This article is written by Ms.Ayushi yadav, a B.A.LLB 3rd year student of Lloyd Law College, Greater Noida.

ABSTRACT 

Hindu widows in the context of cultural and legal frameworks. Examining traditional practices and legal reforms, it highlights the evolving status of widows and their access to inheritance. The analysis considers socio-cultural factors influencing widows’ property rights, shedding light on challenges and opportunities. Findings underscore the importance of legal reforms in empowering widows economically and socially, emphasizing the need for broader societal changes to ensure equitable property distribution among Hindu widows.”

INTRODUCTION:

The women play a significant role in the life of every individual human being. Securing her better birth rights would mean giving better future to our own society, family and to every individual. Prior to commencement of the Act of 1956 the property held by a Hindu female was classified under two heads: (1) Stridhan and (2) Hindu Women’s estate.

The former was regarded as her absolute property over which she had full ownership and on her death it devolved upon her heirs. The later was considered to be her limited estate with respect to which her powers of alienation were limited. Such property on her death devolved not on heirs but upon the next heirs of the last full owner. Inheritance rights of widows on their husband’s property are one such right that widows fail to capitalize on because of a lack of legal awareness. A woman also holds property rights after her husband’s death based on how he acquired its ownership, which means self-acquired or ancestral.

Historically, Hindu widows faced societal restrictions and limited property rights. Widows were often marginalized, denied inheritance, and subjected to social stigma. However, legal reforms, such as the Hindu Succession Act of 1956, aimed to address these inequalities by granting widows certain property rights. Despite improvements, challenges persist, and cultural attitudes play a significant role in shaping the practical realization of these rights for Hindu widows.

History of Widow Remarriage Act, 1856

Hindu culture has long prohibited the remarriage of widows, especially child and teenage widows, to maintain what it deemed family honour and property. All widows were supposed to live a life of penance and sacrifice. The Hindu Widows Remarriage Act offered legal protection against the loss of some types of inheritance when a Hindu widow remarried. However, the widow decided to abandon any legacy from her dead husband under the Act.

Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-91), the principal of Calcutta’s Sanskrit College, was largely responsible for this law to be included in the constitution. He pushed tirelessly to establish a widow remarriage culture in the nation. Even though the widow was a minor and the marriage had not been consummated, remarriage was not allowed. In certain regions of India, widows are expected to live and stay unmarried till they die. They were not permitted to live like ordinary people. They need to follow the norms dictated in ancient times.They were supposed to live a life of austerity and extremes, which included simple and holistic lives devoted to the lord that precluded them of no new and colourful clothing, no excellent food, a festival boycott, and even reprimand from all family and social members. Widows were required to wear a coarse white saree. Validating and regulating Hindu widows’ marriages

Recognising a remarried widow’s rights and inheritance as if she had married for the first time. Forfeited the rights, duties, and inheritances from her former marriage, which she had hoped to collect from her late spouse. The males who dared to marry a widow were legally protected. The statute also gave males who married widow’s legal protections.

Condition of Widows before the Introduction of the Act

• According to the prevalent customs in some parts of India, widows, especially upper caste-Hindu widows were expected to lead a life of austerity and extremities.
• Widow’s remarriage was not permitted even if she was a child and the marriage was not even consummated. Widows had to wear a white saree of coarse material. In many cases, she had to shave off her hair and was not even allowed to wear a blouse.
• They were boycotted from festivals and even shunned by members of the family and society.

Ishwar Chandra cited Hindu scriptures to show that widow remarriage was well    within   the folds of Hinduism. Through his efforts, Lord Canning enacted the Widow Remarriage Act throughout British India.

Major changes after the Establishment of the Act

• As per the law: “No marriage contracted between Hindus shall be invalid, and the issue of no such marriage shall be illegitimate, by reason of the woman having been previously married or betrothed to another person who was dead at the time of such marriage, any custom and any interpretation of Hindu Law to the contrary notwithstanding.”
• The law also held that widows who remarry were entitled to all the rights and inheritances that a woman who marries for the first time would have.

