Overview: A Widow’s Inheritance and Maintenance Rights in India

INTRODUCTION

Every year India records the most significant number of widows in the World. From times so old that it cannot be dated back to, widows have been victims of the patriarchal system, without challenging it. Yet, concern about widows, glaringly in India has remained almost invisible, in the women’s movement.[1] She is stigmatized as a woman who has failed to safeguard her husband’s life.

THE CURRENT INHERITANCE AND MAINTENANCE LAWS FOR WIDOWS:

When one dies without a will, that laws of succession kick in. Succession, in simple terms, refers to the inheritance of property after the death of the one who owns the property. Accordingly, there is:

The Hindu Succession Act, 1956: (applies to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists)

Under the scope of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, if a Hindu male dies without a will, his property is divided among his sons, daughters, widow, and mother equally. The widow of the deceased is sanctioned to inherit equally with her sons, daughters, and mother-in-law.

The Indian Succession Act, 1925: (applies to those not covered under the Hindu or Muslim Laws)

As per the Indian Succession Act, the widow of a Christian takes a percent of his share. If the heirs of the deceased are children, the widow receives a third of the share, with the remaining going to the others. If the heirs are relatives other than the children, the widow receives half of the share, and the remainder goes to the other relatives. If there are neither children nor other relatives, the widow receives the entire property.[3]

As for the Parsi community, a widow receives equal shares with each child or parent of her deceased husband. If the widow is the lone heir, she takes half of the said property, and the residue is to be divided among other relatives of the deceased.[4]

Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937:

As for Muslim law, no widow is excluded from inheritance. A childless Muslim widow is entitled to one-fourth of the property of the deceased husband, after meeting with his funeral and legal expenses and debts. However, if there are heirs, then the widow is entitled to one-eighth of the deceased husband’s property. If a couple has just married and the man dies without consummating the marriage, his widow has no right of inheritance. But if an ailing husband divorces her and then dies from that illness, the widow’s right to a share of inheritance continues until she remarries.

The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956:

The Act lays down the obligation of the father-in-law to maintain his son's widow, if she is unable to maintain herself out of her earnings or other property or, where she has no property of her own, is unable to obtain maintenance from the estate of her husband or her parents or children.[5]

LANDMARK JUDGEMENT:

In Ajay Kumar Vs. Lata @ Shruti and Ors.[6] where the defendant, the widow, was not allowed to live in the house after her husband's death. For strengthening and securing the widow, court relied on The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, which says that relief can be sought against relatives of the husband as well.
"An aggrieved wife or a female living in a relationship in the nature of a marriage may also file a complaint against a relative of the husband or the male partner, as the case may be"[7]. The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the lower court and ordered the brother-in-law to maintain his brother's widow.

CONCLUSION

Overall, public policy has largely ignored the specific problems of widows in India. But given the numbers involved, this exclusion is likely to prove costly not just for the women concerned but for society in general.[8]

In all cultural settings, whether Christian, Hindu or Muslim – regardless of their ethnic group widowhood is associated with trauma and presents a myriad of problems of varied nature; economic, social and psychological dimension. To help a widow adjust to the problems of widowhood, we must actively seek involvement from governmental agencies, social organizations, and religious institutions. We must begin by increasing public awareness, and two valuable ways of educating the public are by: sensitizing on the plight of the widowhood and encouraging further research into widowhood. In conclusion, I feel that some of the areas which need to be further researched include the development of an Effective Social Network System and the Cultural Differences In Widowhood Adjustment.

A bill, 'The Widows (Protection and Maintenance) Bill, 2015' was tabled to give protection to Abandoned and Destitute Widows. Unfortunately, the bill wasn't passed. Lack of such special laws in this regard is adding to the woes of widows and thus, should be brought back to attention.

{AUTHOR: Stuti Bhansali, a second-year law student at Manipal University, Jaipur}.

REFERENCES

[1] CP Chandrasekhar & Jayati Ghosh, " What it means to be a woman in India Today (2017) < https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/c-p-chandrasekhar/what-it-means-to-be-a-widow-in-india-today/article9895691.ece > accessed 29/05/2020.

[2] Ibid.

[3] The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (Act 30 of 1956) s. 31-49,

[4] The Indian Succession Act, 1925 (Act 39 of 1925) s. 50-56

[5] The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956 (Act 78 of 1956) s. 19

[6] [2019] SCC OnLine SC 726

[7] The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (Act 43 of 2005) s. 2 (q)

[8] Supra note 3.

[1] Pritha Dasgupta, ‘Women Alone: The Problems and Challenges of Widows in India’ (2017), IJHSS, Vol. 6 < https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3091632 > accessed 28/05/2020