Union govt. considering equal property rights to Scheduled Tribe women: Minister informs MP

Rajya Sabha MP P. Wilson had in March this year made a representation seeking to issue notification under Hindu Succession Act to apply beneficial provisions to ST women.

The Union government was examining whether to issue notification under the Hindu Succession Act to apply beneficial provisions to Scheduled Tribe (ST) women, who profess Hinduism, to enable them to inherit equal share over properties of father/ Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal has said.

In a communication to DMK Rajya Sabha MP P. Wilson, Mr. Meghwal said that the matter was being examined in consultation with the other concerned Ministries/ Departments - the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.

“It also appears that consultation with State Governments is required, as the subject matter falls in List - III (Concurrent List) of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution,” Mr. Meghwal said in his reply to the DMK MP.

Mr. Wilson had in March this year made a representation to various Ministers of the Union government seeking to issue notification under Hindu Succession Act to apply beneficial provisions to ST women who profess Hinduism to enable them to inherit equal share over properties of father/ HUF.

So far, the benefit of equal inheritance of property has been denied to female members of Schedule Tribe communities who profess Hinduism, Mr. Wilson had noted.

In his reply, Mr. Meghwal has also pointed out that in the matter of Kamla Neti Vs Special Land acquisition Officer and Ors. case, the Supreme Court had directed the Central government to examine the issue in question to consider whether amendment was necessary to withdraw the exemptions provided under the Hindu Succession Act in so far as the applicability of the provisions of the said Act to the Scheduled Tribes was concerned.