Akhila Hebbar

The Need To Amend Family Laws Regarding Intestate Succession Of Property In India. A will directs on how a person’s asset is to be treated upon their death. Situationally, a person may die without making a will and such a person is said to have died intestate. In simple terms, when there is no will to control a succession, it is known as an intestate succession. In other cases where even in the presence of a will, there is ambiguity regarding succession of a part of the property or there is an invalid or illegal request under the will, the succession will take place intestate. Consequently, intestacy results in assets being distributed as per the relevant personal laws. While Hindus, including Buddhist, Jains, Sikhs, Arya Samaj are governed by the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, Muslims have the Sharia law. Furthermore, the Indian Succession Act, 1925, provides for Christians and other groups. The application of age-old laws derived from religious texts is contended to have led to perpetuation of various forms of discrimination in the society. Even though codification of Hindu personal laws has largely revolutionised the inheritance practices, the intestate succession laws embodies controversial standards that are discriminatory. Under Hindu Succession Act, 1956, eligible heirs are defined in relation to a father’s heir or a husband’s heir, effectively deeming females incapable of begetting their own lineage. Moreover, a husband’s remote relatives are given precedence over a female’s own parents when self-acquired property is passed while inherited property is transferred ‘back to the source’, signifying an intention to retain property in the family of a male Hindu. In simple terms, in case of intestate dying of females, the passing of property is conducted on the basis of legal heirs of the male relative, indicating that a female’s identity and lineage is dependant on her husband or father. The codification of Hindu laws was largely aimed to eliminate gender discrimination and the retainment of such laws defeats the purpose of the law. To eliminate gender inequality entirely in this aspect, the basic solution may be the amendment of the relevant law. The primary reason for such bias under intestate succession laws maybe the definition of legal heir as relative only to a Hindu male. Recognition of lineage of a woman independent from that of a man’s is important to acknowledge the equal standing of males and females in the society. The inclusion of a woman’s heirs as eligible legal heirs of her property under Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 instead of categorising eligible class of inheritors as ‘heirs of the husband’ or ‘heirs of the father’ is necessary to recognise a woman’s lineage as independent of that of a man. Additionally, the heirs of the father is arbitrarily given precedence over the heirs of the mother. General lack of resources and awareness regarding estate planning in the country further increases instances of such intestate successions and lack of proper laws regarding the same effects a vast majority of the country. Therefore, there is a need to amend family laws regarding intestate succession of property.