Introduction
Intestate succession means succession to the property of a person who dies without making a Will. When a Hindu male dies without leaving a valid Will, his property is distributed among his heirs according to the rules laid down in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. This Act came into force on 17th June, 1956 and brought about a revolutionary change in the law of Hindu succession by replacing the old and complex rules of the Mitakshara and Dayabhaga schools of Hindu law with a uniform, codified system of succession applicable to all Hindus throughout India.
The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 was further amended by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, which made far-reaching changes particularly relating to the rights of daughters in ancestral property.
The rules relating to Hindu male intestate succession are contained in Sections 8 to 13 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
Applicability of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956
The Hindu Succession Act applies to:
- Hindus by religion including Virashaivas, Lingayats, followers of Brahmo, Prarthana, and Arya Samaj
- Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs
- Any other person who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi, or Jew
The Act does not apply to:
- Members of any Scheduled Tribe unless the Central Government so directs
- Property governed by any special marriage act or customary law that is expressly saved
General Rules of Succession — Section 8
Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act lays down the general rules for succession to the property of a Hindu male dying intestate. The property of such a male devolves according to the following order of priority:
Classification of Heirs
The Hindu Succession Act classifies the heirs of a Hindu male into the following categories:
Class I Heirs — Preferential Category
Class I heirs have the first and highest priority in succession. The property of a Hindu male dying intestate goes first to his Class I heirs. If there are any Class I heirs alive, no other category of heirs gets anything.
The Schedule to the Hindu Succession Act lists the following as Class I heirs:
- Son
- Daughter
- Widow
- Mother
- Son of a predeceased son (grandson through son)
- Daughter of a predeceased son (granddaughter through son)
- Son of a predeceased daughter (grandson through daughter)
- Daughter of a predeceased daughter (granddaughter through daughter)
- Widow of a predeceased son
- Son of a predeceased son of a predeceased son (great-grandson)
- Daughter of a predeceased son of a predeceased son (great-granddaughter)
- Widow of a predeceased son of a predeceased son
After the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, daughters were given equal rights as sons in Class I, including rights in ancestral/coparcenary property.
Rules for Distribution Among Class I Heirs
The property is distributed among Class I heirs according to the following rules under Section 10:
Rule 1 — The intestate's widow (or widows if there are more than one) takes one share.
Rule 2 — Each surviving son and daughter and the mother of the intestate each take one share.
Rule 3 — The heirs in the branch of each predeceased son or predeceased daughter together take one share.
Rule 4 — The distribution within the branch of a predeceased son or daughter is further governed by the same rules applied recursively.
Example of Distribution: If a Hindu male dies leaving behind a widow, two sons, and one daughter:
- Total shares = 4 (widow gets 1, son 1 gets 1, son 2 gets 1, daughter gets 1)
- Each gets one-fourth (1/4) of the property
Class II Heirs
If there are no Class I heirs, the property goes to Class II heirs as listed in the Schedule. Class II heirs are divided into entries, and heirs in a higher entry exclude heirs in a lower entry.
The entries in Class II are:
Entry I — Father
Entry II — Son's daughter's son, son's daughter's daughter, brother, sister
Entry III — Daughter's son's son, daughter's son's daughter, daughter's daughter's son, daughter's daughter's daughter
Entry IV — Brother's son, sister's son, brother's daughter, sister's daughter
Entry V — Father's father, father's mother
Entry VI — Father's widow, brother's widow
Entry VII — Father's brother, father's sister
Entry VIII — Mother's father, mother's mother
Entry IX — Mother's brother, mother's sister
Among Class II heirs, heirs in a higher entry completely exclude heirs in a lower entry. Among heirs in the same entry, the property is divided equally.
Agnates — Section 12
If there are no Class I or Class II heirs, the property goes to the agnates of the deceased. An agnate is a person related to the deceased wholly through males — i.e., related through the male line only.
