The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005

The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, an amendment to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, received the assent from President of India on 5 September 2005 and was given effect from 9 September 2005.[1] It was essentially meant for removing gender discriminatory provisions regarding property rights in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. It was a revolutionary step in the field of Indian legislation regarding rights of women in India.

The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005
Parliament of India
CitationAct No. 39 of 2005
Enacted byParliament of India
Assented to5 September 2005
Commenced9 September 2005
Amends
Hindu Succession Act, 1956
Status: In force

Key amendments

Amendment of section 4 of the principal Act

In section 4 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 , sub- section (2) has been omitted.[2]

Amendment of Section 6 of the principal Act

Section 6 in the principal act has been substituted by the amended provision. The amended provision under sec.6 of the principal act in essence defines as follows:-

  • Daughter shall have the same rights in the coparcenary property as she would have had she been a son;
  • The daughter shall be subject to the same liability in the said coparcenary property as that of a son;
  • The daughter shall be allotted the same share as is allotted to a son;
  • The share of the per-deceased son or a per-deceased daughter shall be allotted to the surviving child of such per-deceased son or of such per-deceased daughter;
  • The share of the per-deceased child of a per-deceased son or of a per-deceased daughter shall be allotted to the child of such per-deceased child of the per-deceased son or a per-deceased daughter.

Furthermore, after the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, the pious obligation of a son, grandson or great-grandson for the recovery of any debt due from his father, grandfather or great-grandfather under the Hindu law, came to an end

Exception

The amendment , under clause 5 of section 6 provides an exception as follows:

5) Nothing contained in this section shall apply to a partition, which has been effected before the 20th day of December, 2004.

Explanation.- For the purposes of this section "partition" means any partition made by execution of a deed of partition duly registered under the Registration Act, 1908 or partition effected by a decree of a court

Key features & effect

The amendment has tremendously balanced the property rights of male and female siblings. In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled that the law has retrospective effect, and for the daughter to become a co-sharer with her male siblings, the father would have had to be alive on 9 September 2005. The Supreme Court also ruled that the amendment was applicable to all partition suits filed before 2005 and pending when the amendment was framed.[3]


  • This amendment is in consonance with the right of equality as enshrined under Article 14, 15, & 21 of the constitution of India.[4]

References
  1. "Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 comes into force from today". www.pib.nic.in. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  2. "Section 6 in The Hindu Succession Act, 1956". Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  3. "Daughters Born Before 2005 Have Equal Rights To Ancestral Property: SC". The Economic Times. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  4. "Effect of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005". SSRN 2912662. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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