ISSUE:
Whether the devolution of property of a female Hindu who dies intestate under Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act is unconstitutional because it is unfair and discriminatory?
RULE:
Classes I and II of the Schedule to Section 8 of the HSA govern the general laws of succession for devolution of the property of an intestate Hindu male. In Class I, male and female descendants, including those of a deceased person's sons and daughters, inherit equally from their predecessors; however, only the widow and the mother inherit alongside the heirs. To achieve the gender equality and power balance that would result in the affirmative action envisioned by Article 15(3) of the Constitution, the aforementioned clause makes an absolute discrimination in favour of the widow and the mother. This was done on the assumption that in the case of a son's untimely death, the mother would be more financially reliant on his inheritance than the father.