SC to refer rights of Hindu women

NEW DELHI The Supreme Court has decided to untangle the labyrinthine interpretations of property rights granted to Hindu women under Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, potentially marking a landmark in a saga spanning six decades.

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has decided to untangle the labyrinthine interpretations of property rights granted to Hindu women under Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, potentially marking a landmark in a saga spanning six decades.

The question? Whether a Hindu wife inherits full ownership rights to property bequeathed by her husband, even when a will imposes restrictions.

A bench of justices PS Narasimha and Sandeep Mehta, grappling with the legal tug-of-war on an issue that has led to as many as 20 judgments in the last six decades, called for a larger bench on Monday to settle the issue once and for all.