When a widow remarries
Query. Can she claim her first husband's share in the immovable property against his name.
according to Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, which provides the general rules of succession in case of males, the following would be the order of succession:
- First to Class-I heirs, which includes the deceased man's children, widow, mother, etc.
- Second to Class-II his father, siblings, etc.
- Third to the agnates (related through a male link) of the deceased.
- Fourth to the cognates (related to a female link) of the deceased
Section 23 of the Hindu Succession Act, disentitles a woman from seeking partition in respect of a dwelling occupied by a joint family until the male heir chooses to seek partition of the property to divide the respective shares. This is why, Sahu will have to wait till the head of her late husband's family divides the shares among the legal heirs.
Inserted in the Act in 2005, this Section gave daughters the same right as sons to reside in and claim inheritance in the ancestral property but failed to talk about widows seeking a share in their deceased husband's property. In 2008, the Supreme Court also held that a widow, who remarries cannot be deprived of her share in her dead husband's property despite a change in her marital status.
