RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL

UNIVERSITY OF LAW, PUNJAB

CLASSIFICATIONS OF PROPERTY UNDER HINDU LAW ;

STRIDHAN AND WOMEN ESTATE

SUBMITTED BY:- SUBMITTED TO:

ARPIT MEENA DR. GAGANPREET
ROLL NO.- 22255 PROFESSOR OF LAW
SEMESTER- IV RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LAW
 DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this research project submitted to Rajiv Gandhi National University of
Law, Punjab, Patiala is an outcome of my original work carried out under the supervision of
Dr. Gaganpreet. The project is entirely based on my own research work and has not been
submitted elsewhere. All the ideas and references have been duly acknowledged. To best of my
understanding, the project is free from plagiarism.

ARPIT MEENA

RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LAW, PUNJAB, PATIALA.

 SUPERVISOR’S CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this research project on the case- “Stridhan and women estate ” submitted
to Rajiv Gandhi National University Of Law, is a research work carried out by “ARPIT
MEENA ” under my supervision and guidance for further evaluation.
DR. GAGANPREET
PROFESSOR OF LAW
RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LAW, PUNJAB PATIALA
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my gratitude towards Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, which
has allowed me to pursue good and structured academic schemes and has added to my level of
skills. Every opportunity I get here, every work that I undertake or intend to undertake I will
always be grateful to my university.
Further, I would like to thank my teacher Dr. Gaganpreet, for allowing me to choose a topic of
my choice and then guiding me in making of this project.
TABLE OF CONTENT
CLASSIFICATIONS OF PROPERTY UNDER HINDU LAW ; STRIDHAN AND WOMEN ESTATE ..................... 1
DECLARATION.......................................................................................................................................... 2
RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LAW, PUNJAB, PATIALA......................................................... 2
SUPERVISOR’S CERTIFICATE .................................................................................................................... 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................................. 4
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 6
STRIDHAN AND WOMAN’S ESTATE ......................................................................................................... 8
POWERS OF A HINDU FEMALE OVER HER WOMAN’S ESTATE .............................................................. 10
SOURCES OF WOMAN’S PROPERTY ...................................................................................................... 12
CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 14
BIBLIOGRAPGHY .................................................................................................................................... 15
 INTRODUCTION

The project aims to examine the extent of section 14 and the fundamental shift in the
understanding of women's estate that it has brought about. According to Section 14, a Hindu
female who owns property, whether it was purchased before or after this Act's enactment, is
considered the full owner of the property, not only a limited owner.

Subsection (1) provides additional clarification, stating that the term "property" in this
context refers to any and all movable and immovable property that she has acquired through
inheritance, partition, gifting, will, or other means; it also includes any property that she has
acquired in lieu of maintenance or arrears of maintenance, or through her own hard work and
skill; it can also refer to any property that she held as stridhana prior to the said Act's
commencement.

It doesn't matter if it was acquired before, during, or after her marriage, by devise from her
late husband, gift from a relative or any other individual, or by inheritance of the deceased
husband's separate property or of his share in coparcenary property under the terms of section
6 of the Act.

Subsection (2) of this section explicitly states that a Hindu female who acquires property
through a gift, under a will or other instrument, under a decree or order of a civil court, or
under an award is not entitled to hold the property as the sole owner if the terms of the gift,
will, or other instrument, the decree, order, or award specify a restricted estate in such
property.

Therefore, women's estate was abolished by Section 14 and replaced with stridhan and
woman's estate. Additionally, any existing woman's estates were transformed into full estates.
It has brought about significant modifications to the customary Hindu law regarding a
woman's property. The goals of this section are to:

• Remove all restrictions on Hindu women's ability to own and manage property, meaning
that anything they do acquire will be their own property; and

• Convert an existing woman's estate into her entire estate.

It incorporates the following propositions ;
• Property obtained by a Hindu woman after the Act's implementation shall be held by her as
her absolute property; additionally, any property held by her as women's estate and in her
possession shall become her property. However, none of the aforementioned options (a) or
(b) will apply if any property is covered by subsection (2).

