High Court rules married daughters cannot be barred from inheriting government-allotted land

In a September 14 judgment, the Himachal Pradesh High Court rejected the denial of a patta to Shanti, the married daughter of late landowner Mina Ram, on the basis that marriage alone cannot bar her as a Class I legal heir. The court noted that the Nautor Land Rules, 1968, which governed the original allotment of 3 bigha 2 biswas of agricultural land in Shimla, contain no specific prohibition against married daughters, and that a 1980 administrative clarification cannot create a new restriction.

It quashed the revenue department’s rejection and instructed officials to reconsider the application within two months. Legal experts cited one outlet Succession Act and its 2005 amendment, which place sons and daughters on equal footing for inheritance, emphasizing that marriage does not affect a daughter’s coparcenary status. The ruling does not grant an automatic right to all government-allotted land, but it requires authorities to base decisions on statutory law rather than gender-based assumptions. It also highlights the limited power of administrative orders to override inheritance statutes.