Rejecting centuries-old customs that deny inheritance to tribal women, the Supreme Court emphasized that exclusionary traditions must evolve. The ruling reaffirms that constitutional rights apply universally, even in communities governed by personal and customary laws.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi | July 17 — In a historic ruling poised to transform gender rights within India’s tribal communities, the Supreme Court on Thursday declared that tribal women—and by extension their legal heirs—are entitled to an equal share in ancestral property. The ruling comes in a case brought forward by a woman named Dhaiya and her children, who had been denied inheritance solely on the grounds of customary tribal practice.
The two-judge bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Joymalya Bagchi delivered a forceful judgment grounded in constitutional morality, calling the denial of inheritance to women not only “unfair and discriminatory” but also a “violation of the fundamental right to equality.”
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“One would think that in this day and age, where great strides have been made in realising the constitutional goal of equality, this Court would not need to intervene for equality between the successors of a common ancestor… But it is not so,” the judgment observed at the outset.
The Case: A Battle Over Custom vs Constitution
The case revolved around Dhaiya, a tribal woman, and her children, who sought a share in the ancestral property of her maternal grandfather. Her claim was rejected by male members of the family, who argued that tribal customs barred women from succession.
Exclusion of females from inheritance is unreasonable and discriminatory, observed the Supreme Court, while allowing the women in a tribal family equal rights as the men in a dispute relating to succession.
Read more: https://t.co/nJ21wN1vEy#SupremeCourt #women pic.twitter.com/2fjcArHzQK— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) July 17, 2025
Lower courts ruled against Dhaiya, insisting that she had failed to prove the existence of a custom that permitted women to inherit property. However, the Supreme Court took a different view, asserting that it was not Dhaiya’s burden to prove a progressive custom, but rather the responsibility of those invoking exclusionary traditions to justify them under the law.
“There is no justification for allowing only male heirs to inherit,” the bench stated.
The court acknowledged that the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, which guarantees equal inheritance rights to daughters, does not apply to Scheduled Tribes. However, it rejected the idea that this legislative gap permits gender-based exclusion.
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Quoting Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution—guaranteeing equality before the law and prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of gender, caste, or birth—the bench made it clear that customs cannot be allowed to override constitutional guarantees.
“Even if there is such a practice (of exclusion), it will have to evolve. Like law, customs also cannot be bound by time,” Justice Karol wrote. “Others cannot be allowed to take refuge in customs or hide behind them to deprive others of their rights.”
The court invoked the principle of “justice, equity and good conscience” to interpret personal law and custom in a manner consistent with fundamental rights.
This verdict is expected to have far-reaching consequences for tribal communities across India, where women have historically been denied inheritance rights due to patriarchal customs.
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By placing the burden of proof on those invoking exclusionary traditions, and reinforcing that customs must evolve to align with constitutional values, the Supreme Court has set a precedent that can be cited in future cases involving personal laws, customary practices, and gender justice.
Legal scholars have hailed the ruling as a major step toward bridging the gap between constitutional ideals and community-level practices, especially in regions where formal law often defers to unwritten traditions.