In other words, a Hindu woman shall inherit property in accordance with the terms of any
gift, will, other instrument, decree, order, or award that imposes a restricted estate on the said
property. She will also take possession of the property if it is acquired by her through a civil
court decree, order, or award.

(B) The possession requirement in paragraph (1) solely relates to the woman's estate as it
existed at the time the Act was enacted; it is evident that this does not apply to properties she
purchased after the Act's inception.

(C) The definition of the term property contained in the explanation applies to both types
covered under (a) and (b) of (A).

(D) The retrospective applicability of this provision is qualified. It is applicable retroactively

to the estates of those women who were Hindu women at the time the Act was enacted. The
Act does not apply to the estate of those women who did not possess any property at the time
the Act was enacted. The ancient Hindu law still governs such lands.
 STRIDHAN AND WOMAN’S ESTATE

Stridhan means woman‟s property. In the entire history of Hindu Law, woman‟s right to hold
and dispose of property has been recognized.

Kinds of Woman’s Property –

What is the character of property, that is whether it is stridhan or woman‟s estate depends on
the source from which it has been obtained. They are:

Gifts and bequests from relations- A lady may receive such gifts from her parents and their
relatives or from her husband and his relatives when she is a maiden, a coverture, or a widow.
These bequests may be made via will or inter vivos. The Dayabhaga School does not consider
a husband's gift of immovable property to be stridhan.
Gifts and bequests from non-relations- A woman's stridhan is the property she receives as a
gift inter vivos or under a stranger's will that is not related to her while she is a maiden or
widow. Gifts from strangers to a woman prior to the wedding fire or during the bridal
procession have the same meaning. Property that is gifted to a woman by strangers during her
captivity or given to her as a gift inter vivos is considered stridhan by the schools in Bombay,
Benaras, and Madras.
Property acquired by self exertion, science and arts- It is a well-established rule in all
schools of Hindu law that all accumulations and saves of stridhan's income, along with
properties bought with stridhan or with stridhan savings, make up stridhan.
Property purchased under a compromise- The compromise deed determines what estate a
person will inherit when they purchase property through a compromise. There is no
assumption in Hindu law that a woman who receives property through a compromise views it
as a limited estate. Property acquired by a woman through a compromise in which she
provides she will stand up for her rights. The conditions of the family arrangement will
determine whether she receives a woman's estate or a stridhan when she acquires property
under it.
Property obtained by adverse possession- Any property acquired by a woman at any stage
of her life by adverse possession is her stridhan.
Property obtained in lieu of maintenance- All schools of Hindu law recognize that stridhan
is the total amount of arrears for maintenance paid to a Hindu woman, whether in one big
sum or on a regular basis. Likewise, her stridhan consists of all assets, whether real or
personal, that are given to her as an absolute gift in lieu of maintenance.
Property obtained on partition- Grandma and the father's wife receive a portion of the joint
family property upon a division, with the exception of Madras. It is a well-established belief
in the Mitakshara jurisdiction, which includes Bombay and the Dayabhaga school, that the
share acquired at division is not stridhan but rather the estate of the woman.
All the traits of complete property ownership are present in Stridhan. The female has
complete ownership rights over the stridhan, making it her property. She is therefore able to
exchange, sell, give as a gift, mortgage, and lease her belongings. When she is a maiden or
widow, this is absolutely true. Certain limitations were acknowledged on her ability to
alienate others, provided she was a married woman. Stridhan for a married lady is divided
into two categories:
• the sauadayika, or presents of love and affection, which a woman receives from her husband
and parents.
• The non-saudayika: any other kind of stridhan, including presents from strangers, stuff
earned via hard work, or mechanical art.
Regarding the former, she possesses complete disposal rights, whereas regarding the latter,
she lacks the ability to alienate herself without her husband's approval. It was also the
husband's to use. Upon her passing, her own heirs inherited all kinds of stridhan. She formed
a distinct lineage of her own.
The Privy Council correctly noted in Janki v. Narayansami that "her right is of the nature of
right of property, her position is that of the owner, her powers in that character are, however
limited." Nobody is interested in the succession plan while she is still living.
 POWERS OF A HINDU FEMALE OVER HER WOMAN’S
ESTATE

