Sujata Sharma v. Manu Gupta
After the 2005 Amendment, the eldest coparcener of a Hindu Undivided Family can be its Karta even if she is a woman.
Facts
The plaintiff, the eldest surviving coparcener of the D.R. Gupta & Sons HUF, sought a declaration that she was entitled to be its Karta. Defendants 1-4 opposed, arguing that the 2005 Amendment conferred equal inheritance rights on daughters but not the right to manage the HUF, which by custom vested in the eldest male member. Other defendants supported her claim.
Issues
- Whether the eldest female coparcener of an HUF can act as its Karta after the 2005 Amendment
- Whether the right of management of an HUF is confined to male members by custom despite amended Section 6
Arguments
The plaintiff argued that the sole impediment to a woman being Karta had been her lack of coparcenary status, which the 2005 Amendment removed, giving her, as senior-most coparcener, the right to manage. The contesting defendants argued that Section 6 deals only with inheritance, not management, and that the customary rule reserving karta-ship to the eldest male member survived under Section 4.
Held
The Court held that the only historic bar to a woman being Karta was that she was not a coparcener; once the 2005 Amendment made daughters coparceners by birth with the same rights as sons, that disqualification disappeared. As coparcenership is the necessary qualification for managership, the eldest coparcener, whether male or female, is entitled to be Karta, and Section 6 contains no restriction to the contrary. Marriage did not affect her rights, and her father's interest had devolved on her. The suit was decreed declaring her the Karta of the HUF.
Ratio decidendi
Since the 2005 Amendment confers full coparcenary status on daughters, the senior-most coparcener of an HUF may be its Karta irrespective of sex; managership flows from coparcenership and is not confined to males.
Significance
A landmark High Court ruling - the first to hold that a woman can be Karta of an HUF after the 2005 Amendment, giving practical content to daughters' equal coparcenary rights by extending equality from inheritance to management.
Related
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