Daughter can’t claim father’s property if he died before 1956, rules Chhattisgarh High Court

The Chhattisgarh High Court held earlier this month that a daughter is not entitled to inherit the property of her deceased father if he died before 1956, the year the Hindu Succession Act came into force.

A daughter can only claim a right to such property if the father does not have a male child, the court said.

Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas noted that in cases where the father died before 1956, succession would be governed by the Mitakshara school of Hindu law, which applied before the Hindu Succession Act came into effect.

Before 1956, Mitakshara was one of the two branches of Hindu law that governed inheritance practices in India – the other being the Dayabhaga school.

Vyas, in his judgement from October 13, said: “Under the Mitakshara law, even the self-acquired property of a male d