COPARCENARY RIGHTS FOR DAUGHTERS UNDER HINDU LAW: A STUDY OF THE 2005 AMENDMENT AND ITS JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION

The recognition of daughters as coparceners under Hindu law represents a significant legislative and constitutional development in the movement towards substantive gender equality in property rights. Traditionally, under the Mitakshara school of Hindu law, coparcenary membership was confined to male descendants, leaving daughters outside the core body of coparceners despite their membership in the wider joint Hindu family. The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 substituted Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 and conferred upon a daughter the status of a coparcener by birth, with the same rights and liabilities as a son. This paper examines the historical position, the statutory framework introduced in 2005, and the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the amended provision, particularly in Prakash v. Phulavati, Danamma v. Amar and the authoritative three-Judge Bench decision in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma. It analyses the temporal operation of the amendment, the relevance of the father’s survival on 9 September 2005, the protection of completed transactions, the meaning of partition, and the distinction between coparcenary property and a father’s separate or self-acquired property. The paper adopts a doctrinal method based on primary legislation and judicial precedent. It argues that Section 6 has transformed the formal legal status of daughters, but that effective equality depends upon accurate identification of property, accessible remedies, reliable records and the practical enforcement of shares. The paper concludes that the 2005 reform must be understood as a measure of equal ownership and equal responsibility, rather than as a limited succession benefit.