Daughter can’t claim father’s property if he died before 1956, rules Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court held earlier this month that a daughter is not entitled to inherit the property of her deceased father if he died before 1956, the year the Hindu Succession Act came into force.

A daughter can only claim a right to such property if the father does not have a male child, the court said.

Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas noted that in cases where the father died before 1956, succession would be governed by the Mitakshara school of Hindu law, which applied before the Hindu Succession Act came into effect.

Before 1956, Mitakshara was one of the two branches of Hindu law that governed inheritance practices in India – the other being the Dayabhaga school.

Vyas, in his judgement from October 13, said: “Under the Mitakshara law, even the self-acquired property of a male devolved exclusively upon his male issue, and only in the absence of such male issue did it pass to other heirs…”

The court further referred to the Hindu Law of Inheritance Amendment Act, 1929, noting that it merely extended the list of heirs in limited circumstances, but did not alter the fundamental principle that sons took precedence over daughters.

The suit was filed by a woman who claimed a share in her father’s property, arguing...

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