The Hindu : National : 'Error in amendment to Succession Act will be removed'

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Thursday, Jan 20, 2005

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'Error in amendment to Succession Act will be removed'

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 19. The Union Law Minister, H.R. Bhardwaj, has assured a women's delegation that an "error" in the proposed amendment to the Hindu Succession Act, which prevented "married daughters" from inheriting an equal share in property, will be removed.

A delegation, comprising representatives of several women's groups, drew Mr. Bhardwaj's attention to the proposed amendments that were aimed at giving women equal rights in the division of property. But the wording of the draft said that "married daughters" would be excluded from the amendment.

The Minister reportedly examined the papers and admitted that there was an error in the draft. He assured the delegation that the rights of married daughters would be protected by deletion of the ambiguously worded section.

"An anachronism"

The delegation pointed out that the entire Mitakshara system was an "anachronism" based on inequalities at different levels between men and women, between elder sons and younger ones, between the heirs of the deceased and so on. "The Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) is used mainly for tax benefits and that too, only by an insignificant number of people," Ms. Karat said while impressing upon the Minister the need to delete the clause in the Hindu Succession Act that protects the Mitakshara system.

Equally important, the delegation said, were the "grave" weaknesses in the proposed amendment that did not address the crucial issue of women's equal rights in agricultural property. At present, in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, women do not have the right to agricultural property and the laws in these States have overriding jurisdiction over the Hindu Succession Act. It was, therefore, necessary to make amendments in the Act to ensure that agricultural property was also covered, the delegation said.

According to the All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) vice-president, Brinda Karat, the Law Minister said that he would remove the infirmities as far as married women were concerned and also submit to the Cabinet a separate note regarding the coverage of agricultural land under the Hindu Succession Act.

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