LAW OF WOMEN’S PROPERTY (STRIDHAN)

WOMEN’S PROPERTY �Background

• The Hindu Society is found to be greatly influenced by the religious scripts Like Manusmirities, Yagyabalkya, Naradsmiriti and so on till date. The status of women in ancient Hindu society  (before 2500 B.C.) was worse as they could be easily be bought and sold and even gambled as other property.
• In this regard, there was no point of property rights to the women those days.
• Regarding the property rights of women in Hindu Society, before 4^th century B.C, there was the provision that the daughters could get the parental property (patrimony) in inheritance only if she had no any brothers.
• Some Sanskrit literatures have mentioned that the unmarried daughters could get the inherited property of their mothers. (Dr. Devi Prasad Kandel, Property rights of women in Nepal, Ratna Pustak Bhandar, p 14)

​

​

[3] 

• But there was the concept of stridhana(the private property of the women) was prevalent.
• The ornaments, jewellery etc were regarded as the women’s private property.
• The gifts given by the father, mother, brother, husband and other persons at the time of marriage could be regarded as the women’s individual property. (The six varieties of Stridhana were coded in the Manusmiriti, p 12)
• Women's property rights are property and inheritance rights enjoyed by women as a category within society at any point in time.
• The patterns and rights of property ownership vary between societies and are influenced by cultural, racial, political, and legal factors.

​

Meaning and definition of Stridhan

• Stridhan means wealth of women on which their absolute right is established.
• The special property of women seems to be stridhan or daijo or pewa.
• The moveable and immoveable property of a women received from her parent’s family, her mother’s parent’s family and the property that she has increased from it shall be her Daijo (dowry).
• The moveable or immoveable property given to her with a deed of consent coparceners of all the heirs by her husband or the coparceners on the side of her husband and the moveable and immoveable property given to her by other relatives or friends on the side of her husband and property she has increased from it shall be her Pewa(exclusive property)

• The concept of Stridhan (Women's exclusive property) is as old as the Rig-Veda seems to have recognized the following items of property as constituting a women's Stridhan:
• gifts from parents and brothers,
• gifts before nuptial fire,
• gifts in the bride procession and
• earning by mechanical arts
• As per Hindu law, stridhan is whatever a women receives during her lifetime including all movable, immovable property, gift, etc received prior to marriage, at the time of marriage and during child birth.

​

• According to the age-old Smritis and all old schools of Hindu law such as Dayabhaga, Mitakshara etc. the following was Streedhan in the hands of a woman whether she is a maiden, married woman or widow.
• Gifts made to a woman before the nuptial fire.
• Gifts made to a woman at the bridal procession
• Gifts made in token of love by father-in-law, mother-in-law
• Gifts made by father, mother and brother

​

Manu, the earliest writer of the Sanskrit literature, has defined the stridhana which consisted of following six varities :�

The categorization of stridhan done by Bishnu

Types of Women’s Property

Nepalese legal Provisions relating to Stridhan

• Muluki Ain 2020 B.S.
• Mahal 14 Stri Aungsa Dhanko
• Sec 1 to 8
• Muluki Civil Code 2074 B.S.
• 256. Property deemed to be private property: (1) Any of the following properties owned by any person or properties accrued therefrom shall be deemed to be a private property of such a person:
• (a) Property earned by way of his or her knowledge, skills or effort,
• (b) Property acquired by way of donation, bequeath, or succession,
• (c) Property acquired by way of a lottery or gift,
• (d) Property acquired by way of remuneration, gratuity, pension, medical expense, provident fund, insurance or other social security,

• (e) Property acquired by way of intellectual property or royalty,
• (f) Property acquired in any manner whatsoever while living apart by separating bread and board in accordance with law or while managing one’s accommodation at one’s cost despite not so living apart,
• (g) Property earned or acquired by a woman prior to marriage or acquired from her parental side at the time of marriage or accrued therefrom,
• (h) Property so granted to a woman by the husband or with consent of all coparceners of the husband side that she will have exclusive right in it or movable or immovable property received from the relatives or friends of the husband side and property accrued therefrom,
• (i) Property which, according to law, is considered to be the exclusive private property of a person.
• (2) Any person shall be entitled to exclusively deal with his or her private property, subject to this Act.

Case law

• Shiva Shankar Prasad vs. Umadevi, NKP 2045, P. 1260.

The supreme court of Nepal upheld that the plaintiff cannot get coparcenaries from the house made out of Daijo property.

• Bhai Sher Jang Singh vs Smt. Virinder Kaur, 1979 Cri. L J 493

Punjab & Haryana High Court had ruled that the groom’s side is bound to return back all the items including property, ornaments, money and other belongings offered by the bride’s side at the time of marriage if claimed. In the case of denial, the groom’s family is tending to get strict punishment.

The court found that Bhai Sher Jang Singh and his family have committed an offense under Section 406 of IPC by committing criminal breach of trust of the ornaments and other articles owned by Virinder Kaur which were her Streedhan and were entrusted to her husband for safe custody and which he has dishonestly misappropriated.

​

​

• Pratibha Rani vs. Suraj Kumar, AIR 1985 SC 628.
• the Supreme Court observed that the complainant (Pratibha Rani) had suffered by their in-laws when she was harassed and denied her Streedhan by his husband’s family. The Apex Court observed that the case portrays the plight of an estranged married woman. She even suffered large during the legal process, the court observed.
• Pratibha Rani was married to Suraj Kumar on February 4, 1972. Rani’s family had given Rs 60,000, gold ornaments, and other valuable items to Kumar’s family on their demand. But soon after Rani entered her marital home she was started being tortured by her in-laws for dowry. She was forcefully kicked out of her in-law’s house with her two minor children and was denied money and other essentials for survival.
• She had lodged two complaints against her husband and in-laws under section125 Criminal Penal Code and breach of trust. The lower court gave judgment in her favor but she got a seatback from Punjab & Haryana High Court which was later on given in her favor by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.

​

• Ashok Laxman Kale vs Ujwala Ashok Kale, AIR 2007 (NOC) 1093 (Bom)
• The bride has got an absolute, exclusive dominion over all her Streedhan, received during the marriage. This includes both movable and immovable property, while she has the power to sell, alienate or give it away as she pleases both during her lifetime and thereafter. Her husband and in-law’s family members have no rights over a woman’s Streedhan.

THANK YOU

ANY QUERY ???