Power of Management-Similar to the Karta in a Hindu joint household, she possesses

complete managerial authority. There are other co-owners of the joint family, but the Karta is
the only one who holds ownership. The entire state and its revenue are hers to keep and
possess. She has complete control over how she spends the money. She does not have to
save, and if she does, it will be for her own benefit.
She is the only one who has the authority to sue on behalf of the estate and to be sued in
relation to it. For as long as she lives, any alienation—whether right or improper—made by
her is legitimate and enforceable. Until her estate is forfeited due to a subsequent marriage,
adoption, death, or surrender, she remains the owner of it.
Power of Alienation- Similar to Karta, she possesses limited alienation powers and can only
alienate property under extraordinary circumstances. The reasons she can alienate property
are as follows:
• Legal necessity (i.e., for her own need as well as the last owner's dependents' needs); •
Estate benefit; and
• Fulfillment of essential duties (i.e., daughter marriages, husband funerals, his shrada, and
gifts to brahmins for his soul's salvation); in other words, she can alienate property for the last
owner's spiritual benefit but not for her own.)
She shares almost all of Karta's powers in the first two headings.
Limitations on her ability to alienate are an aspect of the estate and do not serve the interests
of the reversioners.
Regarding the third head's alienation authority, there is a contrast between the purposes for
which all property may be alienated—the necessary duties—and the benevolent and pious
ones, for which only a small portion of property may be alienated. Although not necessary or
required, she can nonetheless express her displeasure for religious deeds that contribute to her
late husband's eternal delight.
Surrender- denotes the female owner's renunciation of her estate. She has the authority to
give over the estate to the closest reversioner. This implies that she can destroy her own
estate and accelerate the reversioner's estate voluntarily by surrendering the estate in its
entirety. This serves as her civil death and is an act of self-effacement on her side.
She may keep a small amount of her maintenance, but the full estate must be surrendered in
order for it to be considered lawful. In the event that there are many reversioners in the same
category, the second requirement is that it must be in favor of the closest reversioner or
reversioners.
It is also possible to surrender in support of female reversioners. Thirdly, the surrender ought
to be genuine and not a ploy to split the estate amongst the reversioners.
Reversioners- The last owner's heir or heirs inherit the estate upon the death of the female
owner, as if the last owner passed away at the time the limited estate ended. These so-called
reversioners are male or female heirs. There are no reversioners as long as the estate exists,
but there is always a putative reversioner with merely a spes successionis (an exception).
When the female dies, her estate terminates and belongs to the reversioners; nevertheless, it
can also end by surrender if the female lives.
Right of Reversioners- The right to stop the female owner from misusing or alienating the
property is vested in the reversioners. It is within this context that the term "presumptive
reversioner" first gained popularity. The following three rights belong to the reversioners:

• In their representative position, they may file a lawsuit against the woman holder seeking an
injunction to stop waste or a determination that the widow's alienation is void and will not
bind them after her death. However by such a declaration the property does not revert to the
woman nor do the reversioners become entitled to it. The alienee can still retain the property
so long as the widow is alive.
• If the widow made an improper alienation, they may bring a lawsuit to declare that it did not
bind them, either after the lady passes away or, if sooner, when the estate is terminated.
As per the Supreme Court's observation, reversioners are not required to file a declaratory
suit during the lifetime of the Hindu female holder of the estate if she improperly alienates
herself. They can file a lawsuit for ownership of the estate against the alienee after the
woman passes away, recognizing the alienation as a nullity.
 SOURCES OF WOMAN’S PROPERTY

PROPERTY RECEIVED IN LIEU OF PARTITION

A family member may receive a portion of property from the Karta in order to support them.
A Hindu woman may also get property as maintenance under a partition or family
arrangement. A maintenance deed was used in Chinnappa Govinda v. Valliammal to fund the
support of the father-in-law's widowed daughter-in-law.

Afterwards, he passed away in 1960. His interest shifted by succession because he passed
away and left behind the daughter-in-law. In order to receive her half of inheritance, the
daughter-in-law filed a lawsuit for division. Some members stated that she would only be
able to receive her share if she consented to incorporate the properties that were provided to
her as part of the suit properties. As per the ruling of the Court, she is not required to give up
the properties that she owns under the maintenance deed.

