Female Hindu Dying Intestate — Section 15 — Hindu Law (Family Law I) Notes

Succession of a Female Hindu Dying Intestate

In Jayalakshmi v. Ganesh (1953) — decided before the HSA — a widow died leaving property she had received from her husband. Her own sons and her husband’s heirs fought over it. Under the old law, the property reverted to the husband’s family. The HSA 1956 changed this by creating a clear order of succession based on the source of the woman’s property.

Sections 15-16 — Female Hindu Dying Intestate

Section 15(1), HSA 1956: “The property of a female Hindu dying intestate shall devolve according to the rules set out in section 16 — (a) firstly, upon the sons and daughters (including the children of any predeceased son or daughter) and the husband; (b) secondly, upon the heirs of the husband; (c) thirdly, upon the mother and father; (d) fourthly, upon the heirs of the father; and (e) fifthly, upon the heirs of the mother.”

Section 15(2) — Special rules about source of property:

• Property inherited from her father or mother → if she dies without children, it goes to the heirs of her father, not to the husband’s heirs.
• Property inherited from her husband or father-in-law → if she dies without children, it goes to the heirs of her husband, not to her own parents.

Scope limitation — these are narrow exceptions, not a general rule: S.15(2) applies only to property the woman inherited (not self-acquired, purchased, or gifted property) from the specific sources named above, and it only takes effect if she dies without children. In every other case — self-acquired property, property gifted to her by a stranger, Stridhan proper, or any case where she leaves children — the general S.15(1) order applies regardless of the property’s origin. A reader should not treat S.15(2) as a general “property returns to its source” principle; it is a narrow, source-and-childless-specific carve-out from the general S.15(1) scheme.

In Simple Terms: A woman’s heirs follow the same general priority: husband, sons, daughters first; then husband’s heirs; then her own parents; then heirs of her father; lastly heirs of her mother. But property received from one side of the family goes back to that side if she has no children.

Case Laws

• Bhajya v. Gopikabai (1978) — Supreme Court: the special rule in S.15(2) applies only if she dies without children; the word “children” includes adopted children.
• Omprakash v. Radhacharan (2009) — Supreme Court: S.15(2)(a) — property from father reverts to father’s heirs, not husband’s heirs, if the woman died childless.

🚨 FACT-PATTERN RISK ALERT (Female Succession)

Scenario: ‘A’ a widow, has two sons and a daughter. She dies intestate leaving property she had received from her father-in-law. Distribute her estate.

• I — ISSUE: How does the estate of a female Hindu dying intestate devolve, given she has children and the property was from her father-in-law?
• R — RULE: S.15(1)(a) HSA — sons and daughters take first, simultaneously. S.15(2)(b) — property from husband/father-in-law reverts to husband’s heirs only if she dies without children. Since she has children, S.15(2)(b) does not apply.
• A — ANALYSIS: ‘A’ has two sons and a daughter — three Class I heirs (in S.15 terms). Husband is dead. Property is divided equally among the three children. S.15(2)(b) is a decoy — it applies only where there are no children.
• C — CONCLUSION: Each child takes 1/3 of the estate.

Back to Top

📄 Full notes + Question Bank (₹199) — every topic in depth, model answers to all past KSLU questions, in one printable PDF. Get the bundle · 10 Solved Problems · All Hindu Law topics