The Law Commission of India has asked the Narendra Modi government to amend provisions in a pre-Independence law dealing with property succession in Christian families, saying the statute gives “preferential approach to men and is unfair and unjust to Christian women.”
Noting that Christianity is the third largest religion in India, the Law Commission headed by Justice A.P. Shah said Sections in the Indian Succession Act, 1925 “weave an archaic principle of giving superior status to man in access to and owning property.”
The 247th Law Commission report specifically focuses on the impact caused by Sections 42 to 46 of the 1925 Act on Christian women and mothers.
The Commission, in its 27-page report submitted to the Ministry of Law and Justice on Friday, suggests amendments that would “make the law more reflective of rising social awareness in the Christian community and of needs of changing times.”
For example, the report points to Section 42 of the 1925 Act. The provision mandates that if a son dies intestate (without writing a will) and has no lineal descendants (children, grandchildren), his property, excluding his widow’s share, should go entirely to his father. His mother, even if she is alive, will not get a share.
The next Section says if the father is already dead at the time of his son’s untimely demise, the assets of the deceased son will not go entirely to his mother. Instead, she would have to share it equally with the dead son’s surviving siblings.
The Commission report recommends that the law should be amended so that both parents get equal share in the deceased son’s property. And, if the father is already dead at the time of his son’s demise, the mother should succeed to the entire property.
The Commission believes that the amendments suggested would go a “long way in bringing the law in consonance with time and in addressing concerns of Christian community.”
