Well, I have a serious issue for which I have taken lots of advices, but have been getting suggestions of mixed opinions and different orders.
The situation is as follows:-
My Grandfather died in the year 1986, leaving no will (registered or unregistered), and in his life time he purchased few immovable properties, one of which is a plot situated in Kanpur. To him are three brothers (say A, B and C) and four daughters (say D,E,F and G). After his death the three sons got their names mutated in the property without any knowledge or notification of sisters.
Now they all decided to sell this PLOT and for this the four daughters demanded their equal shares in the property (citing the Amendment in the Hindu Succession Act 2005), and in this effect a legal notice has already been sent to the three brothers about a year back.
After that a family meeting was held and several proposals/points have been tabled by the sons like:-
1. They are saying that this is an agricultural land and in this kind of land Hindu Succession Act is not applicable, and so in this kind of land daughters have no right!
2. According to them (the sons), the rights of daughters in ancestral property have came into effect only for those properties where the owner dies after the year 2005.
3. According to them, the rights can be exercised only by those daughters who have been married after the year 2005.
4. Though they are willing to give a share up to 8% to each daughter (instead of 14.3% which is 1/7th), the daughters are even ready at this compromise but what we want is a registered agreement to this effect for which they are denying.
My Questions
1. What is the state of rights of daughters in view of the Amendment in this act with respect to the following points:-
(a) Nature of the land:
As of today the land is urban and the the area comes in a ward of Kanpur Nagar Nigam. What is the state of right of daughter if it is urban agricultural land? Is the right applicable only for residential properties? Though no agricultural activity has been done or is planned to be done in this land. Are rights for such lands governed by other acts (different for different states) and not by Hindu Succession Act?
(b) Is there no right of daughters (according to Hindu Succession Act) if she has been married before 2005?
(c) Is there no right of daughters (according to Hindu Succession Act) if the father has died without will before the year 2005?
2. If the daughters have the rights then how (in the year 1986) the sons got only their names mutated in this property and not of the daughters?
3. Can they legally sell this property without the consent of daughters? And if yes, then what must be the immediate action to restrict such an act?
I will be highly grateful if any of you learned experts can help me in this issue and advice me what course of action to be taken.
Thanks for your valuable time and support.
