Latest news with #Mitakshara
Mint
3 days ago
- General
- Mint
My parents' marriage was not valid under Hindu law. Can I inherit property from my late father?
If you were born out of a void marriage or a voidable marriage that was annulled, you would have a share in the inheritance of your late father's properties as per Hindu law. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA) confers legitimacy upon children born out of such void or voidable marriages. A void marriage has no legal status from the outset (e.g., if a party has a spouse at the time of the marriage); whereas a voidable marriage is considered valid until it is annulled by court decree (e.g., if a party was incapable of giving valid consent to marriage owing to unsoundness of mind). Accordingly, under the HMA, you would be treated as the 'legitimate' child of your parents as if the marriage had been valid, and would have rights in your late father's properties in the same manner as any other child born to your father from his subsequent valid marriage. However, this does not confer on you rights in relation to the property of other relatives such as your grandparents (unless they specifically name you as a legatee in their will). With respect to ancestral/HUF property, you will not be considered as a coparcener even though your father may have been the karta or coparcener. Your rights (shared with other legal heirs) are limited to your father's share in such joint family/HUF property, which would be ascertained as if a notional partition of such property had taken place immediately before his death. This is assuming that your father belonged to a joint Hindu family governed by Mitakshara law. This position on the inheritance rights of a child born from a void or voidable Hindu marriage who is deemed to be 'legitimate' under the HMA differs from that of 'illegitimate children' under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (HSA). Under the HSA, 'illegitimate children' are deemed to be related to their mother and to one another and therefore can inherit only from the mother and not the father. This does not apply in your case, given your status as a child born from a marriage that is void or voidable. Please consult a lawyer to understand the application of these general legal principles to the facts and circumstances of your case. Shaishavi Kadakia is a partner and Sachi Shah is a Senior Associate at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Mumbai.
Hindustan Times
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Owaisi terms new Waqf law unconstitutional, seeks SC intervention
Describing the new Waqf law as "unconstitutional", AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has alleged that it is aimed at "destroying" Waqf properties and expressed hope of getting justice from the Supreme Court in the matter. In an interview with PTI Videos on Saturday, he also wondered how a uniform civil code (UCC) can be 'uniform' when there are several separate laws for different issues. The Hyderabad MP challenged the BJP and those hailing the Waqf (Amendment) Act to point out which sections are good in the new law. "Tell me in what way is it a progressive law? Tell me one provision by which Waqf property is saved. Tell me one provision by which there is an increase in Waqf's income and one provision by which encroachers are removed," Owaisi asked. Owaisi, who was a member of Parliament's Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, alleged that the new law was made to "destroy" Waqf. "You removed the good provisions (from the previous law). Tell me which sections (are good in the new law)... neither the government nor those sitting in their support would be able to say," the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief said. He further said the Dawoodi Bohras had wanted to be kept out of the purview of the Waqf law. Owaisi, who has challenged the Waqf (Amendment) Act in the Supreme Court claiming that it violates the constitutional provisions, said, "We hope to get justice from the Supreme Court because this is an unconstitutional law." His remarks come after the Supreme Court said last week that it would hear on May 20 the point of interim relief in the challenge to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih would hear arguments for passing interim directions on three issues, including the power to denotify properties declared as Waqf by courts, Waqf by user or Waqf by deed. The second issue raised by the petitioners relates to the composition of state Waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council. The third issue relates to a provision that says a Waqf property will not be treated as a Waqf when the collector conducts an inquiry to ascertain if the property is government land. On the UCC, Owaisi wondered how it can be called 'uniform' when there are several separate laws for different issues. "How can it be uniform when you are excluding tribals, excluding Hindu Marriage Act and Hindu Succession Act? In our country, there is a Special Marriage Act and Indian Succession Act (ISA). Will you follow Mitakshara or Dayabhaga schools?" Owaisi asked. Mitakshara and Dayabhaga are two schools of Hindu law that deal with inheritance laws. The AIMIM chief said India's diversity needs to be understood, and added that "one's views cannot be imposed on others".
