The Agricultural Remnant of Patriarchy: Analysis of the State-Level Non-Uniformity in Women’s Rights Over Agricultural Land in India
Abstract
A significant contribution of the 2005 Amendment lay in the deletion of Section 4(2) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, which restricted the Act from making laws related to succession upon the proponents of agricultural land. With the deletion of this provision, agricultural land became subject to this Act. However, this durational gap paved way for various state-level patriarchal laws related to emerge, which promulgated a blanket ban on the succession rights of women over agricultural land. Such laws are still upheld, regardless of the deletion of Section 4(2) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, since the main contention often brought up by the pleaders in defence is the constitutional overlap of agricultural land under the State list and succession under Concurrent list. Hence, rather than framing the rightful succession of a woman over agricultural land on the basis of her personal right, this subjugation becomes a contravention under the Constitutional matter. Such a lacuna is still persistent, since some states such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab still uphold their state laws, while others have paved the way for the central Act to heed. This has become a heated discourse for judiciary with no plausible definitive direction. Hence, there lies a need to discern such state-level ambiguities and characterise women’s inheritance over agricultural land in a uniform manner.
References
Archana Mishra, Hindu Women’s Inheritance Right in Agricultural Property: Myth or Reality, SSRN 3382304, at 2–3 (2019).
Dr. Neeraj Kumar Gupta & Swati Kumari Mawandiya, Inheritance Rights of Hindu women in Agricultural Property: A Critical Analysis, 2 Jus Corpus L.J., no. 3 (2022).
Bina Agarwal & Shruthi Naik, Do Courts Grant Women Their Inheritance Shares? An Analysis of Case Law in India, 182 World Dev. 106688, 3–4 (2024).
Shipra Deo & Akansha Dubey, Gender Inequality in Inheritance Laws: The Case of Agricultural Land in India 3 (Landesa, 2019)
Ibid.
Supra note2.
Laxmi Debi v. Surendra Kumar Panda & others, AIR 1957.
Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, No. 20 of 1959, § 164 (India).
Rajasthan Tenancy Act, No. 3 of 1955, § 40 (India).
Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, No. 21 of 1950, § 40 (India).
Supra note 4.
Ariba Khan, Workers or Owners? The Case of Women Farmers in India, SPRF (Apr. 17, 2025), https://sprf.in/workers-or-owners-the-case-of-women-farmers-in-india/
Bihar Tenancy Act, No. 8 of 1885, § 26 (India).
Bina Agarwal, Gender and Legal Rights in Agricultural Land in India, 30 Econ. & Pol. Wkly. A39, A39–A56 (1995).
Panda, S. K., Bhatt, A., & Satapathy, A. (2024). ChatGPT and Its Role in Academic Libraries: A Discussion. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2024.2381510
Dr. Govind Kelkar, The Fog of Entitlement: Women and Land in India, Paper Presented at the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, Washington D.C., Apr. 8-11, 2013, at 1.
Supra note 4.
Population Council & UN Women, Asset Ownership Among Women in India: Insights from NFHS Data, Analytical Paper Series No. 6 (Dec. 2023), https://landportal.org/debates/2017/womens-land-rights-india-and-sustainable-development-goals-sdgs.
Supra note 4.
Bina Agarwal, Gender and Land Rights Revisited: Exploring New Prospects via the State, Family and Market, 3 J. Agrarian Change 184, 184–224 (2003).
Joint Hindu Family System (Abolition) Act, No. 30 of 1976 (India).
Supra note 18.
Bina Agarwal & Shruthi Naik, Do Courts Grant Women Their Inheritance Shares? An Analysis of Case Law in India, 182 World Dev. 106688 (2024).
Orissa Tenancy Act, No. 2 of 1913, § 30 (India).
Bina Agarwal & Shruthi Naik, Do Courts Grant Women Their Inheritance Shares? An Analysis of Case Law in India, 182 World Dev. 106688 (2024).
Ibid.
Ibid.
Trivedi, D., Majumder, N., Pandya, M., Bhatt, A., & Chaudhari, S. P. (2022). Evaluating the global research productivity on domestic violence: a bibliometric visualisation analysis. Collection and Curation. https://doi.org/10.1108/cc-12-2021-0040
Supra note 4.
Bina Agarwal, Gender and Legal Rights in Agricultural Land in India, 30 Econ. & Pol. Wkly. A39, A39–A56 (1995).
Delhi Land Reforms Act, No. 8 of 1954, §§ 50–54 (India).
