Widow’s Right to Property Under Hindu Law: A Comparative Analysis with Other Personal Laws in India

Abstract

In the ancient Hindu society where widows were subjected to the inhuman practice of Sati, there was no discussion over giving them property rights, and they would be divested of their husbands’ properties. With the advent of the British colonial rulers in India, the widow’s rights started being recognized, first with the Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829 which abolished Sati, followed by the Hindu Widow’s Remarriage Act, 1856. However, widows were still far from getting property rights. Before 1937, the widow of a Hindu governed by Mitakshara and as well as Dayabhaga law had only a right of maintenance in respect of coparcenary property in which the husband had interest. This Paper aims at tracing the evolution of widow’s rights in property from the ancient rules of Hindu Law through the Hindu Women’s Right to Property Act, 1937 of British India and the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 which came up post-Independence of India. The analysis will be augmented by discussions around the recent jurisprudential developments in this regard. Finally, the Paper entails a comparative analysis of widow’s right to property under Hindu Law and other Personal Laws of India.