Daughters' coparcenary rights under amended Hindu succession law apply to living daughters in pending partition matters.

The amended Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 confers on a daughter of a Mitakshara coparcener the status of coparcener in her own right, with the same rights and liabilities as a son, and applies to living daughters of living coparceners on the commencement date regardless of birth before 2005. The earlier rule of survivorship and the fiction of notional partition under the unamended provision do not defeat this statutory change. In pending partition proceedings, rights are finally worked out only at the final decree stage, so a preliminary decree does not prevent application of the amended law. Daughters were therefore entitled to coparcenary rights and a share in joint family property.

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Issues: Whether daughters of a Mitakshara coparcener, born before the 2005 amendment, were entitled to coparcenary rights by birth and to a share in pending partition proceedings under the amended Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.

Analysis: The amended provision confers on a daughter of a coparcener the status of coparcener in her own right in the same manner as a son, with the same rights and liabilities in coparcenary property. The amendment operates on and from its commencement and, as settled by authority, applies to living daughters of living coparceners on the commencement date, irrespective of when the daughters were born. The earlier concept of devolution by survivorship and the fiction of notional partition under the unamended provision do not defeat the statutory change. In a partition suit, rights are worked out until final decree, and a preliminary decree does not bar application of the amended law.

Conclusion: The daughters were entitled to coparcenary rights and to shares in the joint family property; the contrary view of the courts below could not be sustained.

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