Danamma vs Amar Case Summary
Introduction to the Case
The case of Danamma v. Amar is associated with the entitlement of daughters to property under Hindu Law.
The main debate was about the situational contexts of familial relationship laws: can the daughters born before 2005 be treated as sons in relation to the questions of inheritance claiming the fathers' properties, if the father died before the act.
The case of Danamma v. Amar was primarily focused on the issue of the daughters’ right to inherit the ancestral property as per the Hindu law.
The central question was whether daughters born before the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act of 2005 were entitled to equal rights of inheritance as that of the sons, particularly where the father had died before the said amendment came into effect.
Ruling of Supreme Court
In a ‘Hindu undivided family property’, where there were no rights of sons or daughters, all the daughters and sons are treated equally irrespective of which birth order a daughter or a son occupied or whether her or his father was alive during the 2005 amendment.
She explained that a daughter has a right to her father's mall, in the sense of an already entitled coparcenary, just like a son does. This meant that the said amendment had a retrospective approach, that is, daughters were entitled to their share even if the father was deceased prior to the amendment.
Importance
The ruling also upheld equality in gender with respect to property ownership in inheritance under the Hindu law, it cemented daughters’ position in law to inherit properties as sons did.
It resolved the puzzle regarding the extension of the 2005 amendment which gave women greater rights to inheritance and redressed the historical imbalances between sexes.
This judgment was a significant milestone in the journey to equal property rights for women in India.
-SHIVANII SINGH
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