WOMENS AWARENESS AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE TOWARDS THEIR RIGHT TO PROPERTY WITH REFERENCE TO CHENNAI CITY AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Y 1. INTRODUCTION "Women constitute half the world's population, perform nearly two-thirds of its hours, and receive one-tenth of the world's income and less than one-hundredth of the property." Millions of women are in conditions of abject deprivation of their fundamental human rights for no other reason than that they are women. Violence and discrimination against women property rights are global social epidemics, not withstanding the very real progress of the international women s human rights movement in raising awareness about, and challenging liberty for women s property rights violations.1 !t is stated in the "rticle #$ of %niversal &eclaration of 'uman (ights that each and everyone has a right to own property. 2 !nspite of international and other national provisions available to !ndian women, still they lac) awareness of their property rights and of long drawn out court proceedings and difficulty in access to justice in solving the property disputes. Women in our country enjoy an enviable set of rights constitutionally* but what is lac)ing is proper implementation of these laws 3. Women s property rights are violated at two different levels+ at the level of framing of laws and at the level of application of these laws. ,he main reason behind the violation of rights of women are lac) of education, lac) of their social and political awa)ening, lac) of participating in administration, in legislatures, lac) of awareness of their position as dependants, feeling of inferiority to men4. !t is stated in the Manu the arch law giver of 'indu religion stipulated+ " woman must be dependant upon her father in childhood, upon her husband in youth, and upon her children in old age. -he should never be free. &uring post independence period women were granted property ownership rights and freed from men s control. 'indu law permitted free space for negotiating women s property rights in the earlier days of vedic period5
1) "nil .huimali and -."nil/umar, Women in the 0ace of 1lobalisation, 233$, -erials 4ublications, 5ew &elhi, p#$6
2) 3) 4) ibid., p227, "rt #$ of %niversal &eclaration of 'uman (ights+ 8#9 everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others 829 5o one shall be arbitrarily deprived of property. &r.(e)ha (oy, Women (ights in !ndia, " 0eminist 4erspective, 2337, ")ansha 4ublishing 'ouse, 5ew &elhi, p#:; ibid., p#2<

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0lavia "gnes, =aw and 1ender !ne>uality, ,he 4olitics of Women s (ights in !ndia, 2332, ?@ford %niversity 4ress, p:3:

,he movement to strengthen the position of women in society began from the second half of the nineteenth century. ,he earliest attempt may be traced bac) to #67A with "ct B of that year as a first step towards conferring economic security upon !ndian women.7 " female was recogniCed from the earliest times as the holder of seperate property D -tridhana 4roperty. !t was in #<2: that the married women s rights were somewhat improved by "ct B!!! of #<2: which amended "ct !!! of #6$; so as to e@tend its utility to 'indu women too. ,he rights of 'indu women were also improved by the passing of the 'indu =aw of !nheritance 8"mendment9 "ct #<2< and the 'indu Women s (ight to 4roperty "ct, #<:$, amended by "ct ## of #<:6. .ut the estate which a woman inherited under these acts was a limited one. ?nly after the 'indu -uccession "ct, #<A7 it abolished limited ownership and made a 'indu women the absolute owner of all property ac>uired from a male 'indu dying in intestate.7 ,he 'indu -uccession "ct, #<A7 provides e>ual share to women in the properties of their father through -ection #; of the "ct the right to ac>uire absolute ownership of property. %nder this section, women has now been given full absolute power to dispose of her property. ?n the other hand Muslim and 4arsi women have some property rights under their respective laws, but not e>ual rights with their brothers. ,he son gets twice the share of the sister. ,he -yrian Ehristian women till recently governed by the ,ranvancore and Eochin -uccession "cts under which they got almost no property. 'owever, recently the -upreme Eourt has otherwise ordered and these Ehristian women are now governed by the !ndian -uccession "ct, #<2A which ensures to them e>ual property rights.!

") 7) )

Monmoyee .asu, 'indu Women and Marriage =aw, 233#, 0rom -acrament to Eontract, ?@ford %niversity 4ress, p#2# ibid., p#;: -ec #; of 'indu -uccession "ct + 4roperty of a female 'indu to be her absolute property. 1. 2. "ny property possessed by a female 'indu, whether ac>uired before or after the commencement of this "ct, shall be held by her as full owner thereof and not as a limited owner. 5othing contained in sub-section 8#9 shall apply to any property ac>uired by way of gift or under a will or any other instrument or under a decree or order of a Eivil Eourt or under an award where the terms of the gift, will or other instrument or the decree, order or award prescribed a restricted estate in such property.

!)

-umanlata, Women and the (ule of =aw, 233A, ")ansha 4ublishing 'ouse, 5ew &elhi, p#:

,here are various factors which plays a role in the right to property of women. "mong them (eligion plays a major role in the succession of property by women as the personal laws of religious communities are mostly dominated by the scriptures of those religions. !n earlier, the law of -uccession was mostly uncodified and followed according to the traditions of those communities. "s the society moves towards civiliCations the 1overnments started to codify the laws of succession. ,he codification mostly depended on the e@isting traditional practices. 'ence, there is no uniformity in the -uccession laws. ,he religion played a very important role in the formation of -uccession laws. ,he -uccession laws codified separately to different religions, neglected the women and gave an une>ual status to them. &uring the .ritish rule itself certain enactments were made. "fter !ndependence, the union 1overnment has failed to bring %niform Eivil Eode applicable to all people in !ndia irrespective of (eligion and enacted ,he 'indu -uccession "ct, #<A7 for 'indus in !ndia. ,hus in !ndia, the -uccession to property is based on religion of 'indus, Muslims, Ehristians, 4arsis according to ,he 'indu -uccession "ct, #<A7, ,he !ndian -uccession "ct, #<2A, and ,he 4ersonal =aw of Muslims.1# ,here is a concept called FEo-ownership of Marital 4ropertyG also often called asHEommunity 4roperty is a legal concept first devised in Iuropean civil law which in large part is an effort to give stronger property rights to women in marital relationships. %nderlying the concept of coownership of marital property is the philosophical premise that husband and wife are e>ual. ,ogether in marriage they form a )ind of a marital parternship analogous to a legal business partnership. ,hus both husband and wife wor) together to ac>uire and improve property and both have an e>ual ownership claim to all marital assets11

