- Indian laws do follow a uniform code in most civil matters, such as the
- Indian Contract Act of 1872,
- Civil Procedure Code,
- Transfer of Property Act of 1882,
- Partnership Act of 1932,
- Evidence Act of 1872, etc.
- States, however, have made amendments, and therefore, there is diversity even under these secular civil laws.
- Recently, several states refused to be governed by the Uniform Motor Vehicles Act of 2019.
Hindu Code Bills
- The Hindu Code bills were several laws passed in the 1950s to codify and reform Hindu personal law in India in favour of a uniform law code.
- The government successfully implemented the reforms in the 1950s.
- Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was chosen by Nehru in 1948 to serve as the chairman of the subcommittee charged with developing the Hindu Code Bill.
- Four different bills constituted the Hindu Code Bills-
- The Hindu Marriage Act,
- The Hindu Succession Act,
- The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, and
- The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act.
- Between the years of 1952 and 1956, each of these was successfully brought in and enacted by Parliament because they faced much less resistance.
The Hindu Succession Act
- It introduced several significant changes to Hindu personal law, particularly with regard to property rights and ownership opportunities for women.
Key provisions of the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 included
- Property Rights for Women: The Act granted women property rights, enabling them to inherit and own property in their own right.
- Daughters became eligible to inherit from their fathers’ estates.
- Rules of Succession: The Act established rules of succession, specifying the order in which heirs would inherit in the case of an intestate male’s death.
- It introduced a distinction between Class I heirs and Class II heirs, with Class I heirs having priority over Class II heirs.
- Amendment in 2005: In 2005, it was amended to enhance gender equality in matters of inheritance further.
- It expanded the category of descendants who could inherit, elevating women to the status of Class I heirs.
- It ensured that daughters would inherit an equal share of property as sons.
- SC, Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma, (2020): Daughters, like sons, have an equal birthright to inherit joint Hindu family property.
- The amended Hindu Succession Act, which gives daughters equal rights to ancestral property, would have a retrospective effect.
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