Karnataka High Court flags 'inadvertent gap' in Hindu Succession Act, seeks recasting of law for widows' rights
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Bengaluru: Highlighting a legislative oversight in the 2005 amendment to the Hindu Succession Act, the Karnataka High Court has urged the Central government to recast certain provisions to protect the inheritance rights of widows and mothers. The court observed an "inadvertent gap" in the law that has created confusion regarding the devolution of property interest.
A division bench comprising Justices R Devdas and B Muralidhara Pai noted that the amended Section 6 of the Act, which deals with the devolution of interest in coparcenary property, fails to explicitly reference Class-1 heirs, specifically widows and mothers, unlike the unamended version.
"The un-amended Section 6, more particularly the first proviso, by reference to class-1 heirs of the Schedule, ensured a share at a notional partition to a widow and mother of the deceased, along with son, daughter. However, the amended Section 6 does not contain a reference to class-1 heirs of the schedule," the bench observed.
The court emphasised that based on the "statement of objects and reasons" interpreted by the Supreme Court in the landmark Vineeta Sharma case, there was "no manner of doubt" that lawmakers did not intend to strip widows or mothers of their rights. " It is by sheer inadvertence that the other Class-1 heirs, such as widow, mother, widow of predeceased son, etc., who find place in Class-1 of the Schedule and their rights flowing in terms of the unamended Section 6 have been missed out in the amended provision," the order stated.
The observations were made during the hearing of an appeal filed by the widow and three children of a man who died in 2008. They were challenging a 2021 trial court order regarding the partition of ancestral property involving claims by the man's first wife and her family.
Stating that it was its "bounden duty" to draw the attention of lawmakers to this omission, the High Court directed its registry to forward a copy of the judgment to the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs in New Delhi for necessary action.