New Delhi: The Supreme Court today (Dec 13, 2004) issued notice to the Union Government on a petition challenging the constitutional validity of Section 23 of Hindu Succession Act, which deprived a woman, the right to seek partition of her ancestral property if the owner died without making a Will.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice R C Lahoti and Justice G P Mathur issued the notice on a writ petition filed by one Jyoti Wazir challenging the provision of the Act saying it violated Article 14 and 15 of the Constitution guaranteeing Right to Equality and non-discrimination on grounds of gender.

The petitioner said the provision of Hindu Succession Act provided that if a Hindu died intestate then the woman would not have a right to seek partition of the property and would get share only when the male heirs decided to divide it.

Moreover, the woman could get a right to reside in the undivided property only if she was unmarried or faced desertion or separation from her husband, or was widowed.

She contended that when Article 14 guaranteed Right to Equality and Article 15 guaranteed the right to non-discrimination on grounds of sex, how could Section 23 of the Hindu Succession Act make a provision, which so obviously favoured male heirs.