in-law has a right to residence only till the time matrimonial relationship exists with her husband. The right of residence is there even if the house is a rented accommodation. If the property is a self-acquired property of, her father-in-law, daughter in law has no right of residence as the said house is not a shared house because the husband has no share in it.
A widowed daughter-in-law has right of maintenance from her father-in-law under certain conditions only, as prescribed in Hindus Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.
- PROPERTY RIGHTS OF A DIVORCED WOMEN:
A divorced woman can demand maintenance and alimony but cannot lay a stake on her ex-husband’s property. If the property is registered in the husband’s name, the law recognises him as the owner. If the property is jointly owned, then the wife has to prove her contribution to the purchase. Then she would be entitled to the share only up to her contribution in the said property, according to property laws for women. In case of separation without a formal divorce, the wife and children are entitled to their inheritance on the man’s property whether he has remarried or not.
Rights to Alimony and Maintenance: Ensuring financial support is essential for women during and after divorce.
Rights to Child Custody: Empowering women to actively shape their children’s lives, prioritizing their well-being post-divorce.
Rights on Property: Empowering women with an equal share of marital assets.
Rights of Streedhan: Upholding women’s financial autonomy, safeguarding pre-marital or gifted assets for economic empowerment.
- PROPERTY RIGHTS OF A REMARRIED WIDOW:
A widow gets an equal share of the husband’s property along with the other Class I heirs – his mother and his children. In case the widowed wife remarried, she was supposed to give up her claim on the ex-husband’s property, as per the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856. But taking Section 24 of the Hindu Succession Act 1956, if the widow remains unmarried when the property distribution is discussed and marries much later, she owns her share of the property. - PROPERTY RIGHTS OF A SECOND WIFE:
The Hindu Marriage Act 1955 considers polygamy illegal and a man cannot have more than one legal wife at any point in time. Thus, the legality of the second marriage is a crucial factor here. If the man remarries after his wife’s death or after a formal divorce, the second wife is a Class I heir to his property. If that is not the case, then the second wife is not entitled to the deceased man’s assets, though her children from this marriage will be.
LEGAL HEIRS OF AN INTESTATE WOMEN:
A. Hindu women – The succession laws for Hindu women follow the Hindu Succession Act, 1925 in case there is a will, and the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 in case the woman dies intestate. While Section 14 defines what constitutes a woman’s property, Sections 15 & 16 lay down the rules and order of inheritance.
Section 14 does not differentiate between inherited and self-acquired property and includes all the property obtained through ‘inheritance or devise, or at a partition, or in lieu of maintenance or arrears of maintenance, or by gift from any person, whether a relative or not, before, at or after her marriage, or by her own skill or exertion, or by purchase or by prescription, or in any other manner, and also any such property held by her as streedhan.’
Section 15 lists the successors of a woman’s property. Here, there is a distinction depending on whether the property is inherited or not. Section 15 (1) deals with ‘general property’, that is, self-acquired property or that received via gift, will, settlement, prescription, etc. Section 15 (2), on the other hand, deals only with property inherited by a woman from her parents, husband or father-in-law.
B. Christian Woman – As per the Indian Succession Act, 1925, the widower gets one-third property and balance is distributed among lineal descendants. If there are no lineal descendants, only the kindred, the widower gets half the property and the balance is distributed among kindred. If there is no kindred, the widower gets the entire property.
C. Muslim Woman – Under Muslim Law, both self-acquired and ancestral properties are considered equal and follow akin rules. Legal heirs are divided into sharers and residuary, with sharers getting the first share and residuary what is left. If the woman inherits property from any relative, be it husband, son, father or mother, she is the absolute owner of her share and can dispose of it. If she makes a will, she cannot give away more than one-third share of her property, and if her husband is the only heir, she can give two-thirds of the property by will.