!ndia does not recogniCe such an joint ownership by husband and wife of land purchased during marriage as some other countries do. .ut the central 1overnment has laid certain schemes and made an effort to benefit women by granting houses in the names of women individually as well as jointly in the names of husband and wife through !ndira "waasJojana scheme though this policy is not always followed in practice.12
1#) &r.-.(.Myneni, Women K =aw, 23#3, "sia =aw 'ouse, 'yderabad, p#A2 11) (amesh .handari, Women (ights and Welfare, 23#3, "lfa 4ublication, 5ew &elhi, p;6-p;< 12) ibid., p;$

,he property rights of women provides women financial security in their life and having lands or immovable properties registered in their names gives them a hold in decision ma)ing during their family crisis. !n most places of rural and urban !ndia the man such as husbands, brothers or fathers )eep the title of the property in their names and women are denied access to their homes and fields leaving the women to struggle to livelihoods. !t is identified that !ndia in the 2# st century is a fast growing global power but half of its population of being women struggle to lead the life with dignity due to lac) of property rights in practicality. Women are facing problems in every wal)s of life. ,he property rights is still a dream to !ndian women eventhough it is in papers as legislations and laws. ,here is a wide gap between the laws laid down in the constitution of !ndia, plans and policies laid down by 1overnment of !ndia regarding property rights of women and the situational reality of women property rights in the country. .y going through the review of literature it was found that there are many researches done on the property rights of women but so far no empirical research have been done in this area of awareness and access to justice with regard to property rights of women )eeping age, education, employment, religion and marital status as variables and this research attempts to do the same. !n order to achieve this, the researcher had created hypothesis to find out the associationLrelationship among the awareness and five variables and li)ewise accessibility and five variables. ,he analysis of this empirical research will contribute to study the awareness among women and their property rights and to suggest appropriate remedy. ,his research will also lead to review the legislation on the property laws of women. !n this conte@t the research attempts to analyse the role of courts in assimilating, internaliCing and harmoniCing the property laws e@isting in !ndia through empirical research and tries to find out a solution for the same in order to minimiCe the gap between the e@isting laws and their applicability in situational reality. !n this wor) certain >uestions cropup, which are sought to be answered. 2. SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH Women s property rights are their rights to own, ac>uire 8through purchase, gift, or inheritance9, manage, administer, enjoy, and dispose of tangible and intangible property, including land, housing, money, ban) accounts, livestoc), crops, and pensions. %nder
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international human rights law, women and men are entitled to e>ual legal protection of their property rights. Women s property rights are violated in many degrading ways. 0or e@ample, many women are e@cluded from inheriting, evicted from their lands and homes by in-laws, stripped of their possessions. When they divorce or separate from their husbands, women are often e@pelled from their homes with only their clothing. Married women can seldom stop their husbands from selling family property. Women who fight bac) are often beaten, raped, or ostraciCed. !n many countries around the world, women s property rights are limited by social norms, customs and at times legislation, hampering their economic status and opportunities to overcome poverty. Iven in countries where women constitute the majority of small farmers and do more than $A percent of the agricultural wor), they are routinely denied the right to own the land they cultivate and on which they are dependent to raise their families. ?wnership of land and property empowers women and provides income and security. Without resources such as land, women have limited say in household decision-ma)ing, and no recourse to the assets during crises. ,his often relates to other vulnerabilities such as domestic violence. Eourts are nowadays playing an important role in getting women their share in the property. .ut as it is very delayed process women are not able to wait for a very long time and got ve@ed and sometimes end their lives because of their financial problems in their family. .ut judiciary is trying their best level to end the property suits very fast through fast trac) courts. Women, li)e other disadvantaged sections in !ndian society, have not fully realiCed the potential power that laws and legal processes ensure for them in matters of development matter. ,hey are ignorant of their own rights or are afraid or unable to enforce them due to e@pensive, complicated and long drawn out proceedings. ,hus they do not have easy access to justice. ,here is an urgent need for organiCed articulation on the part of women and for all those who support women s development with e>uity and justice, for e@pert legal advocacy see)ing interpretations promotive of gender and social justice.
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Women, li)e other disadvantaged sections in !ndian society, have not fully realiCed the potential power that laws and legal processes ensure for them in matters of development matter. ,hey are ignorant of their own rights or are afraid or unable to enforce them due to e@pensive, complicated and long drawn out proceedings. ,hus they do not have easy access to justice. ,here is an urgent need for organiCed articulation on the part of women and for all those who support women s development with e>uity and justice, for e@pert legal advocacy see)ing interpretations promotive of gender and social justice. Eonstitutional guarantees and various laws have up to a point provided but have not entirely e@tended e>uality and justice to women. ,o change this situation, this research attempts to law drafting technologies and enforcement mechanisms including police, judiciary and other components need to be reviewed, sensitiCed and strengthened. ,here is also the need to create a multidisciplinary group to monitor draft legislation, judicial decisions and other procedural matters affecting women at Eentral and -tate levels. !n this bac)drop the following research >uestions are to be probed. 3. RESEARCH $UESTIONS #. 2. :. ;. A. 7. $. 6. <. #3. ##. What are the various rights available to women with reference to propertyM "re there any violations in realising the legal rights available to women with regard to property rightsM What are the various practical difficulties in the society that women face in the process of realising their share in propertyM 'ow do the courts play an activists role in enabling women to realise their rights when such property matters are coming before the courtsM What are the elements that assist women in realising their property rightsM What is the role played by age of women in creating awareness to their right to propertyM What is the role played by education in creating awareness to their right to propertyM What is the role played by employment in creating awareness to their right to propertyM What is the role played by (eligion in creating awareness to their right to propertyM What is the role played by Marital -tatus in creating awareness to their right to propertyM !s there any relationship between age of women and access to justice with respect to their right to propertyM
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#2. !s there any relationship between education of women and access to justice with respect to their right to propertyM #:. #;. #A. !s there any relationship between employment and access to justice with respect to their right to propertyM !s there any relationship between religion and access to justice with respect to their right to propertyM !s there any relationship between marital status and access to justice with respect to their right to propertyM