As per the act, the widow forfeited any inheritance that she may have obtained from her deceased husband.

• The act also provided legal safeguards to men who married widows.
• Widow Remarriage was, however, commonplace among people of the lower castes. This act was a watershed in the social reformation of Indian society during the nineteenth century.
• The first widow remarriage that took place after the law was enforced took place on 7th December 1856 in north Calcutta. The groom was the son of Ishwar Chandra’s close friend

Laws under Widow Remarriage Act, 1856

1) Legalised Marriage

A marriage between consenting Hindus is genuine, legitimate, and acceptable, according to Section 1 of the Act. If a lady was previously married and is now a widow, the marriage will not be nullified unless Hindu Law or tradition dictates otherwise.

2) Cessation of Widow’s Right in Property

A widow’s entitlement to her deceased husband’s property is terminated under Section 2 of the Act. For the sake of natural justice, the legislation eliminates the widow’s entitlement to maintenance and inheritance conferred on her by her second marriage’s will or testamentary disposition. In such cases, the Act declares the widow dead and transfers the property to the deceased husband’s next heir.

3) Custody of the Dead Husband’s Children

Section 3 of the Act deals with the children’s care once the widow remarries. In the absence of express instructions regarding the care of the deceased husband’s children, the section stipulates the following: The deceased husband’s father, paternal grandpa, mother, paternal grandmother, or any male relative of the deceased husband might petition the Court to appoint a guardian for the children

If the Court thinks it appropriate, such guardians shall have the right to care for and custody of the abovementioned children throughout their minority rather than their mother .No such appointment shall be made without the mother’s permission unless the designated guardian agrees to provide security for the sustenance and appropriate education of the abovementioned children while they are minors.

The claim of Hindu widows in their spouse property.

Where immovable Property was purchased by a Hindu widow in control as such of the inheritance of her deceased spouse out of the pay of the inheritance, such Property does not always evolve into an accumulation of the husband’s Property. The widow has the absolute power to dispose of it throughout her life. Still, it is possible only if she displays a clear sense to treat it as an accumulation of her spouse’s estate or lets it stay undisposed at her demise. That Property will evolve as part of that inheritance.

A widow in control as such of her spouse’s estate is not responsible for accounting to anyone. Yet, she is free to do what she does with the Property during her lifetime, given that she does not injure the revision. The widow of a separated Hindu followed as such in the firm of her dead spouse. She carried it on for a series with reasonable prudence on the same lines as it had been conducted in his lifetime. The business was that of a banker and money lender, involved from time to time.

If a man dies with having more than one widow, then they can make the court partition of the Property according to the share. The court can ask them to share part of their Property by themself. Two widows interested in a property can’t get the whole share alone. It is good if they peacefully divide the Property between them. Other than that, they can divide it as a mutual agreement. Yet, they have no right to divide the Property in the proper sense. One’s share of the Property will go by the right to the other.

Property rights of a widow in different circumstances

 Inheritance rights based on the form of acquires and religion:

1) Hindu Law

As per the Hindu Succession Act, of 1956, a wife can inherit the property of the husband after his death, intestate. 

2) Self-Acquired

The legal heirs of the male dying intestate get his property post his death and the wife coming in the Class I heirs bracket, gets the property post the death of the husband equally or in a share as mentioned in the will of the husband.

3) Ancestral Property

A wife does not have any legal rights in the ancestral property of the husband as her own, however, she can claim the part of her husband post his death from her in-laws. 

4) Christians

The property is considered self-acquired, no matter the mode of how it was acquired. The wife has a right to the property along with his other legal heirs.

5) Muslims

The wife gets one-fourth property of the husband if there are children and if no children are there, one-eighth, part of the property belongs to the wife.

