Hindu Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1956
Section 1 of Hindu Succession Act: Short title and extent
Official Bare Act Text
Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary
(1)This Act may be called the Hindu Succession Act.
(2)It extends to the whole of India.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 1
Section 1 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 establishes the short title, universal pan-Indian territorial extent, and legislative foundation of the historic enactment codifying and unifying intestate and testamentary succession among Hindus.
Pan-Indian Territorial Scope: Extends to the whole of India; following the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, its provisions apply uniformly across all States and Union Territories.
Codification of Intestate Succession: Part of the landmark Hindu Code Bill, replacing fragmented regional, customary, Dayabhaga, and Mitakshara inheritance rules with a unified statutory framework.
Gender Equality Transformation: Re-engineered by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 to confer equal coparcenary rights upon daughters by birth under Section 6.
Key Landmark Precedents:
Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020) 9 SCC 1: A 3-Judge Bench held that the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 confers coparcenary rights on daughters by birth under Section 6, with retroactive effect; the daughter's right is unobstructed heritage (apratibandha daya) and does not depend on the father being alive on September 9, 2005.
Arunachala Gounder v. Ponnusamy (2022) 11 SCC 520: The Supreme Court held that self-acquired property of a Hindu male dying intestate devolves by inheritance and not by survivorship, and a daughter is entitled to inherit self-acquired and coparcenary property even prior to the 1956 codification.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:
In partition and succession suits, cite Section 1 r/w Vineeta Sharma to confirm that daughters possess absolute, unimpeachable coparcenary rights by birth in all ancestral assets, standing on identical footing with sons.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 1
Section 1 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 establishes the short title, universal pan-Indian territorial extent, and legislative foundation of the historic enactment codifying and unifying intestate and testamentary succession among Hindus.
In partition and succession suits, cite Section 1 r/w Vineeta Sharma to confirm that daughters possess absolute, unimpeachable coparcenary rights by birth in all ancestral assets, standing on identical footing with sons.