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Section 51: Division of intestate's property among widow, widower, children and parents

Indian Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1925
Section 50 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 52

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 51

Section 51 establishes the statutory division of a Parsi intestate's property among the surviving widow or widower, children, and parents, incorporating absolute gender parity post-1991 amendment.

  • Gender Parity in Division: Following the Indian Succession (Amendment) Act, 1991, sons and daughters receive equal shares in the property of their deceased father or mother.
  • Widow/Widower Share: The surviving widow or widower takes a share equal to that of each child.
  • Parental Share Calculation: Where the intestate is a male, his father and mother each receive a share equal to half the share of each child; where the intestate is a female, her parents take no share if her widower and children survive.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Hormasji v. Rustomji (Bombay High Court Rulings): Judicial rulings established that the 1991 amendment to Section 51 completely eradicated historical gender disparity, granting Parsi daughters equal inheritance rights with sons.
  • Goolrokh Gupta v. Burjor Pardiwala (Special Leave Petition / Constitutional Precedents): The Supreme Court recognized that gender-just amendments to Section 51 reflect the constitutional mandate of equality in personal succession laws.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In computing Parsi intestate estates post-1991: if a Parsi male leaves a widow, 2 sons, 1 daughter, and parents, the estate is divided into parts where widow, sons, and daughter take 2 units each, and father and mother take 1 unit each (Total: 2+2+2+2+1+1 = 10 units).

Section 50 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 52