4. O%JECTI&ES OF THE RESEARCH ,he objective listed below are deduced from the research >uestions in order to have comprehensive and e@plicit answers. #. ,o study the level of awareness among college girl students, educated and uneducated wor)ing and non wor)ing women, and clients related to their property rights. 2. ,o )now about the violations in realising the legal rights available to women with regard to property rights. :. ,o study about various practical difficulties prevailing in the society in the process of realising their share in property. ;. ,o e@plain the activist role of the courts in enabling women s property rights when such property cases are coming before the courts. A. 7. ,o research on the elements that assist women in realising their property rights. ,o analyse the various role played by the age of a woman in creating awareness to women s right to property. $. ,o analyse the various role played by education in creating awareness to women s right to property. 6. ,o analyse the various role played by employment in creating awareness to women s right to property. <. ,o realise the role played by religion in creating awareness to women s right to property.

#3.

,o realise the role played by marital status of a women in creating awareness to women s right to property.

##.

,o correlate the relationships between the age, education, employment, religion, marital status and access to justice with regard to women s property rights.

5. HYPOTHESES 0rom the above objectives the following hypotheses are created and have to be tested. #. ,here is a significant relationship between age of women and their awareness with regard to their right to property. 2. ,here is a significant relationship between education of women and their awareness with regard to their right to property. :. ,here is a significant relationship between employment of women and their awareness with regard to their right to property. ;. ,here is a significant relationship between religion of women and their awareness with regard to their right to property. A. ,here is a significant relationship between marital status of women and their awareness with regard to their right to property. 7. ,here is a significant relationship between age of women and their access to justice with regard to their right to property. $. ,here is a significant relationship between education of women and their access to justice with regard to their right to property. 6. ,here is a significant relationship between employment of women and their access to justice with regard to their right to property. <. ,here is a significant relationship between religion of women and their access to justice with regard to their right to property. #3. ,here is a significant relationship between marital status of women and access to justice with regard to their right to property.

". DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS ' AWARENESS ,he word FawarenessG in any general dictionary, means Fself-awarenessG, Fan awareness of one's own personality or individualityG. 'owever, if you loo) up the word FawareG, a much wider meaning is listed, namely Fhaving or showing realiCation, perception, or )nowledgeG. ,herefore if you say a person Fhas greater awarenessG, it can mean heLshe has greater )nowledge of such subjects, )nowledge or understanding of a subject, issue, or situation. !n this research, the researcher restrict the word awareness to one s )nowledge about the property rights. ,hat is whether the respondent has particular )nowledge about her getting share in her ancestral property from her parentsLbrothersL husbandLthe in-laws. ,he actual )nowledge of getting their share in their property to which they are eligible to get it legally. ACCESS TO JUSTICE "ccess to justice has also got different meaning in various conte@ts. 0irstly, it is access to government or civil society sponsored legal aid services such as* access to information about legal rights and responsibilities, legal counselling, legal advice, legal representation and other legal advocacy services. -econdly it is physical access to structures L mechanisms where people can ta)e their problems as they pursue justice. ,hirdly, it includes application of constitutional provisions on property laws in order to do justice for all manner of persons irrespective of their social, political, economic or cultural standing. "ccording to the researcher, in this research F"ccess to justiceG means to cover more than bare court entry and is to include reaching law ma)ers, lawyers, police, enforcement agencies, capability to pay court fees, capacity to bear the cost and e@penses, time consuming factor, as also access to legal information. RIGHT TO PROPERTY ,here are two concepts in this research called right and property and are put together as right to property.

RIGHT' (ights are defined in various forms in different boo)s and the general dictionary defines (ights as legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement* that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people, according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory. (ights are of essential importance in such disciplines as law and ethics, especially theories of justice and deontology. " lawful title or claim to anything, rights along with duties 8or obligations9 and powers, are the basic elements which determine a person s legal position. 13 1eneral rights are those which apply to all persons, simply in virtue of their being full subjects of law. I.g. the right to assemble, the right not to be assaulted. -pecial rights are those which arise by the e@ercise of powers.e.g. the rights of the parties under a contract having e@ercised their power to ma)e a contract or by operation of law on the occurrence of certain events, such as the right to bring a claim for damages against one who has negligently cause one loss or injury. PROPERTY ' ,he term Hproperty includes only the immovable property which comes from the parents, grandparents as stridhana, through will, settlement &eed, 4artition &eed, or 1ift &eed. 4roperty from deceased husband, her own earnings and insurance of demised husband. "ccording to NE -hah, it is cited in the case of R Cawasjee Cooper v. Union of India14 it includes ownership, estates and interests in corporeal things, and also rights such as trademar)s, copyrights, patents and even rights in personam capable of transfer or transmission such as debts and signifies a beneficial right to or a thing considered as having a money value especially with references to transfer or succession and to their capacity of being injured. !n the case of Gurdutta Sharma v. State of Bihar 15 the term property is >uoted as a legal
#:9 N.I.4enner, MoCleyKWhiteley s =aw &ictionary, #2 th Idition, 2336 ?@ford %niversity 4ress, 5ewJor), 4rinted in !ndia by .rijbasi "rt 4ress =td.

