Hindu Succession Act is the primary statute governing inheritance and succession of property among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs in India. Enacted in 1956, the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 codified and reformed Hindu succession law, abolished the limited estate of Hindu women, and was significantly amended in 2005 to grant daughters equal coparcenary rights in joint family property.
Legal definition
The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 governs two types of succession:
Intestate succession (dying without a will) is addressed through Sections 8-16, which prescribe the order of inheritance:
- Section 8: The property of a male Hindu dying intestate devolves upon heirs specified in the Class I Schedule (son, daughter, widow, mother, and others), failing which upon Class II heirs, failing which upon agnates, and failing which upon cognates.
- Section 15: The property of a female Hindu dying intestate devolves upon her children, husband, heirs of the husband, and heirs of the parents, in the prescribed order.
Coparcenary property is governed by Section 6, as amended in 2005:
On and from the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, in a Joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara law, the daughter of a coparcener shall— (a) by birth become a coparcener in her own right in the same manner as the son; (b) have the same rights in the coparcenary property as she would have had if she had been a son; (c) be subject to the same liabilities in respect of the said coparcenary property as that of a son.
Section 14 abolished the limited estate of Hindu women, making every Hindu woman the absolute owner of any property possessed by her.
How courts have interpreted this term
Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma [(2020) 9 SCC 1]
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court delivered the definitive interpretation of the 2005 amendment to Section 6. The Court held that a daughter's coparcenary rights accrue by birth, not by virtue of the father being alive on the date the amendment came into force (September 9, 2005). The Court overruled Prakash v. Phulavati (2016), which had held that the amendment applies only if the father was alive on September 9, 2005. The Court clarified that the amendment is retroactive in character.
Prakash v. Phulavati [(2016) 2 SCC 36]
The Supreme Court initially held that the 2005 amendment to Section 6 operates prospectively and that the daughter would acquire coparcenary rights only if the coparcener father was alive on September 9, 2005. This interpretation was subsequently overruled by Vineeta Sharma (2020).
Arunachala Gounder v. Ponnusamy [(2022) 4 SCC 385]
The Supreme Court held that a daughter's right as a coparcener under the amended Section 6 would be subject to the savings provision — if a valid partition or testamentary disposition had been effected before December 20, 2004 (the date of the Amendment Bill's introduction), the daughter's coparcenary rights would not affect such partition or disposition.
Why this matters
The Hindu Succession Act is one of the most consequential statutes in Indian family law, directly affecting the property rights of hundreds of millions of Hindus. The 2005 amendment, in particular, represents a watershed moment in Indian gender equality jurisprudence — by making daughters equal coparceners with sons, it dismantled a centuries-old patrilineal inheritance structure that had excluded women from joint family property.
The practical impact is substantial. Before the amendment, daughters had no birthright in the ancestral property of a Hindu joint family — they could only inherit what devolved upon them under Section 8 after the coparcener's death. After the amendment, daughters acquire coparcenary rights by birth and can demand partition of the joint family property during the lifetime of the coparceners, just as sons always could.
For practitioners, the interaction between intestate succession (Sections 8 and 15), coparcenary rights (Section 6), and testamentary succession (governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925 for Hindus) creates a complex framework. A Hindu male may dispose of his self-acquired property by will, but his undivided interest in coparcenary property devolves by survivorship among the coparceners or by intestate succession under Section 8, depending on whether partition has been effected.
Related terms
Core concepts:
Women's property rights:
Related statutes:
Frequently asked questions
Do daughters have equal inheritance rights as sons under the Hindu Succession Act?
Yes. Following the 2005 amendment to Section 6, daughters are coparceners by birth and have the same rights in coparcenary property as sons. The Supreme Court in Vineeta Sharma (2020) confirmed that this right applies regardless of whether the father was alive on September 9, 2005.
Does the Hindu Succession Act apply to self-acquired property?
Sections 8 and 15 of the Act govern the intestate succession of all property — both self-acquired and ancestral. However, a Hindu can freely dispose of self-acquired property by will. The coparcenary provisions of Section 6 apply specifically to ancestral joint family property.
Who are the Class I heirs under the Hindu Succession Act?
Class I heirs include: son, daughter, widow, mother, son of a predeceased son, daughter of a predeceased son, son of a predeceased daughter, daughter of a predeceased daughter, widow of a predeceased son, son of a predeceased son of a predeceased son, daughter of a predeceased son of a predeceased son, and widow of a predeceased son of a predeceased son. All Class I heirs inherit simultaneously and in equal shares.
Does the Act apply to Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains?
Yes. Section 2(1) of the Hindu Succession Act applies to any person who is a Hindu by religion, including Virashaiva, Lingayat, or a follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana, or Arya Samaj, and also to any person who is a Buddhist, Jain, or Sikh.
This entry is part of the Veritect Indian Legal Glossary, a comprehensive reference of Indian legal terminology grounded in statutory text and judicial interpretation.
Last updated: 2026-03-27. Veritect provides this content for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.