What are the Property rights of a daughter in a Hindu family?

The Delhi High Court in December 2015, which ordered that a daughter can be the Karta of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF). The property rights of a daughter and son were different until the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, but were amended in 2005.

Implications of this decision, on the parental property rights of a daughter in Hindu family.

In December 2015, the Delhi High Court gave a declaration, stating that a daughter can be the Karta of a Hindu Undivided Family. The basic reason for this decision lies in the amendment passed to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, in 2005. The Hindu Succession Act is suitable to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. The alteration drastically changed the property rights of daughters in the parental HUF.

Property rights of a daughter and her Position after the amendment:

According to Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, which deals with coparcener’s right in the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) property, was amended in 2005 w.e.f September 9, 2005.

• Due to this amendment, daughters have equal rights as sons, as far as concerned to coparcenary rights in HUF property. Consequently, the daughter receives all the rights attached to coparcenary, involves the right to ask for the distribution of the property and to become a Karta of the Hindu Undivided Family.
• Though, only the girls who are born in the family will receive the coparcenary rights. Other female members, who arrive into the family through virtue of marriage, are yet treated as members only. Hence, they are not entitled to ask for the partition but are entitled to maintenance and shares as and when distribution takes place.
• After the wedding, a daughter will cease to be a member of her parental HUF, however, will remain to be a coparcener. Therefore, she is allowed to ask for partition of the HUF property, and to become the Karta of the HUF, in a situation she happens to be the eldest coparcener of her father’s HUF.
• Even in a situation of a married daughter who has died, her children shall be entitled to the shares that she would have got if she was alive on the date of the partition.
• In case none of her children is alive on the day of distribution, the grandchildren will be entitled to the dividends that the daughter would have received on the partition of property.
• Remarkably the daughter cannot gift her share in the HUF land and property while she is alive. However, she is fully capable of giving away her share in the HUF property through the way of a will. In case, if a will is not prepared, on her death, her share in the joint property shall not transfer to other members of the HUF but will pass on to her legal heirs.