Abstract
Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 (‘HSAA’) was enacted to grant the same rights to daughters on their fathers' ancestors' property by conferring them the status of coparceners. Coparcenary is a special form of joint family property, where only the male lineal descendants of a common ancestor can inherit the property by birth before the 2005 Amendment Act. The HSAA aimed to remove the gender discrimination inherent in the Hindu law of succession and bring it into compliance with the constitutional need for equality. However, the implementation and interpretation of the HSAA have raised several issues and challenges, For instance, the 2005 Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act's caveat to section 6(1)(c)'s constitutionality, the retrospective effect of the amendment, the impact of partition and testamentary disposition on the rights of daughters, the applicability of the amendment to different schools and sects of Hindu law, and the effect of marital status and adoption on coparcenary rights. This paper critically examines some of these major issues and challenges, by analyzing the relevant provisions of the HSAA, the judicial decisions interpreting them, and the academic literature on the subject. The paper also suggests some possible solutions and recommendations to address the gaps and ambiguities in the law and ensure its effective enforcement. The paper concludes that while the HSAA is a progressive and landmark legislation that has empowered women in matters of inheritance, there is still scope for improvement and clarification in its provisions and interpretation, to achieve the goal of gender justice and social reform.
