Property Rights of Women in Hindu Law: Court Judgments and Reviews

Faijul Islam : According to the Hindu Act of 1937,Women do not inherit any property. However, after widowhood, the children are entitled to the homestead only when they are minors. Even in 83 long years, there has been no change in Hindu law. Last 2 years ago Bangladesh Supreme Court ruled that Hindu widows will inherit the husband’s property, but the assigned property cannot be sold or transferred shall be deemed to be occupied only.

The court in its judgment said that the law does not mention any specific property. The word ‘property’ means all property whether immovable or immovable, residential, agricultural land, cash or any other type of property. There is no scope for distinguishing between agricultural land and residential property and such property is necessary for widow’s survival.

Earlier, on September 2, 2021, the High Court announced a historic verdict that Hindu widows in Bangladesh will get a share of their husband’s property. As a result of the ruling, Hindu wives will get a share in all the husband’s property, including agricultural land, and will be able to sell it, lawyers said.

Again, the Supreme Court of India gave a historic judgment under the Hindu Succession Act. According to the verdict, Hindu girls will get full rights to their father’s property from now on. A bench of Justice S Abdul Nazir and Justice Krishna Murari announced the verdict on Thursday.

The verdict also said that if no will or will is left before the death, the girl child will get full rights to all the assets of the Hindu father. They will inherit the father’s own acquired and other properties. The Supreme Court passed this judgment while disposing of an appeal filed against a judgment of the Madras High Court on inheritance of property of Hindu women and widows.

After the final hearing of a case related to this, a single bench of the High Court Judge Miftah Uddin Chowdhury announced the verdict. Although the constitution of Bangladesh mentions the equal rights of men and women. Equal rights are also mentioned in the women’s policy. But the inheritance of Hindu women in this country has not been established for a long time.

As a result of this judgment of the High Court of the country, Hindu women have received the recognition of that inheritance.

In 1941, the judgment of the Indian Federal Court in a related case, the Hindu Act of 1937 and the law after the change in the state structure of Bangladesh since 1972, the court said, there is no difference between the land (agricultural and fallow land) in the prevailing law in the country. That is why Hindu widows will get share in all husband’s land.

According to the prevailing law in the country, Hindu widows did not receive rice even from husband’s agricultural land. However, in 1996, agricultural land was registered in the name of Gauridasi, a Hindu widow of Batiaghata in Khulna. Gauridasi’s brother-in-law Jyotindra Nath Mondal filed a case against it in Khulna Judicial Court (Batiaghata) in the same year.

After the hearing, the judicial court said in the judgment of this case, Hindu widows have rights to husband’s non-agricultural land but do not have rights to agricultural land. After that in 1996 Gauridasi filed an appeal against the verdict in Khulna Judge Court. In 2004, in view of that application, the Hindu widow ruled that the woman will get the share of her husband’s agricultural land.

Then a revision application was made in the High Court against the judgment of the Khulna Judge Court. After lengthy hearings from both sides and the submissions of the amicus curiae, the High Court announced its verdict. In its judgment, the High Court said that Hindu widows would own husband’s agricultural land as well as non-agricultural land.

Author: Faijul Islam is a Student of Chittagong University Law Department