Personal & Customary Law

The Hindu Undivided Family and the Karta

The joint family

A Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) is a joint family of all persons lineally descended from a common ancestor, with their wives and unmarried daughters. It is managed by the karta, traditionally the senior-most male member; courts have held that a woman, as a coparcener after 2005, can also be karta. The HUF is a separate tax entity.

• A woman coparcener can be karta.

Stridhan

A woman's absolute property

Stridhan is property given to a woman before, at or after marriage, such as gifts from relatives. It is her absolute property; the husband is only a custodian and cannot use it without her consent (Pratibha Rani v. Suraj Kumar, 1985).

Marumakkathayam

Matrilineal Kerala

Marumakkathayam was a matrilineal system of inheritance followed by the Nairs and some other communities of Kerala, in which descent and property passed through the female line within a joint family (tharavad). It was abolished by the Kerala Joint Hindu Family System (Abolition) Act 1975. A similar system among the Tuluva communities of coastal Karnataka is called Aliyasantana.

• Abolished in 1975.

Khasi Inheritance

The youngest daughter inherits

Among the Khasi of Meghalaya, a matrilineal society, the youngest daughter (ka khadduh) traditionally inherits the ancestral property and looks after her parents and unmarried siblings. Such customary laws are protected under the Sixth Schedule.

• Heir: the youngest daughter.

Scheduled Tribes and the Hindu Code

Custom prevails

The Hindu Marriage Act and Hindu Succession Act do not apply to members of Scheduled Tribes unless the Central government directs otherwise, so tribal communities are governed by their customary laws. In 2022 the Supreme Court urged the government to consider extending equal inheritance rights to tribal women.