Legal Article

Concept of coparcener in Mitakshara Hindu

Shivendra Pratap Singh

Advocate

High Court Lucknow

Published on: 23 Jan, 2023

The concept of coparcener in Mitakshara Hindu law refers to a member of a Hindu joint family who has an equal right to the property and its management. Mitakshara is one of the two main schools of Hindu law, the other being Dayabhaga. The Mitakshara school of Hindu law is prevalent in northern and western India, including states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.

In Mitakshara Hindu law, the concept of coparcenary property is central. Coparcenary property is the property that is owned and managed by the joint family, and it is passed down from generation to generation through inheritance. The coparcenary property is inherited by the coparceners, who are the male members of the joint family. The coparceners have an equal right to the property and its management, and they have a right to demand a partition of the property at any time.

After the amendment of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, daughters also have the right to be coparceners and have the same rights as sons to inherit the property of their father or grandfather as a coparcener. This applies to the living daughters on 9th September 2005, regardless of when their father or grandfather died.

Who are coparcener?

A coparcener is a member of a Hindu joint family who has an equal right to the property and its management. According to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, a coparcener is defined as a person who has an interest in the joint family property by birth or by virtue of a decree or order of a court. In Mitakshara school of Hindu law, which is prevalent in northern and western India, coparcenary property is the property that is owned and managed by the joint family, and it is passed down from generation to generation through inheritance.

Traditionally, the coparceners were only the male members of the joint family, but after the amendment of the Hindu Succession Act in 2005, daughters also have the right to be coparceners and have the same rights as sons to inherit the property of their father or grandfather as a coparcener. This applies to the living daughters on 9th September 2005, regardless of when their father or grandfather died.

Coparcener has right in ancestral property by birth

According to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, a coparcener has the right to the joint family property by birth. In the Mitakshara school of Hindu law, which is prevalent in northern and western India, coparcenary property is the property that is owned and managed by the joint family, and it is passed down from generation to generation through inheritance.

In a joint Hindu family governed by Mitakshara law, coparcenary property is inherited by the coparceners, who are the male members of the joint family and the daughters. A coparcener is a person who has an interest in the joint family property by birth or by virtue of a decree or order of a court.

As per the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, coparceners have an equal right to the property and its management, and they have a right to demand a partition of the property at any time. This means that coparceners have a right to the ancestral property from the moment of their birth and they have a right to ask for a partition of the property at any time.