Govt recommends amendment in Indian Succession Act

The Centre today said that it has recommended changes in the Indian Succession Act (ISA), 1925 to end discrimination in respect of wills made by different communities.

"The Commission is of the opinion that section 213 of the ISA, 1925 is liable to be struck down as being violative of article 15 of the Constitution and the Commission has, accordingly, recommended to repeal section 213 altogether from the statute," Law minister Hans Raj Bharadwaj informed the Lok Sabha.

The said report (by the Law Commission) has been circulated to the state governments for their comments, the minister said in a written reply.

The Law Commission of India in its 209th report (July 2008) on 'Proposal for omission of section 213 from the ISA, 1925' has observed that there is discrimination in respect of wills made by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains or Parsis and mooted omission of section 213 altogether.

While, in reply to another question in the Lower House, the government admitted that the apex court had observed that the Hindu Marriage Act was breaking families instead of binding them together.

According to the Law Minister, the said observation was made by the Supreme Court while hearing the case filed by Gaurav Nagpal, who had sought custody of his minor son.

Asked whether the ministry was considering any action in response to the apex court observation, the Law Minister said the government is not considering any action as no direction was given in this regard by the court.