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Unit-III Topic - Stridhan and Women's Estate: Meaning

Stridhan refers to a woman's property under Hindu law. It includes gifts given to a woman before and after marriage, as well as dowry items. A woman has absolute ownership and control over stridhan. For woman's estate, her rights are more limited and the property passes to male descendants upon her death, whereas stridhan passes to her own descendants. The sources of stridhan include gifts from relatives, inheritance, earnings from stridhan, and more.

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529 views3 pages

Unit-III Topic - Stridhan and Women's Estate: Meaning

Stridhan refers to a woman's property under Hindu law. It includes gifts given to a woman before and after marriage, as well as dowry items. A woman has absolute ownership and control over stridhan. For woman's estate, her rights are more limited and the property passes to male descendants upon her death, whereas stridhan passes to her own descendants. The sources of stridhan include gifts from relatives, inheritance, earnings from stridhan, and more.

Uploaded by

luthra swati
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Unit- III

Topic- Stridhan and Women’s Estate

Meaning

The word stridhan is composed of two words: Stri (woman) and Dhana (Property). The
word means the property belonging to a woman or woman’s property. This is the etymological
sense but the word has a technical meaning given in law. As observed by Madras High Court in
Rajamma v Varidarajula Chetti, AIR 1957- “A gift given to a Hindu woman before and after her
marriage constitutes woman’s property”. Thus conjunctively these two words imply that property
which exclusively belongs to women.

This term was for the first time used in Smritis and in the Dharmasutra of Baudhayan which
meant ‘woman’s absolute property’. Under the modern Hindu law stridhan does not represent
any specific property but it includes all those properties of a Hindu Woman Over which she has
absolute ownership and which is inherited by her Successors. The two important differences
between the term woman’s estate and stridhan are:

(a) A Woman has a limited right of alienation with respect to the properties coming under term
woman’s estate. The right of alienation can be exercised by her only in dire necessity, legal
necessity, or in the interest of the estate itself; however, with respect to stridhan she has an
absolute right of voluntary alienation of the property coming under it.

(b) In case of woman’s estate the property after the death of the woman owner, is inherited by
the descendants of the male known as reversioners and not by the descendants of the woman but
in case of stridhan the property is inherited by the descendants of the woman herself as was the
rule under the old Hindu law”.

According to Manu "Adhyagni (whatever has been given at the time of nuptial fire),
Adhyavahanika (whatever has been given at the time of departure of wife), Dattamprite karmani
(given out of love and affection) and given by the Father, Mother or the brother, all these are six
types of gifts which come under the term Stridhan”.
In Pratibha Rani Suraj Kumar AIR 1985 SC 628 the Supreme Court held that whatever gifts,
presentations and dowry articles are given to a woman in marriage, would be regarded as her
absolute property. All the gold ornaments, clothes and other items of dowry given at the time of
marriage to a Hindu female are her Stridhan and she enjoys complete control over it. The mere
fact that she is living with her husband and using the dowry items jointly does not make any
difference and affect her right of absolute ownership over them.

SALIENT FEATURES OF STRIDHAN:

The salient features of Stridhan can be described as under:

1) The test as to whether it is Stridhan- A Hindu female can secure the property form numerous
sources but every such property cannot be Stridhan. Whether a property constitutes Stridhan
depends upon the following factor:

(a) Source of the acquiring the property.

(b) The status of the female at the time of acquiring the property, i.e. maidenhood, married status
or widowhood.

(c) The school to which she belonged

2) Succession

In the matters of succession to Stridhan, a new order of heirs was provided under law which
included her own heirs upon whom Stridhan devolved after the death of the female. This rule
does not apply to the succession of woman’s estate. But now under the Hindu Succession Act,
1956 the distinction between the two categories of property have been abolished and an uniform
rule of succession has been provided with respect to stridhan.

3) Power of alienation

A Hindu Female possessed absolute ownership over stridhan and hence she enjoyed absolute
right of alienation of such property. She could voluntarily dispose it off. After the
Commencement of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, every property held by a Hindu female on
the date of the enforcement of Act, whether acquired prior or subsequent to the Act, became her
absolute property (Section 14). Hence she has got the absolute power to alienate the same at her
volition.

SOURCES OF STRIDHAN:

Properties acquired from the following sources fall under the expression Stridhan

a) Gift received from relatives.

b) Gifts and bequests from strangers during maidenhood.

c) Property obtained in partition.

d) Property got in lieu of maintenance.

e) Property acquired by inheritance.

f) Property acquired through technical skill and art.

g) Property acquired by compromise. h) Property acquired by adverse possession.

i) Property purchased with the earnings of the stridhan or with savings of income from stridhan.

j) Property acquired lawfully from sources other than those mentioned above.

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