For example: father's brother's son is an agnate because the relationship runs through the father (male) and the father's brother (male).
Among agnates, the following rules of preference apply:
- An agnate who has fewer degrees of relationship is preferred over one with more degrees
- Lineal descendants are preferred over others of the same degree
Cognates — Section 13
If there are no Class I heirs, Class II heirs, or agnates, the property goes to the cognates of the deceased. A cognate is a person related to the deceased through one or more females — i.e., there is at least one female link in the chain of relationship.
For example: mother's brother's son is a cognate because the relationship passes through the mother (female).
The same rules of preference that apply to agnates (fewer degrees preferred) also apply to cognates.
Government as Last Resort — Section 29
If a Hindu male dies intestate without leaving any heir — no Class I, Class II, agnate, or cognate — his property escheats to the Government. This means the Government takes the property as the last heir of the deceased.
Special Rules Under the Act
1. Full Blood Preferred Over Half Blood — Section 18
Among heirs who are related to the deceased through full blood (same father and mother) and those related through half blood (same father but different mothers, or same mother but different fathers), heirs of full blood are preferred over heirs of half blood if the nature of the relationship is otherwise the same.
2. Mode of Succession of Two or More Heirs — Section 19
If two or more heirs succeed together to the property of the intestate, they take the property as tenants-in-common and not as joint tenants. This means each heir has a definite, separate share that he can dispose of independently.
3. Preferential Rights to Dwelling House — Section 23
(Note: This section was deleted by the Hindu Succession Amendment Act, 2005. Earlier it gave the male heirs a right to resist partition of the dwelling house until the female heirs chose to separate their share.)
Impact of Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005
The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 made the following landmark changes to the law of Hindu male intestate succession:
1. Daughters as Coparceners The most important change is that daughters are now coparceners in the Hindu Undivided Family property by birth, just like sons. This means daughters have equal rights as sons in ancestral property.
2. Equal Rights of Daughters Daughters now have the same rights and liabilities in the coparcenary property as sons. They can demand partition and their share cannot be taken away.
3. Deletion of Section 23 The old Section 23, which prevented female heirs from claiming partition of the dwelling house, was deleted. Now female heirs have equal right to demand partition of the dwelling house.
4. Deletion of Section 24 The old Section 24, which provided that certain widows (widow of predeceased son, etc.) lose their right to succession upon remarriage, was also deleted.
Important Case Laws
1. Ganduri Koteshwaramma v. Chakiri Yanadi (2011)
The Supreme Court held that the 2005 Amendment to the Hindu Succession Act is retrospective in the sense that daughters who were alive on the date of the Amendment (9th September, 2005) acquire coparcenary rights even if their father had died before the Amendment.
2. Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020)
In this landmark three-judge bench judgment, the Supreme Court conclusively held that a daughter's right as a coparcener is by birth and it is not necessary that the father should have been alive on the date of the 2005 Amendment. The court held that daughters have equal coparcenary rights regardless of when the father died.
3. Shyam Narayan Prasad v. Krishna Prasad (2018)
The Supreme Court held that after the 2005 Amendment, a daughter has an equal right to inherit ancestral property and any partition that excludes her share is void.
4. State of Maharashtra v. Narayan Rao (1985)
The Supreme Court held that the Hindu Succession Act applies to all Hindus including members of joint Hindu families and that the Act supersedes any custom or usage that is inconsistent with its provisions.
Conclusion
The rules relating to Hindu male intestate succession under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 represent a landmark achievement in Indian family law. By codifying and simplifying the complex rules of succession, giving equal rights to sons and daughters, and creating a clear hierarchy of heirs, the Act has brought justice, clarity, and modernity to Hindu succession law. The landmark Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 further strengthened the position of daughters by giving them equal coparcenary rights, and the Supreme Court has consistently upheld and expanded these rights through progressive judgments. The law of Hindu intestate succession today stands as a testament to India's commitment to gender equality and social justice.
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