#;9 "!( #<$3 -E A7; 8#<$39 # -EE 2;6

#A9 "!( #<7# -E #76;, 8#<729 2 -E( 2<2,8#<729 #-EN

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concept of a bundle of rights and in the case of tangible property would include the rights of possession, the right to enjoy, the right to destroy, the right to retain, the right to alienate and so on. !n the case of Chatar Lal v. Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal
1"

the definition of term

FpropertyG is defined as corporeal or incorporeal rights including money which is e@changeable in value capable of satisfying temporal needs of its owner. "ccording to this research, the researcher restrict the term property only to the immovable properties such as land, house and buiding for which women are entitled to have as of their legal right. "ccording to the researcher the term right means only property rights. i.e rights to which a woman is legally entitled to her share of property. WOMEN ,he 1eneral dictionary meaning of the word women signifies all the females of the human species* but in a more restricted sense, it means all such females who have arrived at the age of puberty. FMulieris appellation etiam virgo viri potens continetur. FWomen are either single or married, -ingle or unmarried women have all the civil rights of men* they may therefore enter into contracts or engagements* sue and be sued* be trustees or guardians, they may be witnesses, and may for that purpose attest all papers.17 "ccording to this research, the researcher restricted the women into three categories. 0irstly between the younger age group of #6 to 2A, secondly middle aged between 27 to ;3 and thirdly old age women above ;# years of age. EDUCATED WOMEN ' ( "ccording to this (esearch Iducated women means those who completed L passed out their secondary level of education and above that level are termed as Iducated Women.

#79 ME,N 8#<<$9 # W=E A73,p A7; 8(aj9 #$9 http+.LLlegal-dictonary.the freeditionary.comLwoman8visited on #$.37.23#:9

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UNEDUCATED WOMEN ' ( "ccording to this (esearch %neducated women means those who are below the primary level of education are termed as %neducated Women. SINGLE WOMEN "ccording to this (esearch, the researcher restricted the term to divorcee, widow and women who are living separated from their husband. 7. RE&IEW OF LITERATURE "n elaborate review of literature has been made. !t is found that there are several boo)s, dissertations, articles, essays, and writings on property rights of women both at the international level and national level separately. " siCeable volume of literature is also available on international conventions and !ndian property laws. ,here are >uite a large number of articles on various facets of property rights at the global level as well as the national level. 'owever, no systematic and comprehensive study is found on the awareness of property rights of women and accessibility to justice for women to get their share in their property and hence this research attempts to fill that lacunae. %OO)S !n the boo) titled FWomen, -ocial Nustice and 'umanG 1 the meaning of term F"ccess to NusticeG is >uoted as follows+ "ccess to justice is an important criterion of democracy in action. 0or .a@i 8#<6$9, access to justice means the ability to participate in the judicial process. ,hus the philosophy of access to justice involves roles, rules, objectives, arrangements in shorts, institutions, framewor)s, objectives, values and ends. "rticle 2# of the constitution 1! categorically says that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty e@cept according to procedure established by law.
8#69 V.V..&evasia, =eelamma devasia, 233<, W?MI5, -?E!"= N%-,!EI "5& '%M"5 (!1',-, "4' 4ublishing corporation , 5ew &elhi , 4#A$- #A6. 8#<9 "rt 2# of ,he !ndian Eonstitution 4rotection of life and personal liberty 5o person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty e@cept according to procedure established by law.

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"rticle :<-" of the constitution2# tries to promote justice on the basis of e>ual opportunity. ,o >uote .a@i 8#<$69 "ccess to justice is the foremost human right but the problem of "ccess to justice has many dimensions. ,he boo) entitled 0emale I@ploitation and Women s Imancipation
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>uotes about

the education of girls. !t is studied that in the last two hundred years the concept of education for women has changed radically. !n fact less than two hundred years ago, formal education was not considered appropriate for women. .ut now it is considered as appropriate for women. ,he boo) titled FWomen s (ights in !ndia D " 0eminist 4erspectiveG refers to about the illiterate women in !ndia. !t narrates that
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the vast majority of women in !ndia are

illiterate, underpaid, e@ploited and deprived. ,he !ndian women have to survive in comple@ socio-cultural, historical, political and economic conte@ts. ?ur society ta)es women for granted or to be tortured or HcommoditiCed . ,here can be no two opinions that women today can no longer be regarded as the wea)er se@ discriminated against as second class citiCens. ,he boo) titled F'indu women and marriage law D from sacrament to contractG 23 >uotes about the growth of the 'indu law of succession can be traced from the Vedic period. " female was recognised from the earliest times as the holder of separate property D -tridhan.

