For generations, daughters were left out of ancestral property in many families. The law has changed, but confusion and disputes continue.
What changed in 2005
The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 made daughters coparceners in a Hindu joint family by birth, in the same way as sons. This gives them equal rights in ancestral property, along with the same liabilities.
The Supreme Court's clarification
In Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020), the Supreme Court held that a daughter's coparcenary right arises by birth. It does not depend on whether her father was alive when the amendment came into force.
What counts as ancestral property?
Broadly, ancestral property is property inherited through the male line, up to four generations, and held undivided. Property that a person buys with their own money is self-acquired, and they may leave it to whomever they choose by Will.
What this does not mean
- It does not give a daughter a right in her father's self-acquired property if he leaves a valid Will in favour of others.
- It does not apply automatically to families governed by other personal laws.
- It does not undo partitions validly completed before 20 December 2004, by registered deed or court decree.
A right that is never documented is easily lost in practice.
If you are a daughter in this situation
Gather the family's property records and establish what is ancestral and what is self-acquired. Many disputes can be settled through a properly documented family arrangement without going to court. Where that fails, a suit for partition is the legal route.