The Sindh High Court has set aside a district court order with regard to the issuance of succession share of a married Hindu woman from the property of her deceased father and ordered that inheritance shall be limited to the sons, widow and grandchildren of the deceased, excluding the married daughters.
The order came on an application of Shreemati Sarswati Devi who challenged the district court order that granted the married daughter of Sarswati succession share from the estate of her deceased father.
The applicant submitted that her spouse Khemchand, who passed away on December 24, 2022, had left an amount of Rs14,500,000 and a vehicle and was survived by three daughters, two sons and a widow.
The applicant submitted that the married daughters of her husband could not inherit from their father’s estate during the lifetime of their mother under the Hindu law. She submitted that two daughters had filed affidavits of no objection, but the third daughter, who was residing in the Philippines, was listed as an objector and the trial court granted share in the estate contrary to the applicant’s claim of the Hindu law.
The applicant’s counsel submitted that the trial court had erred in its order by ignoring the Hindu inheritance laws and traditions in Pakistan, relying on international conventions and Indian amendments to the Hindu law, which were not applicable in Pakistan, and misapplying the Mitakshara law, which pertains to a joint family property, whereas the deceased’s property was his exclusive.
The applicant’s daughter had submitted that being a daughter of the deceased Khemchand, she was entitled to her rightful share of inheritance under the law. She submitted that her rights were protected by the Constitution of Pakistan which ensured equality without discrimination based on sex, caste, creed or race, and any law that conflicted with the Constitution was considered ultra vires.
She submitted that the trial court’s decision aligned with constitutional provisions that protected the rights of women, including her as the Constitution explicitly prohibited gender discrimination.
A counsel for the respondent cited the Supreme Court of India’s interpretation of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, as a precedent submitting that this amendment granted daughters equal rights to inheritance as sons, eliminating gender-based discrimination in the Hindu law.
A single bench of the SHC comprising Justice Jan Ali Junejo after hearing the arguments of the counsel observed that the district court’s reliance on constitutional articles, international conventions and Indian amendments, which were not applicable in Pakistan, was misplaced.
The high court observed that the laws and customs applicable to the Hindu community in Pakistan must be interpreted within the Pakistani legal framework.
The SHC observed that the applicant had correctly pointed out the misapplication of the Mitakshara law as it pertained to a joint family property, whereas the deceased’s property was his exclusive property.
The bench observed that the established customs and traditions of the Hindu community in Pakistan, which have been consistently applied and recognised, should prevail and the district court’s order granting a share to a married daughter during the lifetime of her mother, was contrary to the traditional Hindu law applicable in Pakistan.
The SHC observed that under the Mitakshara system of the Hindu Law, daughters were not entitled to inherit from their father’s estate during the lifetime of their mother and their right to inherit only arose after the death of their mother.
The high court observed that this principle was rooted in the traditional framework of the Mitakshara system, which prioritised the rights of the mother as the immediate female heir.
The SHC set aside the district court order and ordered issuance of a succession certificate which shall be limited to the sons, widow and grandchildren of the deceased, excluding the married daughters.
Published in News Daily on 07-March-2025.