8239"rt:<.certain principles of policy to be followed by the -tate+ ,he state shall in particular direct its policy towards securing a9that the citiCens, men and women e>ually have the right to an ade>uate means to livelihood 82#9 =ati)a Menon, 0emale I@ploitation "nd Women s Imancipation, 0irst 4ublished #<<6, -econd Idition 233;, /anish)a 4ublishers, &istributors, 5ew &elhi 4 6A 8229 (e)ha (oy, Women s (ights in !ndia- " 0eminist 4erspective, 2337, ")ansha 4ublishing 'ouse, 5ew &elhi , 4 #:$ 2:9 Monmayee .asu, 'indu women and marriage law D from sacrament to contract 233#, o@ford university press, 5ew &elhi, 4 #;:

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!t was in #<2: that the married women s rights were somewhat improved by "ct B!!! if #<2: which amended "ct !!! of #6$; so as to e@tend its utility to 'indu women too24.

MAGA*INES ,he magaCine dated 23## issue of F ,'I ,!MI- ?0 !5&!" 25+ has e@plained about the unmarried 'indu women s property rights. "n unmarried 'indu woman is entitled to e>ual share ancestral or Eoparcenery property along with other male members under the amended 'indu -uccession "ct, the -upreme Eourt has held. Eoparcenary refers to e>ual inheritance which was restricted only to male members of the 'indu %ndivided 0amily but after successive amendements several states have chosen to e@tend the benefit to unmarried female members too. " bench of justices 1- -inghvi and /- (adha)rishnan said even if a decree of partition has been passed, a female claimant can enforce her e>ual property right if she was unmarried at the time of the amendment brought in by the respective state legislatures.

!n the magaCine of 23#3 issue of F,'I ,!MI- ?0 !5&!"G 2" it was read that the Ehristians women did not )now that their right to property is governed by the provisions of the !ndian -uccession "ct, and not the 'indu -uccession "ct. !ndian -uccession "ct guarantees women to succeed on a par with sons. Iven though Ehristian women have e>ual rights as per law, they rarely avail the provision, either due to ignorance or due to opposition from male heirs." "s a result of the real estate boom, more women are going to court, asserting their property rights. 4rabha)ar (ao says there has been a small but
2;9 Married women s property right act !!! of #6$; #9"n "ct to e@plain and amend the law relating to certain married women, and for other purposes. 4reamble+W'I(I"- it is e@pedient to ma)e such provision as hereinafter appears for the enjoyment of wages and earnings by women married before the first day of Nanuary, #677, and for insurances on lives by persons married before or after that day+ "nd whereas by the -uccession "ct, #<2A, section ;, it is enacted that no person shall by marriage ac>uire any interest in the property of the person whom he or she marries, nor become incapable of doing any act in respect of his or her own property, which he or she could have done, if unmarried+ "nd whereas by force of the said "ct all women to whose marriages it applies are absolute owners of all property vested in, or ac>uired by, them, and their husbands do not by their marriage ac>uire any interest in such property, but the said "ct does not protect such husbands from liabilities on account of the debts of their wives contracted before marriage, and does not e@pressly provide for the enforcement of claims by or against such wives+

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25) ,he ,imes of !ndia, May #6, 23##, p #2 2") ,he ,imes of !ndia, May 6, 23#3. 4#

noticeable increase in the number of women resorting to legal recourse for property due to boom in real estate value."Women don't usually drag families to court* even now, the increase of a mere 2-: per cent is usually on someone's advice, perhaps their husband's or in-laws. !n the magaCine dated 233$ issue of F,'I '!5&%G rights of -uccession of 'indu women were discussed. !t was given that ,he 'indu Women's (ights to 4roperty "ct, #<:$. was the earliest legislation giving rights of succession to widows of deceased persons on par with the sons of the deceased. ,hese rights were confined to intestate succession 8where there is no will9 only. !t was also given about the 'indu -uccession "ct #<A7 that this was the first comprehensive legislation which has been enacted to amend and codify the law relating to intestate succession. -ection A of this "ct2 ma)es it clear that the "ct apply to any person whose marriage gets solemnised under the -pecial Marriage "ct, #<A;, and succession to the property of such a person will be governed by the provisions of the !ndian -uccession "ct, #<2A, only.
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the earlier and prevailing

2$9 ,he 'indu, 0eb 2;, 233$, Women and property rights-5.E.-.("1'"V"5L"(V!5&("1'"V"5, p## 269 -ection A of ,he 'indu -uccession "ct, #<A7 "ct not to apply to certain properties. ,his "ct shall not apply to-8i9 any property succession to which is regulated by the !ndian -uccession "ct, #<2A , 8:< of #<2A.9 by reason of the provisions contained in section 2# of the -pecial Marriage "ct, #<A; 8;: of #<A; 9* 8ii9 any estate which descends to a single heir by the terms of any covenant or agreement entered into by the (uler of any !ndian -tate with the 1overnment of !ndia or by the terms of any enactment passed before the commencement of this "ct* 8iii9 the Valiamma ,hampuran /ovilagam Istate and the 4alace 0und administered by the 4alace "dministration .oard by reason of the powers conferred by 4roclamation 8!B of ##2;9 dated 2<th Nune, #<;< , promulgated by the Maharaja of Eochin.

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-ection 7 of the 'indu -uccession "ct2! deals with the succession to the interest of a male member in a 'indu coparcenary property when he dies without leaving any will !n the magaCine dated 23## issue of F,'I !5&!"5 IB4(I--G -uccession 8"mendment9 "ct,233A was briefed. " 'indu woman or girl will have e>ual property rights along with other male relatives for any partition made in intestate succession after -eptember 233A. ,he ape@ court said the female inheritors would not only have the succession rights but also the same liabilities fastened on the property along with the male members. ",he new -ection 731 provides for parity of rights in the coparcenary property among male and female members of a joint 'indu family on and from -eptember <, 233A. ,he ape@ court passed the ruling while upholding the appeal filed by 1anduri /oteshwaramma32, daughter of late Eha)iri Ven)ata -wamy, challenging the "ndhra 4radesh 'igh Eourt's decision not to recognise e>ual property rights of women along with their male siblings.
3#

