Parents may inherit dead woman’s assets

In a path-breaking recommendation promoting gender equality, the Law Commission of India on Tuesday suggested that parents of a married woman, who dies leaving behind self-acquired wealth, will have equal inheritance rights as that of her husband’s heirs.

In other words, if a wealthy woman dies leaving no heirs, her parents and heirs of her husband, i.e. her in-laws, would inherit her self-acquired wealth and property. In this regard, the Law Commission has proposed an amendment to Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act. The proposal is part of the 207th Report of the Law Commission of India, which was presented by its chairman Justice A R Lakshmanan to Union Law Minister H R Bhardwaj.

Section 15 is not clear about succession of a female’s property if it is self-acquired. It does not differentiate between property inherited and self-acquired. It only states that if property is inherited from her husband or father-in-law, it would go to her husband’s heirs. In case property is inherited from her parents, the same would go to her father’s heirs rather than her husband’s heirs.

Noticing this anomaly, the panel on its own studied the issue and came out with a proposal to amend the Act. “In case parents of such a woman are dead, her brother and sister would get a share in her riches,” said panel member secretary Dr D P Sharma.