• Right of married women on ancestral property

Hi,
My maternal grandfather had 4 sons and my mother as his five children. He passed way last month (Feb '17) leaving behind ancestral property in the form of agricultural land in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. My mother wants to know whether she has a claim on the ancestral property? I browsed on internet but failed to find out any specific provision for married daughters in Uttar Pradesh. Why I am pressing so much on the state is because we heard from some sources that state laws come into play in matters of land disputes and married women have a right to ancestral property in adjoining states of Rajasthan, Haryana but not in UP. So if there is any provision in our state too, please assist me the right way to approach it legally as the chances of an amicable division are very bleak in her family. And what should be done in anticipation to stop all/any of the brothers from selling the property without giving proper share to my mother.
Also my maternal grandfather has left a diary note (not on a stamp paper) that his ancestral property must be divided equally amongst his 5 children. I am not sure whether this can be presented as legal document or not.
I'll be really obliged... Thanks in advance.
Asked 7 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu

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6 Answers

provisions of hindu succession act are not applicable to agricultural lands in UP

2) Section 171 of the Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms, 1950 Act clearly lays down that in case a male tenure holder dies then his son or his male descendants will come to inherit his rights in the holding of land. His own daughter and son’s daughter and the descendants of daughters have been excluded for this purpose

3)A married daughter has been completely excluded. If no male descendant is there, the rights of the deceased would come to be inherited even by his brothers or other male relatives but not by his own daughter. In categorical terms, the Act has preferred the brother of a deceased to a married daughter of the deceased for inheritance in tenure holding. Thus, even in a nuclear family where there is no male survivor, the married daughter cannot inherit the rights, rather her uncle has been found by our legislature in its wisdom, to be a suitable heir to inherit the tenure holding.

4) your mother has no share in agricultural land in UP

5) diary note by grand father would not with stand judicial scrutiny

6) no will has been executed by grand father . it is necessary that will be attested by 2 witnesses

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
97134 Answers
7842 Consultations

in short your mother does not have share in agricultural land

2) it is true that as per amended hindu succession act daughter has share in ancestral property if father was alive as on 9th September 2005

3) however it would not be applicable to agricultural lands in UP in view of section 171 of zamindari abolition act

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
97134 Answers
7842 Consultations

1. On what basis do you claim the property is ancestral? If it was ancestral in the hands of your maternal grandfather at the time of his demise then it has devolved through succession on all his children equally. The share of your mother, which is at par with that of brothers, can be culled out by her by filing a suit for partition in the competent civil court.

2. There is no provision in UP which precludes the daughters from succession to the property of her father.

3. The diary note of your maternal grandfather has no legal force.

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30780 Answers
973 Consultations

Dear Querist

as per the information provided by you and after go through of your query/post, my opinion on your query is as under:

As per the U.P.zamindari abolition and land reforms act, 1950, the provision of Hindu Succession Act-1956 as amended 2005 shall not be apply. hence partition can not be possible based on the succession Act. but your mother may file a partition suit before the court based on last wish/diary of your Maternal Grandfather in which he clearly wish to divide the property amongst all 5 children "his ancestral property must be divided equally amongst his 5 children" this dairy can be treat as his Will and based on this Will your mother can get her share in his ancestral property.

Feel free to Call

Nadeem Qureshi
Advocate, New Delhi
6319 Answers
302 Consultations

As per HSA you are entitled to a share in your father's share out of his ancestral property as well as you are entitled to a share in the property that was originally inherited by your father as his share in the ancestral property.

For the purpose of inheritance, property can be broadly divided in two categories, (i) agricultural property, and (ii) non-agricultural property. Agriculture is a State subject and agricultural property is dealt by Provincial Acts. In State of UP, it is governed by UP Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act (Zamindari Abolition Act). Under the Zamindari Abolition Act, a daughter does not inherit equally with the son though the widowed mother and the widow of pre-deceased son does.

At the same time, there are few observations in some decisions Bishwanath Pandey vs. Badami Kaur, AIR 1980 SC 1329 = 1980(2) SCC 349 and Sellammal and others vs. Nellammal (dead) by L.Rs, AIR 1977 SC 1265=1977 (3) SCC 145 that Hindu Succession Act will override Zamindari Abolition Act and also that exclusive right to male succession may be suspended till female dependants acquire another mode of livelihood (Madhu Kishwar vs. State of Bihar, (1996) 5 SCC 125; 1996 (4) JT 379).

Till the agricultural land is not declared non agricultural land under section 143 of UPZA AND LR ACT, it remains the agricultural land and in such case it is governed by the provisions of Section 171 of UPZA AND LR ACT.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
87334 Answers
2347 Consultations

I just want to clarify that I found a number of articles and reports on the amendment in the Hindu Succession Act, 2005. All the reports say that from there on (2005 onwards) if both, father and daughter are alive or if the father dies after 2005, the act has been amended to give even married daughters equal right in the ancestral property. Has agricultural land been specifically kept out of this? Or the state government hasn't approved it till now?

In C.S.(OS) NO.1737/2007 Page 9 of 18 >>>> HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI SUBJECT : DELHI LAND REFORMS ACT, 1954 Date of decision: 9th August , 2012 LPA No. 92/2005 CHAND RAM & ANR ....Appellants

it was decided that:

we hold that the provisions of the HSA would, after the amendment of 2005, have over-riding effect over the provisions of Section 50 of the DLR Act and the latter provisions would have to yield to the provisions of the HSA, in case of any inconsistency. The rule of succession provided in the HSA would apply as opposed to the rule prescribed under the DLR Act. The petitioners are, therefore, entitled to succeed to the disputed agricultural land in terms of the HSA.

There are few observations in some decisions Bishwanath Pandey vs. Badami Kaur, AIR 1980 SC 1329 = 1980(2) SCC 349 and Sellammal and others vs. Nellammal (dead) by L.Rs, AIR 1977 SC 1265=1977 (3) SCC 145 that Hindu Succession Act will override Zamindari Abolition Act and also that exclusive right to male succession may be suspended till female dependants acquire another mode of livelihood (Madhu Kishwar vs. State of Bihar, (1996) 5 SCC 125; 1996 (4) JT 379). But to my mind in view of the legislative competence of the Union and the state and in view of section 4(2) of the Hindu Succession Act, succession to agricultural property is governed by the Zamindari Abolition Act, rather by the Hindu Succession Act. This is also so held in Prema Devi vs. Joint Director of Consolidtion :AIR 1970 Alld 238.

The amendment to UPZA and LR act is not yet implemented

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
87334 Answers
2347 Consultations

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