latest 'indu

82<9 -ection 7 in ,he 'indu -uccession "ct, #<A7 &evolution of interest in coparcenary property. When a male 'indu dies after the commencement of this "ct, having at the time of his death an interest in a Mita)shara coparcenary property, his interest in the property shall devolve by survivorship upon the surviving members of the coparcenary and not in accordance with this "ct+ 4rovided that, if the deceased had left him surviving a female relative specified in class ! of the -chedule or a male relative spe- cified in that class who claims through such female relative, the interest of the deceased in the Mita)shara coparcenary property shall devolve by testamentary or intestate succession, as the case may be, under this "ct and not by survivorship. I@planation #.- 0or the purposes of this section, the interest of a 'indu Mita)shara coparcener shall be deemed to be the share in the property that would have been allotted to him if a partition of the property had ta)en place immediately before his death, irrespective of whether he was entitled to claim partition or not. I@planation 2.- 5othing contained in the proviso to this section shall be construed as enabling a person who has separated himself from the coparcenary before the death of the deceased or any of his heirs to claim on intestacy a share in the interest referred to therein. :39 F,'I !5&!"5 IB4(I--G, ,hu ?ct #: 23##,5ew &elhi :#9 -ec 7 +'indu -uccession 8"mendment9 "ct,233A+ &evolution of interest in coparcenery property 8#9 ?n and from the commencement of the 'indu -uccession 8"mendment9 "ct, 233A, in a Noint 'indu family governed by the Mita)shara law, the daughter of a coparcener shall, 8a9 by birth become a coparcener in her own right in the same manner as the son* 8b9 have the same rights in the coparcenary property as she would have had if she had been a son* 8c9 be subject to the same liabilities in respect of the said coparcenary property as that of a son.

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8:29 "!( 23##, 667 -E#,

"ccording to the ape@ court, the right that accrued to a daughter in the property of a joint 'indu family governed by the Mita)shara =aw, by virtue of the 233A "mendment "ct, is absolute, e@cept under certain circumstances.33 ARTICLES IN JOURNALS !n a "rticle of FN?%(5"= ?0 ,'I !5&!"5 ="W !5-,!,%,IG 34(ight to

property under the constitution is discussed with. ,he final form in which the right to property was incorporated in the fundamental rights is discussed in "rticle #<35 of the !ndian Eonstitution and "rticle :#.3" "rticle :# 829 of the !ndian Eonstitution 37 not only dealt with ac>uisition of property but also ta)ing possession of properties to include re>uisition within its purview. "rticle 273 , which also fell within the fundamental rights chapter 8or 4art !!!9 of the Eonstitution, recogniCed the right to property of religious denominations and provided that -ubject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination !n the article of FN?%(5"= ?0 ,'I !5&!"5 ="W !5-,!,%,IG 3!- it has been discussed as follows+

8::9 I@ceptions to sec 7 of the 'indu -uccession "ct. ,he e@ceptions are 8i9 where the disposition or alienation including any partition has ta)en place before &ecember 23, 233;* and 8ii9 where testamentary disposition of property has been made before &ecember 23, 233;. :;9 FNournal of ,he !ndian =aw !nstituteG, Vol ;6 , ?ctober - &ecember 2337,number ; ,4 ;<6-;<< :A9 "rticle #< 8e9 of !ndian Eonstitution+ to reside and settle in any part of !ndia :79 "rticle :# of !ndian Eonstitution+ provides certain safeguards against compulsory acquisition of individual properties
37) Art 31(2) of the Constitution clearly contemplates payment of compensation to the person who has a present right to occupy the requisitioned premises.

:69 "rticle 27+ !ndian Eonstitution+ 0reedom to manage religious affairs -ubject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right :<9 4ra)ash Ehand Nain 8233:9, Women s 4roperty rights under ,raditional 'indu 'indu =aw and 'indu succession "ct, #<7A, Nournal of ,he !ndian =aw !nstitute, Vol ;A, Nuly D &ecember 233: D 5umber : K ;, p A22-A2:

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!t is worth noting that the property ac>uired by a woman by inheritance and that ac>uired by her on partition were two of the five additional sorets of stridhana comprised in vijnaneshwara s e@pansion of the word adya. " 'indu woman was always subjected to restriction in the matter of enjoyment of proprietary right e@cept in the presidency of .ombay. ,he only e@ception was that of the stridhana property which she had obtained at the time of marriage. ,he stridhana property was also in its turn subject to many restrictions and limitations. . RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

