The Supreme Court has set aside the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s order, ruling that tribal women in the state cannot inherit property under the Hindu Succession Act, as no formal government notification exempts them from customary tribal laws.
The Supreme Court on Thursday (Dec 19) emphasized the need for parity in inheritance rights between male and female members of scheduled tribe (ST) communities. A Bench of Justice CT Ravikumar and Justice Sanjay Karol held that denying equal rights to women from ST communities is unjustifiable, particularly in light of the Constitution of India’s guarantee of the right to equality. The Court also highlighted that when a daughter from a non-tribal community is entitled to such a right, there is no reason to deny the right to daughter belonging to ST community.
