Daughters entitled to equal share in coparcenary property, rules Andhra Pradesh HC

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh high court, in a recent judgement, held that a daughter is entitled to an equal share with her brother in ancestral coparcenary property. The court observed that if the partition was not done on the date the amended Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act came into force, and final decree proceedings are pending, a preliminary decree can be modified.Placing reliance on the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Vineeta Sharma vs Rakesh Sharma case, a division bench of Justices Ravi Nath Tilhari and Balaji Medamalli allowed interlocutory applications seeking modification of the preliminary decree passed on Sept 26, 2003, in a suit filed in 1988, resolving a three-decade-old case.The suit relates to the properties of one Vale Mareppa. His widow Nagamma and daughter Mandlem Veeramma sought partition against the daughters of his deceased son Busappa. The trial court, in 1989, granted a one-fourth share to the widow and denied any share to the daughter. On appeal, the high court modified the decree and granted one-sixth share each to the widow, daughter, and son in Mareppa’s half share.However, during the final decree proceedings, purchasers claiming through the daughter and her legal heirs sought modification of the appellate preliminary decree, citing the 2005 amendment to Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act conferring coparcenary rights on daughters by birth. An earlier attempt before the trial court was set aside in a civil revision on the ground of lack of jurisdiction, an order later affirmed by the Supreme Court in Feb 2026, following which the petitioners moved the high court for relief.After perusing the submissions on both sides, the high court held that in a partition suit, a second preliminary decree can be passed if there is a change in law or supervening circumstances before the final decree. The bench noted that the daughter was alive on Sept 9, 2005, no partition took place before Dec 20, 2004, and the final decree was yet to be passed.Taking note of the death of the mother, the high court held that her one-sixth share would devolve equally on the daughter and the heirs of the son under Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act. The court accordingly modified the 2003 decree, granting the daughter and son one-half share each in their father’s half share — effectively one-fourth share each. The trial court was directed to draw up the modified preliminary decree and expedite final decree proceedings.