Supreme Court Affirms Inheritance Rights of Tribal Woman; Calls on Parliament to Expand Hindu Succession Act to Include Scheduled Tribes
In Tirith Kumar & Ors. v. Daduram & Ors., the Supreme Court urged Parliament to amend the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (HSA) to secure the right of survivorship for female tribals. The Court referenced the Kamla Neti v. LAO (2023) judgment, stressing the need for the Central Government to amend the HSA to extend its provisions to Scheduled Tribe members.
A bench of Justice CT Ravikumar and Justice Sanjay Karol was hearing an appeal against the Chhattisgarh High Court's decision granting property rights to female members of the 'Sawara Tribe'. The Appellant argued that since the respondent’s father died before 1956, they had no inheritance rights.
Rejecting this, the High Court invoked principles of justice, equity, and good conscience, extending survivorship benefits under HSA despite its inapplicability to Scheduled Tribes. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision, citing the Central Provinces Laws Act, 1875, which allows equity principles to fill gaps in tribal succession laws.
The Court referred to Madhu Kishwar & Ors. v. State of Bihar (1998), where it was held that while HSA and the Indian Succession Act do not directly apply to Scheduled Tribes, their general principles of equity and fairness should. The Court upheld the High Court’s application of these principles, finding no error in extending equal inheritance rights to tribal women. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed.