In Brief
This case involved a tribal woman's heirs seeking an equal share in ancestral property. The lower courts dismissed the suit, holding that without proof of a custom allowing female succession, the heirs had no right to inherit. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that where no law (the Hindu Succession Act does not apply to Scheduled Tribes) and no proven custom govern succession, courts must apply the principles of justice, equity, and good conscience. The Court rejected the burden placed on claimants to prove female succession rights, noting no contrary custom was proven either. It held that denying female heirs equal property rights violates Article 14 (equality) of the Constitution, as there is no rational basis for treating males and females differently in succession absent explicit legal prohibition. The heirs were declared entitled to equal shares.
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