Woman as Karta/Manager of Hindu Joint Family property

The case involves the dispute whether the Plaintiff, by virtue of being the first born amongst the coparceners of the DR Gupta and Sons, HUF, is entitled to be the Karta (Manager) of the HUF. The fact of Sujata Sharma being the oldest member of the HUF is not under contest. However, her claim is opposed by some of the coparceners on the ground that Manu Gupta being the eldest living male member of the coparcenary is entitled to be the Karta. The old Hindu Law was gender discriminatory and only envisaged a male coparcener being entitled to manage the family property and affairs. Women were not considered as coparceners and equal sharers in joint family property until the amendment to the Hindu Succession Act was brought about in the year 2005. The Court held that the amended Section 6 of the Act extends ‘all aspects of inheritance, which would include the right to manage a ritual or property as its Karta, being the eldest of the coparceners.’ One of the main objects of the codified succession law has been the correction of the gender inequality under traditional Hindu Law. Being a female is no longer a disqualification and nothing in the law prevents a female coparcener from becoming a Karta as daughters have the same rights and responsibilities after the amendment. The suit was, thus, decreed in favour of Sujata Sharma and she was declared the Karta.