Nirmala v. Gov’t of NCT of Delhi, 2010 SCC OnLine Del 2590
Archana Mishra, Hindu Women’s Inheritance Right in Agricultural Property: Myth or Reality, SSRN Electronic Journal (2019).
Punjab Tenancy Act, No. 16 of 1887, § 59 (India).
Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, No. 8 of 1974, § 45 (India).
Dr. Ashok Sircar et al., Women’s Right to Agricultural Land in India (Oxfam India, 2016), at 1.
Jammu & Kashmir Tenancy Act, No. 25 of 1980 (India).
Punjab Tenancy Act, No. 16 of 1887, § 59 (India).
Pepsu Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, No. 13 of 1955, § 108 (India).
Pepsu Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, No. 13 of 1955, § 109 (India).
Archna v. Deputy Director of Consolidation, 2015 SCC OnLine All 9307.
Uttaranchal (U.P. Zamindari Abolition & Land Reforms Act, 1950) (Adaptation & Modification Order, 2001) (Amendment) Act, No. 3 of 2003, §§ 169–73 (India).
Supra note 34.
Babu Ram v. Santokh Singh, AIR 1965 SC 1553
Bhagirathi Chhatoi v. Advikanda Chattoi, AIR 1974 Ori 70.
Sm. Laxmi Debi v. Surendra Kumar Panda, AIR 1982 Ori 71 (India).
Jaswant v. Basanti Devi, AIR 1997 SC 3572.
Amar Singh v. Baldev Singh, AIR 1998 SC 1737.
Prema Devi v. Joint Dir. of Consolidation, AIR 1970 All 238
Vaijanath v. Guramma, (1999) 1 SCC 292
Roshan Lal v. Pritam Singh, AIR 1988 SC 1055
Nirmala v. Gov’t of NCT of Delhi, 2010 SCC OnLine Del 2590
Bimla Devi v. Zile Singh, (2018) 11 SCC 105
Supra note, 39.
Bina Agarwal & Shruthi Naik, Do Courts Grant Women Their Inheritance Shares? An Analysis of Case Law in India, 182 World Dev. 106688 (2024).
The Centre for Social Justice, Women’s Land Rights in India: What’s Missing From Our Land Laws?, India Dev. Rev. (June 5, 2023), https://www.indiatimes.com/india/women-s-land-rights-in-india-what-s-missing-from-our-land-laws-601977.html.
Neeraj Kumar Gupta et al., Inheritance Rights of Hindu Women in Agricultural Property: A Critical Analysis, 2 Jus Corpus L. J., Mar.–May 2022, at 86.
Supra note 4.
Pranay Agarwal, A Tryst with Succession Rights: An Impact Assessment of the Hindu Succession Amendment Act 2005 on Women Landholders, V Shimla L. Rev. 123, 123–43 (2022).
Bina Agarwal & Shruthi Naik, Do Courts Grant Women Their Inheritance Shares? An Analysis of Case Law in India, 182 World Dev. 106688 (2024).
Workers or Owners? The Case of Women Farmers in India, Soc. & Pol. Rsch. Found. (n.d.), https://sprf.in/workers-or-owners-the-case-of-women-farmers-in-india/.
Archana Mishra, Hindu Women’s Inheritance Right in Agricultural Property: Myth or Reality, SSRN Electronic Journal (2019).
Supra note 58.
Rajneeta Bhati & Dr. Namita Singh Malik, A Critical Analysis of Hindu Women’s Right in Agricultural Property Under U.P Revenue Code, 2006 in the Backdrop of Gender Justice, 5 ShodhKosh J. Visual & Performing Arts 1286, 1286–92 (2024).
Dr. Ashok Sircar et al., Women’s Right to Agricultural Land in India (Oxfam India, 2016), at 1.
Santosh Sati & Prof. (Dr.) Mohd Imran, Unraveling the Paradox of Inequality: Exploring Hindu Women’s Inheritance Rights in Agricultural Land and Ownership in India, 44 Library Progress Int'l 12880, 12880–91 (2024).
Supra note 42.
Zaverbhai Amaidas v. State of Bombay, AIR 1954 SC 752
State of Orissa v. M.A. Tulloch & Co., AIR 1964 SC 1284
"Women’s Land Rights in India and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," Land Portal (Oct. 26, 2017), https://landportal.org/debates/2017/womens-land-rights-india-and-sustainable-development-goals-sdgs
Dr. Govind Kelkar, The Fog of Entitlement: Women and Land in India, Paper Presented at the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, Washington D.C., Apr. 8-11, 2013, at 1.
Supra note 48.
Supra note 49.
Supra note 50.
Supra note 42.