PILOT STUDY .efore research a pilot study was conducted by the researcher and the >uestionnaire was first chec)ed with :3 respondents to chec) whether the >uestions were leading to objectives. ,he researcher identified difficulties in getting the sensitive information from the respondents in absolute terms and hence the >uestions were suitably modified. -ome of the respondents opined that the >uestionnaire was very lengthy. ,hen >uestionnaire was partially changed by adding, deleting, reforming few >uestions and again retested and data collection was continued after conforming to the objectivity of the result got from modified >uestionnaire. 0or the research wor) the researcher has chosen empirical method for collecting the data. ,he researcher has adopted the convenient sampling method and in some areas adopted the cluster sampling method. i.e. particularly in collecting the data from students category and clients category. ,he researcher has circulated the >uestionnaire to the respondents and collected the data and hence applied the >uestionnaire method also. 0or the research purpose the researcher has chosen ;33 respondents across length and breadth of the Ehennai city. ,he researcher has chosen the place of survey as Ehennai city because of its heterogeneous population which includes rural and urban client, educated and uneducated women.
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,he researcher has divided the respondents into four category of women and ta)en #33 samples from each category of women which amounts to ;33 in total. ,he first category includes the students category, second from educated wor)ing and nonwor)ing women the third is from uneducated wor)ing and non wor)ing women and the fourth category is from women clients in city civil courts situated in >uestionnaire individually. ,he survey >uestionnaire was systematically structured to include different category of >uestions. ,he initial screening >uestions were about the general information of the respondents which includes the name, address, educational >ualification, occupation and second categorty of >uestions were awareness related >uestions and third about the accessibility related >uestions. ,he survey >uestionnaire was administered in various colleges in different places of Ehennai and in certain private offices, government offices in Ehennai for survey of educated and uneducated wor)ing category of women and to women clients of the city civil courts in 'igh court campus in Ehennai. ,he research has two components D #9 survey of the property rights awareness among the four categories of respondents and 29 -urvey of the property rights related to access to justice among these four categories. ,his report presents only the field survey results. 0or the research the researcher resort to different sampling designs depending on the nature of population and simplicity in adoption. ,he researcher had certain predefined group in the mind. "n attempt is made to see) members of this group to be included in the sample here. ,he (esearcher wanted to do the study about awareness and access to justice of property rights only among women. 'igh Eourt Eampus who answered the

SAMPLING PLAN -ince the population of the Ehennai for the research is very large and all the respondents could not be surveyed due to practical difficulties, only predetermined samples have been ta)en up for the study. Many women were reluctant to divulge their details on
19

various factors. 'ence the data were collected from the respondents who were willing to

divulge the information as)ed through the structured >uestionnaire. !n order to have representation from different demographic groups Eonvenience sampling and cluster sampling is done to select the respondents. Eluster sampling method was used in the category of students and clients to collect the data. 0or the research purpose, the researcher has adopted chi s>uare test and five " classification for testing the samples to find out the analysis. DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT &ARIA%LE ' !n this research, the researcher has ta)en two dependent variable as awareness and access to justice. "nd five independent variables as age, education, employment, religion and marital status. TOOLS " structured >uestionnaire was used as a tool for collecting the data for the research. ,he >uestionnaire was framed to bring out the awareness and accessibility to justice about the property rights among the students of various colleges, educated and uneducated women, wor)ing and non wor)ing women and clients was prepared and circulated among the respondents and collected the data ,he >uestionnaire evaluates the awareness and accessibility of justice of the respondents with respect to their property rights, on a A point rating scale. ,he respondents are as)ed give the answers to #A >uestions relating the "wareness and accessibility to justice on the property rights on the five point scale with the scores obtained they are divided in to three categories based on the median values . ,hose who scored above the median values are classified as having high awareness and accessibility and those having lower than the median values are classified as low awareness and accessibility and those who scored in the middle as having medium awareness and accessibility. 0or the purpose of the research, the researcher has chosen the respondents of all the categories from the "rts and 4rofessional Eolleges Madras %niversity employees, (&? office, !, companies private concerns, city civil courts in high court campus, all well within Ehennai city.
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!. SOURCES OF DATA+ Eollection of data as the first hand information from the respondents is crucial for the study, hence it is a primary source. 'owever, the !nternational treaties and conventions related to human rights, !ndian Eonstitution, !ndian "cts and -tatutes related to property rights, Nudgements delivered by the -upreme Eourt on property rights of women also constitutes 4rimary sources for the purpose of this research. "rticles, boo)s, dissertations, write-ups of scholars on these subjects, review of case laws constitute the secondary sources. ,he sources of the internet were also used in appropriate places. 1#. DELIMITATIONS' ,his study comprised of ;33 samples totally and for the purpose of this research the study was conducted only among women respondents of Ehennai city at various places. ,he study was conducted in Ehennai city as it includes heterogeneous population of various groups. ,he researcher has fi@ed the age group of the respondents as #6, starting age and ma@imum age till their life. .ecause as per !ndian Majority "ct the age of voting is fi@ed as #6 years and this will be the minimum age for my study. Women and girl students alone were selected for my research as it is purely related to women rights. 0or the age the researcher has classified into three categories of age. Jounger age below the age of 2A, middle age from 2A to ;3, and the older age after ;# of age. =i)ewise for education as variable the researcher has classified respondents into three levels of education, first primary level, second high school to higher secondary level, thirdly after graduation level. ,hen for the employment as variable the researcher has classified respondents into three categories as government employed , private and self employed and third category as home ma)er. 0or the religion as variable the researcher categorised the respondents into 'indu, Muslim and Ehristian women. 0or the marital status as variable the researcher categorised the respondents into unmarried, married, single women 8includes widow, divorcee, and separated women9

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11. LIMITATIONS'

"lthough this research was carefully prepared, the researcher is still aware of its limitations and shortcomings. 0irst of all, ,he reluctance of the respondents to part with information relating to few >uestions made the data collection very difficult. -econdly, for the research purpose the researcher has conducted her research in only few colleges and a very few government concerns which may not be a representative sample. ,hirdly, the researcher has chosen the population of the I@perimental group as ;33 across the length and breadth of Ehennai city.

12. PLAN OF STUDY'

,he research wor) has been divided into seven chapters. ,he first chapter is I,-./012-3/,, the second is P./45.-6 R378-9 /: W/;5, 3, I,03< , the third is W/;5, <,0 A75 3, .5=<-3/, -/ <><.5,599 <,0 <22599 -/ ?19-325 -/><.09 -853. .378- -/ 4./45.-6 , the fourth is W/;5,9 E012<-3/, <,0 E;4=/6;5,- 3, .5=<-3/, -/ <><.5,599 <,0 <22599 -/ ?19-325 -/><.09 -853. .378- -/ 4./45.-6 , the fifth is W/;5, <,0 R5=373/, 3, .5=<-3/, -/ <><.5,599 <,0 <22599 -/ ?19-325 -/><.09 -853. .378- -/ 4./45.-6 , the si@th is W/;5, <,0 ;<.3-<= 9-<-19 3, .5=<-3/, -/ <><.5,599 <,0 <22599 -/ ?19-325 -/><.09 -853. .378- -/ 4./45.-6 and the seventh is C/,2=193/,.