A Hindu woman's absolute property is defined in Section 14 as any property she receives
from a partition after the Act's start, as well as any property she receives from a partition
prior to the Act's start, as long as it was in her possession at the Act's inception.

In Pachi Krishnamma v. Kumaran Krishnan, the Kerela High Court noted that a woman's
portion upon division would be her absolute property due to her pre-existing entitlement to
maintenance, which was expanded to an absolute title to property by virtue of section 14(1).

PROPERTY GIVEN UNDER AN AWARD OR DECREE

A Hindu woman was given certain properties as her share in Badri Prasad v. Kanso Devi, a
case where a partition based on an award was later codified in a decree. The Supreme Court
ruled that section 14(2) did not apply in this case.

According to Their Lordships, one should read section 14 in its whole. The specific facts of
each case will determine whether sub-section (1) or subsection (2) applies. In this part,
"possessed" and "acquired" are key terms. The former has been used in the widest possible
sense and In the context of section 14(1), it refers to the possession or state of having in one's
hands or authority.

The term "acquired" has likewise been given the broadest definition imaginable. The
Supreme Court held that even though a Hindu woman's portion was designated as a limited
estate in the decree or award, she could nonetheless get it under section 14(1) of the partition
law.
PROPERTY UNDER AN AGREEMENT OR COMPROMISE
Subsection (1) of the test will apply if the decree or award recognizes a pre-existing right; if
property is granted to a Hindu girl under an award or decree for the first time, subsection (2)
will take effect. Its application is in the purchase of real estate through a compromise or
agreement. Mahadeo v. Bansraji and Lakshmichand v. Sukhdevi have made this disparity
abundantly evident.

PROPERTY RECEIVED IN INHERITANCE

With the exception of the Bombay school, any property inherited by a Hindu woman from a
male or female relative was considered her restricted estate. According to Section 14, a Hindu
woman's absolute property is whatever property she inherits from any relation after the Act's
implementation. It will pass to her heirs upon her death in accordance with sections 15 and
16. If she inherited any property prior to the Act's implementation and it was in her
possession, that property also became her absolute property.

PROPERTY RECEIVED IN GIFT

There is no distinction made under the Act between presents she gets from family members
and friends at any point in her life; all gifts are her own property. Generally, the ornaments
she got as a married woman are her own property. A complete court ruled in Vinod Kumar
Sethi v. State of Punjab that a wife's dowry and customary gifts given to her at the marriage
ceremony comprise her stridhan.

PROPERTY RECEIVED UNDER A WILL

Karmi v. Amru A Hindu gave his wife Nihali a life estate through a registered will,
specifying that properties will pass to his two collaterals, Bhagtu and Amru, upon Nihali's
death. After taking control, Nihali passed away in 196. Nihali's heirs asserted that her life
estate became her complete estate upon the Hindu Succession Act's implementation, so they
claimed property at her death.

It was decided that Section 14(2) will apply and the estate will not become full estate where
a will merely grants life estate.But she will take everything completely if a will leaves her
with her entire estate. Properties granted to the widow under a settlement that were to return
to the settler upon his brother's death do not expand into the entire estate.
 CONCLUSION

A reversioner's right under old Hindu law still exists with regard to women's estates that are
not covered by Section 14 of The Hindu Succession Act 1956. Section 14 abolished certain
women's estates.

With a qualified retrospective application, Section 14(1) only transforms the estates of
women who were in possession of them at the time the Act came into effect. It does not cover
women's estates that the Hindu female did not own at the time the Act was passed; in those
situations, the old Hindu Law still governs.

In Section 14(2), the phrase "any other instrument" is used. In accordance with the ejusdem
generis concept, these phrases should be interpreted in conjunction with the words that come
before them, "acquired by way of gift or under a will," and as such, they refer to the legal
documents that grant the Hindu woman title to her property.
 BIBLIOGRAPGHY

1. HINDU LAW OF MARRIAGE AND STRIDHAN

2. STRIDHAN AND ITS ESTATE
3. WOMEN’S PROPERTY UNDER HINDU LAW
4. WOMEN’S ESTATE AND STRIDHAN RIGHTS