Fair share: Children born of invalid marriages are treated as legitimate

Court judgments have said they are entitled to rights in both self-acquired and ancestral properties of parents

The Supreme Court recently reserved its verdict on a plea filed in 2011 about whether children born of legally invalid marriages were entitled to a share in the ancestral property of their parents under Hindu law. The case, before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, is focused on an amended provision in the Hindu Marriage Act, Section 16(3). 

"The birth of a child in such a relationship has to be viewed independently of the relationship of the parents. A child born in such a relationship is innocent and is entitled to all the rights