Grants Equal Inheritance Rights to Tribal Women Upholding Gender Equality
In a historic verdict, the Supreme Court of India has ruled that tribal women, or their legal heirs, are entitled to an equal share in ancestral property, marking a significant stride toward gender justice. The judgment, delivered on July 17, by a bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and Joymalya Bagchi, overturned previous rulings by the Chhattisgarh High Court and lower courts, which had denied a tribal woman’s heirs their rightful inheritance.
The case, Ram Charan & Ors. v. Sukhram & Ors., revolved around a dispute over the property of Bhajju alias Bhanjan Gond, a tribal man from Chhattisgarh. His daughter, Dhaiya, and her legal heirs (the appellants) sought partition of the ancestral property, claiming an equal share alongside her five brothers. However, the Trial Court and First Appellate Court dismissed the suit, citing the absence of a customary law granting inheritance rights to tribal women. The High Court upheld this view, forcing the appellants to approach the Supreme Court.
Patriarchal Assumptions and the Burden of Proof
The Supreme Court strongly criticized the lower courts for their “patriarchal predisposition” in assuming that tribal women had no inheritance rights unless proven otherwise. “The point of inception regarding the discussion of customs was at the exclusion stage… An alternate scenario was also possible where not exclusion, but inclusion could have been presumed,” the Court observed. It highlighted how the burden was wrongly placed on the appellants to prove a custom of female inheritance, while no evidence was presented to show that such rights were explicitly denied.
Justice, Equity, and Good Conscience
Since neither Hindu succession laws nor any tribal custom was definitively established, the Court turned to the principle of “justice, equity, and good conscience” under Section 6 of the Central Provinces Laws Act, 1875. Despite the Act’s repeal in 2018, the Court ruled that the saving clause protected accrued rights, meaning Dhaiya’s claim remained valid.
Quoting earlier judgments, the bench emphasized that this principle fills legal voids to ensure fairness. “Where the existing statutory framework is inadequate… courts may legitimately take recourse to the principles of justice, equity and good conscience to effectively and fairly dispose of the case,” the Court stated, citing M. Siddiq v. Suresh Das (Ayodhya case).
Constitutional Mandate of Equality
The judgment also invoked Article 14 (right to equality), condemning gender discrimination in inheritance. “There appears to be no rational nexus or reasonable classification for only males to be granted succession over the property of their forebears and not women,” the Court asserted. It referenced landmark cases like Air India v. Nergesh Meerza and Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India to underline that equality is a dynamic concept that must evolve to eliminate systemic biases.
The bench drew parallels with the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, which granted daughters equal coparcenary rights, stating, “Denying the female heir a right in the property only exacerbates gender division and discrimination, which the law should ensure to weed out.”
The Verdict
Setting aside the lower courts’ rulings, the Supreme Court declared that Dhaiya’s legal heirs were entitled to an equal share in the ancestral property. “Unless otherwise prescribed in law, denying the female heir a right in the property violates her right to equality,” the judgment concluded.
This landmark decision not only corrects a historical injustice against tribal women but also reinforces constitutional values of gender equality. It sets a precedent for similar disputes, ensuring that in the absence of explicit customs, courts must rule in favor of equitable rights.
The judgment ends with a powerful reminder: “Customs, like the law, cannot remain stuck in time.” With this ruling, the Supreme Court has taken a definitive step toward dismantling patriarchal norms in tribal inheritance laws.
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