Property Rights of Women in India under Various Laws

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Property Rights of Women in India under Various Laws

In the past, women in India did not get equal rights as men, especially in case of property rights. This was because most women wouldn’t stay in their birth family after marriage. This is why male members had rights over their family properties and women did not.

Women are no inferior to men in today’s time. Hence, women as citizens of India should be treated as equal to men in all walks of life. This is ensured by the Indian succession laws. Let’s understand women’s property laws and the rights of women when it comes to property inheritance.

Property rights of women under Hindu Law

Hindu Law of Inheritance Act 1929

Hindu Law of Inheritance Act 1929 was the earliest piece of legislation which brought women into the scheme of inheritance. Under this Act, inheritance rights were conferred on three female heirs namely son’s daughter, daughter’s daughter and sister.

Hindu Women’s Right to Property Act 1937 

Hindu Women’s Right to Property Act 1937 was a landmark legislation which conferred ownership rights on Hindu women in India. With the enforcement of this Act came revolutionary changes in Hindu law of all schools. The Act not only brought changes in law of coparcenary but also in the partition law, alienation of property, inheritance and adoption. 

The 1937 Act allowed the widow to succeed along with the son and to take a share which is equal to the son’s share. However, although having a right similar to a coparcenary interest in the land and being a member of the joint family, the widow did not become a coparcener. 

The widow was entitled to only a limited estate in the deceased's property with a right to claim partition. There were almost no inheritance rights for a daughter. Although these enactments brought about important changes to the law of succession by granting certain new rights of succession to certain women, they were ultimately found to be inconsistent and flawed in many aspects and gave rise to a number of anomalies and left untouched the basic features of discrimination against Hindu women.

The Hindu Succession Act 1956 

The first law to provide a detailed and uniform system of inheritance amongst the Hindu population and to address gender inequalities related to inheritance was the Hindu Succession Act which came into force in 1956.

The Hindu Succession Act 1956 was put in place to codify the law relating to intestate succession among Hindu people. Due to this Act, the property rights of Indian women improved substantially. The concept of women being entitled to limited real estate when they acquire property through inheritance has been put to an end and now, the women are entitled to an absolute estate

This eliminates the idea that hindu women only have restricted real estate when they inherit property. Once more, the daughters of deceased sons and daughters of deceased daughters are elevated to a greater status. Together with the son and other Class-I heirs, they were designated as Class-I heirs and received a share. In order to eliminate sex-based discrimination, the daughters are enrolled in Class I. 

Similarly, regardless of the nature of stridhanam, succession to a woman's property or stridhanam is made uniform. Similarly, in cases of succession, the distinction between male and female heirs has been eliminated, and both genders are now regarded equally provided that their degree of kinship is equivalent. Women won't be disinherited on the ground that they are married. This has all happened due to enforcement of Hindu Succession Act.

The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005

The Hindu Succession Amendment Act 2005 was based on the recommendations of the Law Commission in their 174th Report on hindu women’s property rights. Due to the Hindu succession amendment act 2005, females were brought on the same level as men, promoting gender equality. Until recently, prior to the new law, Hindu women in India did not share in the agricultural land of the family. 

The father's property was equitably distributed among his sons only after his death. However, things have now changed. Under the new law, mothers, sons, and daughters will all receive an equal portion of the property. Every state and union territory in the nation are subject to the same legislation. Many women have gained their shares in real estate properties from the new law. They can now have equal rights and their independence.

Property Rights of Women under Christian, Jew and Parsi Law

Indian Succession

Indian Succession Act 1925 lays down the laws of succession for the Indian Christian women in Section 31 to 49 which deal with Christian Succession. The right of an Indian Christian widow is not an exclusive right. As the other heirs step in, the right of the Indian Christian widow gets reduced. However, the intestate's widow would be entitled to all of his belongings only if he had left no kindred behind.

One third of the intestate's property passes to his widow, and the other two thirds pass to his lineal descendants, if the intestate leaves a widow and any lineal descendants. Half of his property passes to his widow and the other half to those who are kindred to him if he has left no lineal descendants but has left people who are kindred to him. 

The Indian Succession Act 1925 governs and regulates the succession of immovable property in India of a deceased individual who isn’t Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist or Mohammedan. 

The Act in its Section 27 states that there isn’t any distinction for the purpose of succession

a) Between those who are related to a person deceased through his father, and those who are related to him through his mother; 

or b) Between those who are related to a person deceased by the full blood, and those who are related to him by the half- blood; 

or c) Between those who were actually born in the lifetime of a person deceased and those who at the date of his death were only conceived in the womb, but who have been subsequently born alive.

