In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's judgment that the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 does not apply to members of the Sawara tribe, a notified Scheduled Tribe under Article 342 of the Constitution. Despite the trial court finding that the parties were 'sufficiently Hinduised' and should be governed by Hindu law, the Court held that Section 2(2) of the Act explicitly excludes Scheduled Tribes unless the Central Government issues a de-notification. Daughters of a tribe member cannot claim inheritance rights under Hindu succession law merely by asserting they follow Hindu principles. The Court affirmed that equity and good conscience may supplement succession law where the Hindu Succession Act does not apply, but such principles cannot override statutory law. The Court dismissed the appeal while directing the Central Government to consider amending the Act to grant equal succession rights to tribal women, noting the anomaly of denying such rights seventy years after the Constitution's adoption.
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