The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that daughters will have coparcenary rights on father’s property even if he died before the Hindu Succession (amendment) Act 2005 came into force.
 
The bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra was answering a reference based on conflicting decisions given by past verdicts of the top court.
 
Although the amendment was applicable to Hindu daughters as coparceners who died after coming of the act, there was no clarity on whether it will have retrospective effect.
 
In 2016, the Supreme Court decided that such right will not be retrospective in Prakash v Phulwati case whiles in 2018 another bench of the court in Danamma v Amar held it to be retrospective.
 
Answering the reference, the bench said, “Daughters cannot be deprived of their right to equality conferred by Section 6 of the Act.”
 
“Daughter is always a loving daughter for the rest of their life,” Justice Mishra said.
 
The bench said that daughters will have the right over parental property even if the coparecenor had died prior to the coming into force of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005.
The amendment came into effect on September 9, 2005. The courts considered this as cut-off date to decide please by daughters seeking equal rights as coparcerners as sons in their father’s estate.
 
The bench further directed that matters pending in trial courts on this issue be decided in six months.
 
Way back in 1989 when Dravidian ideology  DMK government is in power in Tamilnadu has bought the legislation that empowers equal rights for assets .
 
The States of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka have amended the provisions of HSA effecting changes in the Mitakshara coparcenary of the Hindu undivided family.
These four states have declared the daugher to be coparcener. The state of Kerala, however, has totally abolished the right by birth and put an end to the Joint Hindu Family instead of tinkering with the coparcenery.
 
The consequence of this de-recognition of the members of the family, irrespective of their sex, who are governed by Mitakshara Law is that they become tenants in common of the joint family property and become full owners of their share