Whether Hindu Daughter After Converting To Islam is entitled to Inherit Property of her parents?

The change of religion and loss of caste have long ceased

to be the grounds of forfeiture of property and the only

disqualification to inheritance on the ground that the person

has ceased to be a Hindu is confined to the heirs of such

convert (Section 26). The disqualification does not affect the

convert himself or herself. This being the position, I have no

hesitation to hold that the applicant who is admittedly a sister

of the private respondents, i.e. the daughter of late Bhikhabhai

Patel, is entitled to succeed in getting her name mutated in the

record of rights as one of the legal heirs. The provisions

contained in Section 26 of the Hindu Succession Act is the only

provision dealing with the right of succession of children born

to a convert after the conversion. However, this provision does

not disqualify the convert himself from succeeding to the

property of the Hindu father.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 15825 of 2017

NAYANABEN FIROZKHAN PATHAN @ NASIMBANU FIROZKHAN PATHAN.

V 

PATEL SHANTABEN BHIKHABHAI & 4.

CORAM:  MR.JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA

Date : 26/09/2017

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Whether Right of wife to claim maintenance from her husband is lost if husband renounce Hinduism?

 Reliance placed by Mr. Goel on V. Tulasamma and others vs. Sehsa Reddy (Dead) by L.Rrs. : [1977] 3 SCR 261 is wholly misplaced. The question which arose for consideration therein was the nature or the right, a widow acquires in the property in which she had been in possession in lieu of maintenance. Interpreting sub-section (1) of Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act this Court held that the term "possessed" should receive a wide meaning. It is in this context this Court noticed the authorities from Sastric Hindu Law whereupon our attention has been drawn :-

"Similar observations have been made by the learned author at p. 528 of the book which may be extracted thus: 'According to both the schools, the lawfully wedded wife acquires from the moment of her

marriage a right to the property belonging to the husband at the time and also to any popery that may subsequently be acquired by him. so that she becomes a co-owner of the husband, though her right is not co-equal to that of the husband, but a subordinate one. owing to her disability founded on her status of perpetual or life long tutelage or dependence.

...

This right of the wife to maintenance from

her husband is not lost even if the husband

renounce Hinduism.

This right subsists even after the husband's death although her husband's right as distinguished from hers may pass by survivorship or by

succession to sons or even to collaterals; these simply step into the position of her husband, and she is required by Hindu law to live under their guardianship after her husband's death.' "1

Supreme Court of India

Vimalben Ajitbhai Patel vs Vatslabeen Ashokbhai Patel And ... on 14 March, 2008

Bench: S Sinha, V Sirpurkar

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