The Christian women were deprived of equal rights in parental property because of the continuance of the dowry system under the repealed Travancore Christian Succession Act 1916’s Section 28 which provided that the male shares shall be entitled to have the entire the interstate’s property divided equally among themselves subject to the claims of the daughter for stridhanam. Further, in the Section 29 of the Act, the female heirs or the deceased female heirs’ descendants will be entitled to intestate property’s share only in case of absence of male heirs.

The Indian Succession Act 1925 has empowered many Christian, Parsi and Jew women in India. This act allows Christian women the entitlement to a predetermined share. The share amount is dependent on the identity of other kindred of the deceased. If there are neither children nor other relatives, she is entitled to receive the entire property.

A Parsi widow is entitled to get an equal share in the deceased's property as her children besides the deceased’s parents who get half of the child’s share, in her husband’s estate. However, in the absence of parents, the property gets divided equally between the Parsi woman and her children so that the widow and each child can get equal share in the deceased’s estate.

Property Rights of Women under Muslim Law

Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937

All Indian muslims, including muslim women, are governed by the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937. Marriage, succession, inheritance and charities are dealt by this single Act for the muslims in India.

Quran (Sunna), the consensus of educated men (Ijma) and deductions from morality and what is just and right (Qiya) are the sources from which muslim laws regarding inheritance are derived. When a will is absent, the succession takes place in accordance with the Shariat law.

Men and women are treated equally according to the law of inheritance of muslims and neither of them receive preferential treatment. However, men own twice as much property as the women. In contrast, the daughter is the only owner of any inheritance. Legally speaking, she can handle, manage, control, and get rid of it whenever she wants.

Most people agree that women receive Mehr (money or property provided by the groom during the marriage) after they get married. Since her brother depends only on the inherited property and she is also supported by her husband, her portion is split in half.

She is also eligible for receiving gifts from those she would be inheriting from. This is paradoxical since women are able to receive gifts with ease but can only inherit one-third of a man's share.

While the daughter is still single, she has the right to live at her parents' house and also seek maintenance. In the event of a divorce, her parent's family will once again be responsible for maintenance when the three-month-long iddat period is over. Additionally, if they are able to, her children must support her. 

A childless muslim widow is entitled to her husband’s estate’s one-fourth share. However, only after the loans of the deceased have been paid off and his funeral costs have been covered, the right inheritance amount can be calculated. If the widow has offspring, grandchildren, or both, her share of the estate is one-eighth of her late husband's estate. If there are several wives, this part could be lowered to one-sixteenth of it. 

The woman will be entitled to all deferred Mehr rights upon the divorce, if any. A divorced woman with a minor kid may ask her ex-husband for maintenance until she remarries under Section 125 of the CrPC. The Supreme Court held in the well-known Shah Bano case that the husband has an obligation to support his ex-wife even after they have separated in the event of a divorce. 

As far as the inheritance rights of a muslim mother is concerned, she can inherit from her independent offspring as she has the right to do so. If her deceased son was also a father, then she’s entitled to inherit one-sixth of her deceased son’s estate. If she does not have any grandchildren, she is entitled to receive the third portion.

In case the mother inherits property through any relative, she gets the full ownership of her portion and can do whatever she pleases to do with it. If her only heir is her spouse, she may leave two-thirds of her estate in her will but she may not give away more than one-third of her estate.

It is clear that the legislators of the country made significant contributions to uphold the rights of Indian women when we examine all the succession laws in India. Whether a woman is a daughter, wife or a mother, it is her legal right to be entitled to receive a portion of the inheritance.

Even if our laws and courts have made it possible for women to claim their inheritance rights without being bound by marriage and religion, it is ultimately the responsibility of the women to be aware of their rights and to take the necessary steps to assert them and claim what is rightfully theirs.

Many women still think they have little control over their properties and are ignorant of their rights. Women only have two weapons to fight against any injustice done to them in the workplace, at home, or in society: the courage to stand up for what they believe in and the knowledge of their rights. 

Final Words

When we look at the succession laws in India, we can see that the lawmakers have prioritized protecting the rights of women. Whether a woman is a wife, mother, or a daughter, she is legally entitled to get some share in the property of the deceased as mentioned in this blog post. Without putting any restrictions on marriage and religion, the Indian legislature and judicial system has made it possible for women to claim their inheritance rights. However, it is on the women to be aware and proactive when it comes to exercising their rights and demanding what belongs to them legally. 

While it is the birth right of women to claim inheritance rights, women are encouraged to build real estate of their own. RERA registration empowers female buyers with the right to know every crucial detail of the real estate project they’re invested in. So, by getting this registration for your real estate project, you can show support to the women in the society. Get in touch with Registrationwala for getting RERA registration in a smooth and hassle free manner.

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