DHARMASHASTRA NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY, JABALPUR

TOPIC- DAUGHTERS AS COPARCENERS

SUBJECT- FAMILY LAW II

SUBMITTED TO- ANIMESH JHA

AREENA ANSARI
SUBMITTED BY- KANISHKA SIHARE
BATCH- BA/LLB 2018-23
ROLL NO- 46
SECTION- A
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The success and outcome of this project required a lot of guidance and assistance from many
people and I am extremely privileged to have got this all along the completion of my project.
All that I have done is only due to such supervision and assistance and I would not forget to
thank them.

I am greatly indebted to DHARMASHASTRA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY for

providing me necessary requirements to successfully carry out this project work. I would like
to thank our honourable Vice-Chancellor Prof. Balraj Chauhan for giving me this golden
opportunity.

I respect and thank the subject teachers for providing me an opportunity to do this project and
giving me support and guidance which made me complete the project duly. I am extremely
thankful to them for providing such a nice support and guidance.

I extend my gratitude thanking my parents and my friends for giving me the support and
strength to complete this wonderful project.

Regards,

Kanishka Sihare

BAL/046/18

V Semester
SERIA PAGE
L TOPICS NO.
NO.
INTRODUCTION 1
1.
2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2

3. TABLEOF CONTENTS 3

4. ABSTRACT 4

5. ABBREVIATIONS 5

6. INTRODUCTION 6
Research Topic:
Daughters as coparceners
Objectives:
-To understand about the current position of the rights of daughters.
-To trace the historical position of rights of daughters as coparceners
-To understand about the reforms in law for the rights of daughters as coparceners
Methodology:
The project will be based on doctrinal research with the help of various data available in
different resources like books, journal articles etc.
Hypothesis:
Family has is in the process to become a gender neutral law by the means of reforms.
Research Questions:
- Whether the law of coparcenary is equal for both sons and daughters?
- What are the reforms introduced in the law for coparcenary rights of the daughters?
- What does Mitakshara School of law talks about daughter’s rights?

Chapterization 

1. Introduction
2. Literature Review:
2. Daughters as coparceners- a conceptual analysis
3. Daughters as coparceners- a critical analyses
4. Case laws and Judicial interpretation
5. Conclusion and Recommendation
INTRODUCTION:
Coparcenary, defined as joint heirship or joint ownership of a property, is the product of
ancient Hindu jurisprudence which later on became an integral part of the Mitakshara school
of Hindu law. The concept of coparcenary in Hindu Law has its origin in the concept of Daya
explained by Vijnaneshwara as a property which becomes the property of another person by
the virtue of relation to the owner.1 A person is the exclusive owner of his self-acquisitions
and no one else, including his family members, have the legal power to restrict his rights over
the separate property, save in accordance with the provisions of law.2

According to the traditional law, a Hindu joint family comprises all persons lineally
descended through males from a common ancestor including their wives and unmarried
daughters. Whereas a Hindu Mitakshara Coparcenary is a body narrower than a Hindu joint
family and consists only of males of upto four generations who acquire an interest in the
Coparcenary property or the joint family property by birth with a unity of possession. The
person having interest in the coparcenary property is known as a coparcener.

A coparcenary consists only of the father and his three male lineal descendants, women,
whether daughters, mothers or widows, cannot be a part of the Mitakshara coparcenary.

Mitakshara and the Dayabhaga, two main schools of Hindu law differ fundamentally over the
concept of coparcenary, in the process deviating from the original concept. One of the
fundamental differences between the two schools lies in the interest in the coparcenary
property where Mitakshara school talks about right by birth due to which there is no defined
share for it fluctuates by birth and death of the coparcener in the joint family and Dayabhaga
talks about a defined interest in the property as it is only after the death of the father that the
sons constitute a coparcenary since there is no right by birth.

“Women constitute half of the world’s population, perform nearly two-thirds of its hours,
receive one-tenth of the world’s income and less than one hundredth of the property.”3

Since times immemorial, backed by historical writings, laws have been framed keeping in
mind the interests of the male sex with female sex financially dependent on their husbands,
brothers and other male relatives. Well-educated young women, able to maintain themselves
in a patriarchal society as an independent working woman are married off to doctors,
engineers and other men in service, thus curtailing her self-dependence and making her
submissive to her husband, leaving her at his mercy.4

1
Kulwant Malik, “Theory Of Coparcenary Under Hindu Legal System”, http://www.ssmrae.com/admin
/images/cdc75de713d4b39cb48bf46ae4fe5c0e.pdf (December 20, 2013).
2
Sunder Lal v. Chittar Mal, (1907) ILR 29 All 1
3
Philip N. Cohen, “Stop that Feminist Viral Statistic Meme”, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philip-n- cohen/
stop-that-feminist-viral-_b_835743.html (December 20, 2013)
4
Asha Nayar-Basu, “OF FATHERS AND SONS”, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1051011/ asp/opinion/ story
_5331519.asp (December 20, 2013)