 

Landmark judgements on the Hindu Widows Remarriage Act, 1856

1) Jagdish Mahton v. Mohammad Elahi (1972)

In the case of Jagdish Mahton v. Mohammad Elahi (1972), the widow was divested of the interest that she had in the property of her deceased husband. 

The appellants had pleaded that the widow’s interest in the property would cease upon her remarriage by virtue of Section 2 of the Widow Remarriage Act. However, the plea taken by the respondent (widow) was that, by virtue of the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act, the widow had acquired the property of her deceased husband as an absolute owner. Hence, she could not be divested of the interests that she had in the property. The Hindu Succession Act would supersede the Widow Remarriage Act. Section 4 of the Hindu Succession Act provides for the overriding effect of the Act. 

The Court held that a Hindu widow acquires an absolute interest in her deceased husband’s property by virtue of Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act. Since this Act has an overriding effect over the preceding laws, Section 2 of the Widow Remarriage Act will cease to have effect to the extent of the inconsistency. Thus, the Hindu widow cannot be divested of the interests that she has in her deceased husband’s property on the grounds of her remarriage. 

2) Bhola Umar v. Kausilla (1932)

There has been a lot of controversy regarding the scope of the Widow Remarriage Act. In the case of Bhola Umar v. Kausilla (1932), the issue before the Allahabad High Court was whether the Act applied to all Hindu widows. 

The Court held that the Act does not apply to all Hindu widows. The High Court was of the opinion that widows who were permitted by the customs followed by certain castes to remarry upon the deaths of their husbands would not be covered within the scope of the Act. Such widows need not take advantage of the safeguards provided under the Widow Remarriage Act. 

The Court was of the opinion that there may be certain cases where the remarriage of the widow is regulated by the customs followed in her religion. In such a case, matters such as inheritance, maintenance, guardianship, etc., must also be governed by the customs followed by the same caste. If no custom relating to the forfeiture of the interests of the widow upon her remarriage is established, the widow will retain all the interests in her deceased husband’s property even after the remarriage.           

3) Chando Mahtain v. Khublal Mahto (1982)

In this case, the petitioner had filed a suit for the partition of the property. However, the suit was dismissed on the ground that the petitioner had failed to add the widow of his brother to the suit. The trial court dismissed the suit on the ground that the widow was a necessary party. 

The petitioner preferred an appeal and pleaded that since the widow had remarried, she was divested of all rights to the property. Thus, the widow was not a necessary party. The Court held that Section 2 of the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act divests the widow of all interests in her deceased husband’s property upon remarriage. 

The Court held that the Hindu Succession Act did not have the effect of repealing the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act. However, Section 2 of the Remarriage Act is abrogated by Section 4 of Hindu Succession Act. Since the widow is mentioned as one of the Class I heirs in the Hindu Succession Act, she was rightly held to be a necessary party by the trial court.

Conclusion

The Act put the widow of a member of a joint family in the place of her deceased husband, and the husband’s interest or right to a share in the joint family property in all schools, except the Dayabhaga, vested upon his death in the widow, which she could enforce by claiming a partition in her own right and independently of any partition taking place between the sons or not. The rule that the widow succeeds to her deceased husband’s property only in default of his male issue, that is, son, grandson or great grandson, was abrogated by the virtue of section 3 of the Act. She was to be entitled to the same share as a son along with or in default of the male issue. Even though this Act widened the scope of rights of the Hindu widow, the Act the widow a limited estate which was to be held by her only during her life time and then reverted back to her husband’s heirs.

The Hindu Widows Remarriage Act dealt with various aspects of Hindu law. It covered the maintenance, inheritance, and property rights of a Hindu widow. The Act was certainly a watershed movement in the history of social reforms in India.

REFERENCES:

1)https://indiankanoon.org/doc/144532805/

2)https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/vidy15632

3)https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3897336

4)https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-4098-rights-of-a-hindu-widow.html

5)https://ir.nbu.ac.in/bitstream

6)https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/1713?locale=en