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PROPERTY RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN INDIA AN EMPIRICAL STUDY A%OUT THE AWARENESS AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE $UESTIONNAIRE
,his will be )ept confidential. &o not feel obligated to answer any >uestion that you are not comfortable with and do not hesitate to as) me for a clarification if you thin) that a >uestion is a bit difficult or unclear. ,his is used only for the academic research purpose. Mar) your answer as . =eave the irrelevant >uestions. + +

#9 5ameL"ddress 29 "ge

:9 Iducational >ualificationL5ame of Eollege LJear + #.4rimary ;9 ?ccupation #.-tudent 2.4rivate A.'ome ma)er A9 (eligion+ #. 'indu 79 Eontact 5o. $9 Marital status #. %nmarried 2. Married + + :. Widow + ;. &ivorce #. Jes A. -eparated 2. 5o 2. Muslim :. Ehristian ;. ?thers 2. -econdary :. 'igher -econdary + :.1overnment ;. -elf employed ;.%1 A.41 7.?thers

69 &o you have a property

<9 what )ind of property you live in at presentM #. "ncestral property ;. from husband 2. -elf - ac>uired A. from in laws . :. 4artitioned 7.not relevant

#39 whether your parents L brothers L husband L in-laws have given your share on their own + #. Jes 2. 5o

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##9 !f your share of property is not been given out of their own will, then how do they settle L settled your share in the property. #. on demand ;. on force 7.so far ! have not demanded 2. on re>uest :. after filing the case upon them A. on someone recommendation

#29 'ave you ever faced any problem with regard to property in your family. #. not at all ;. >uite sometime 2. "lways A. very often #. Jes 2. 5o :. rarely

#:9 'ave you filed a property case on your own+

#;9 'ave you been influenced by any one while filing a property case. #. inlaws ;. on my own 2. husband A. relatives or friends :. children

#A9 "re you aware about property laws e@isting for women in the society+ #. less aware 2. more aware :. aware ;. fairly aware A. never aware

#79 !f you are aware then where did you get the awareness from+ #. !nternet websites 2. MediaL,vL(adio :. 5ewspaperLMagaCines L=ibrary ;. 4ersonal contacts L through friends L through social networ)ing A. "wareness programmes conducted by 1ovt. L -ocial organisations #$9 Whether awareness created about property rights is sufficient at present or not. #. more than sufficient ;. sufficient 2. fairly sufficient A. not sufficient :. less sufficient

#69 Iven though you have awareness what is resisting you from claiming your right or file a suit upon them to get your share of property from parents Lbrothers L husband L in-laws. #. "ffection and respect towards them :. due to customary practice ! won t claim ;. due to spoiling of my image among relatives and friends A. more time consuming court proceedings #<9 'ow to strengthen the women's awareness in property rights+ #. legal aid to women 2. public campaigning :. training of judges, lawyers in property laws ;. educating women about property laws
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2.financial problem

A. implementation of women property laws 239 "s of now whether access to justice for women in property cases is available. #. available ;.mostly available 2.less available :.unavailable A.available but with struggle

2#9 What do you need to increase easy access to justice for women on property issuesM #. legal awareness programme8="49 :. property rights of spouses bill 2. affirmative action policy ;. community justice programme

A. merging of property right issues in mahila courts 229 &o you thin) bringing about a uniform civil code alone will solve the property issues and will get the share to the women. #. yes will solve ;. to a greater e@tent 2. no it won t solve A. its of no use :. to some e@tent

2:9 What do you thin) about the access to justice of Women s property right+ is it reachable or far away+ #.easily reachable ;. reachable 2. far reachable A. probably reachable :. not reachable

2;9 Whether there is a need for a special court to sort out issues of property rights seperately+ #. Jes 2. 5o 2A9 &o you feel that the present legislations are ade>uate in affording e>ual rights to women in getting their share in property+ #. ade>uate A. fairly ade>uate 279 !f inade>uate or less ade>uate or fairly ade>uate then what are the reforms you suggest in+ #. uniform civil code in all laws 2. uniform civil code in property laws :. change in implementation of laws ;. more awareness programmes among women A. speedy disposal of property cases filed by women 2$9 &o you )now about the latest legislation 8233A9that daughters have e>ual rights in properties on par with sonsM #. Jes 2. 5o 2. less ade>uate :. more ade>uate ;. inade>uate

25

269 &o you )now that as the daughters have e>ual rights in assets of their parents li)ewise they are entitled e>ually in the debts alsoM #.Jes 2. 5o

2<9 &o you )now that the latest amendment is in 'indu law and not for the MuslimsL Ehristians womenM #.Jes 2. 5o

:39 What would you suggest to compensate for the jewels, marriage, e@penses spent and property given to women during their marriage if you claim your share on a later period. #. to reduce their share from the latest share 2. should not reduce any share. :. cannot be ta)en into consideration ;. has to be ta)en into consideration A. the stridhana properties has to be returned. :#9 Will separate court for hearing women property issues be an ade>uate measure for easy access to justiceM #. ade>uate ;. inade>uate 2. less ade>uate A. can t say anything at present 8,'"5/ J?% 0?( J?%( E??4I(",!?5. :. more ade>uate

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