Supreme Court: In the midst of calls for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to ensure gender justice and dignity for women, the Supreme Court will hear a petition on gender discrimination in Hindu succession law. The petition, which “unveils deeply rooted patriarchal ideology” in the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act of 1956, will be heard on Tuesday by a three-judge bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud.
The Supreme court is considering a petition filed by Kamal Anant Khopkar, who is represented by advocates Mrunal Dattatraya Buva and Dhairyashil Salunkhe, at a time when the debate over the UCC is largely focused on gender injustice in minority community personal laws.
In fact, the petition to Supreme Court highlights Section 15 of the 1956 Act, which specifies that the husband’s heirs have the first claim to a woman’s self–acquired property if she dies intestate. That is, even before the dead woman’s own parents, the husband’s family comes first in the line of inheritance.
Male lineage is preferred
“The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, Section 15, gives priority to the husband’s heirs over the deceased’s parents. Ms. Buva, who drafted the petition, argues that if a Hindu woman dies without making a will, her husband can take all of her property without leaving any share for her own mother or father.
When a Hindu man dies, on the other hand, his blood relatives are given priority, according to the statement. “His estate is divided among his heirs, who are his wife, children, mother, and finally father. His mother splits the inheritance equally between the child and the widow. “Regardless of how he acquired the property, his wife’s relatives are unaware of the order of inheritance,” according to the petition.
Similarly, if a Hindu woman dies intestate without children, the property she inherited during her lifetime is returned to the source. If the woman had inherited the property from her father or mother, the asset would pass to the father’s heirs. The mother’s family, on the other hand, is completely ignored.
If a woman inherited property from her husband or father-in-law and died intestate without children, the asset would pass to the husband’s heirs. “However, when a man dies intestate, there is no source-based devolution of the property,” Ms. Buva argued. According to the plea, the provisions keep property largely within the male lineage.
Infringes on the Constitution said petition in Supreme Court
“The Hindu Succession Act of 1956, Sections 15 and 16, are extremely discriminatory. Her original heirs do not inherit her own property. As a result, these sections violate the Constitution’s scheme and are unconstitutional, according to the petition. The Supreme court should intervene on behalf of Hindu women, according to the petition, because “while society is moving toward gender equality, the Hindu Succession Act discriminates based on gender.”
“Whether the personal law was established on the basis of practice or religion, or whether it is codified or not, it makes no difference… It can be challenged if it violates gender equality,” the petition stated.
In her petition, Ms. Buva argues that gender equality and respect for women not only fulfill women’s aspirations but also contribute to societal well-being and national progress. “Hindu women deserve equal participation in the development and progress of the world’s largest democracy, both socially and economically,” the lawyer argued in the petition.