The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, is an Act of the Parliament of India that was enacted to amend and codify the law relating to intestate (without a will) and testamentary succession among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs. It was created to replace the fragmented, custom-driven traditional laws of inheritance, such as the Mitakshara and Dayabhaga systems, with a single, uniform statute. The Act solved the problem of gender-based discrimination by abolishing the concept of the 'Hindu Woman's Estate' and granting female Hindus absolute ownership (Stridhan) over any property they possess, with full power to dispose of it.
The Act works by defining two types of succession: Intestate Succession (when a person dies without a will) and Testamentary Succession (by will). For intestate succession, it establishes a clear hierarchy of heirs, with Class I heirs (which include the son, daughter, widow, and mother) inheriting simultaneously and equally.
The most significant change came with the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, which received the President's assent on September 5, 2005, and came into force on September 9, 2005. This amendment fundamentally changed Section 6 of the principal Act, granting a daughter of a coparcener equal coparcenary rights by birth in the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) property, placing her on the same footing as a son. This replaced the earlier provision where only sons were coparceners. The amendment also abolished the Doctrine of Pious Obligation and omitted Section 4(2), which had previously exempted certain agricultural land laws from the Act's purview. The Supreme Court, in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020), clarified that the daughter's coparcenary right is by birth and is retrospective, meaning it is not necessary for the father to have been alive on September 9, 2005. The Act is part of the larger framework of Hindu personal laws, connecting to concepts like the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.