The Married daughter have equal right in the parental property after the advent of amendment in Hindu Succession Act 1956, that came into force since 9th sept 2005.
The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, originally didn’t give daughters equal rights to ancestral property. This disparity was removed by an amendment that came into force on September 9, 2005.
The issue came up before the bench of chief justice Mohit Shah, judges MS Sanklecha and MS Sonak after conflicting views on the matter expressed separately by a single judge and a division bench.
A division bench had opined that the amendment applied to daughters born on or after September 9, 2005. As regards daughters born before 9 September 2005, the judges held that they would get rights in the property upon the death of their father-coparcener (head of a joint family) on or after September 9, 2005.
Point of understanding for ancestral properties
The gift from father to his son is not part of ancestral property as the son does not inherit the property on the death of the grandfather or receive it by partition made by the grandfather during his lifetime. The grandson has no legal right on such property because his grandfather chose to bestow a favour on his father which he could have bestowed on any other person as well.
Thus, the interest which he takes in such property must depend upon the will of the grantor and therefore, when the son has got the property from his father as a gift, his sons or daughter cannot claim part in it calling it ancestral property. He can alienate the gifted property to anyone he likes and in any way he likes. Such a property is treated as self-acquired property, provided there is no expressed intention in the deed of the gift by the grandfather while gifting the property to his son. (C. N. Arunachala Mudaliar vs C. A. Muruganatha Mudaliar)
Sons and daughters have property rights only on the properties that have devolved upon their father and become ancestral property in the father’s hands.
If daughter is married
Before 2005, the Hindu Succession Act considered daughters only as members of the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), not coparceners. The latter are the lineal descendants of a common ancestor, with the first four generations having a birth right to ancestral or self-acquired property. However, once the daughter was married, she was no longer considered a member of the HUF. After the 2005 amendment, the daughter has been recognised as a corparcener.
If daughter was born or father died before 2005
It does not matter if the daughter was born before or after 9 September 2005, when the amendment to the Act was carried out. She will have the same rights as a son to the father’s property, be it ancestral or self-acquired, irrespective of her date of birth. On the other hand, the father has to have been alive on 9 September 2005 for the daughter to stake a claim over his property. If he had died before 2005, she will have no right over the ancestral property, and self-acquired property will be distributed as per the father’s will.