In Brief
A widow and her three unmarried daughters inherited a share of joint family property when the widower (the widow's deceased husband) received his share through partition with his brother in 1940–1941. One daughter sued for an equal share, claiming rights under the Hindu Law Women's Rights Act, 1933. The lower courts awarded her one-quarter share. The Supreme Court allowed the appeals and dismissed the suit, holding that under Section 4 of the Act, only the widow—not unmarried daughters—is entitled to inherit the deceased husband's intestate share. Section 8(1)(d), which protects female relatives' rights when property passes by survivorship, does not apply when property is acquired through partition among coparceners."
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