The Hindu Succession Act 1956

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

The Hindu Law is the most complicate & delicate subject in our legal system, since time immemorial. The Hindu Law is always very fascinating & engaging for the great minds, be like that of Sir Dinshaw Furdoonji Mulla & many others in the recent times. The concept of Hindu Law has a tapestry of both codified & un-codified principles, amalgamated into a most profound legal system governing the Hindus in our country, comprising nearly 80% of Indian population.

The uncodified Hindu Law & principles has been crystallized into separate legislations, like the Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act, Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act and Hindu Minority & Guardianship Act, after our independence. The process of codification started with the Hindu Code Bill, which was a futile exercise but later on the Indian Parliament enacted separate Acts governing Hindu marriage, succession & law of adoption and maintenance.

The Hindu Marriage Act found to be a very specific, comprehensive & structured; which has already attained it's purpose.

In respect of Hindu Succession Act, it was not an easy task for the legislatures, executives and the judiciary to make it a comprehensive or structured Law in consonance with Articles 14, 15 & 16 of the Indian Constitution as well as Part IV of our Constitution. It was for the obvious reason, in a country like India the accumulation & distribution of wealth in a family hegemony was always a highly contested & patriarchal in nature with several regional & cultural reservations like that of Law of Primogeniture.

But the Indian legislators & judiciary were always dedicated & determined to formulate an egalitarian & gender neutral law of inheritance for the Indians governed by the Hindu Law of Succession. The 2005 amendment in s. 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, did the much needed startup for an egalitarian society with equal rights of inheritance for both son & daughter as well as still born son & daughter in 'Mitakshara School of Hindu Law'. Subsequently, such amendment of 2005 & the conjoined reading of ss. 6, 14, 15 and 30 of the Hindu Succession Act gave the daughters, the right to seek for partition, transfer of property by testamentary disposition as well as the right to absolute ownership in the eye of law.

But unfortunately, the 2005 amendment was half hearted in it's execution & was subject to criticism by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in many land mark cases reported in Omprakash v Radhacharan (2009)15 SCC 66 & also in Mamta Dinesh Vakil v Bansi Wadhwa, where the Hon'ble Bombay High Court, most potently criticized ss. 8 & 15 of the Hindu Succession Act. The 174th & 207th Report of the Law Commission of India made very vital recommendations in this respect regarding recognition of succession of self acquired property by Indian Hindu woman.