New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court - Justice Dhananjay Chandrachud, Justice Suryakant and Justice Bela M Trivedi - will hear the constitutional validity of Section 15 and 16 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 on April 5, the top court had said on January 31.
Section 15 of the Act provides general rules of succession in the case of female Hindus.
In its previous hearing on January 31, the court had decided to transfer the case to a larger bench as the case required a "lengthy hearing". The apex court had also allowed the petitioners to file their written submissions on the issue before the next date of hearing.
The petition has been filed by Advocates Mrunal Buva and Dhairyashil Salunkhe. In their writ petition, Buva and Salunkhe have called Section 15 and Section 16 of the act "highly discriminatory" and "unconstitutional".
"The contention of the petitioner is that where a female Hindu dies intestate, the property would devolve upon first upon the sons and daughters and the husband and then on the heirs of the husband and it only thereafter that the mother and the father are recognised," the court had said earlier, as reported by news agency PTI.
Recommended For You
"Section 16 specifies that among the heirs referred to under sub-section (1) of section 15; those in one entry are to be preferred to those in any succeeding entry. On the other hand, in the case of a male Hindu dying intestate, section 8 stipulates that the estate will first devolve upon the relative specified in class I of the schedule," it had noted.
The top court had said that the issue has come before it as a special leave petition against an order of the Bombay High Court rejecting the caveat filed by the petitioner on the ground that she did not have an interest in the property of her deceased daughter, during the lifetime of the spouse of the deceased.
The bench in February 2019, while issuing notice said that since the petition which has been instituted under Article 32 raises an important question of gender equality, it is inclined to issue notice and had sought a response from the Centre.
It had appointed senior advocate Meenakshi Arora as amicus curiae to assist the court on the issue.
(With inputs from PTI)