Sections 15-16 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 15 sets out who inherits the property of a female Hindu who dies intestate, in five entries, and sub-section (2) carves out property inherited from her parents and from her husband or father-in-law. Section 16 fixes the order among those heirs and the manner of distribution in three Rules.
This article follows the consolidated text consulted (a third-party print; amendments shown up to Act 34 of 2019). Later amendments should be checked separately. This article explains the words of the section only; for a live dispute, take advice on how the section applies to your facts.
The property of a female Hindu dying intestate devolves firstly upon her sons and daughters (including the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter) and the husband; secondly upon the heirs of the husband; thirdly upon the mother and father; fourthly upon the heirs of the father; and lastly upon the heirs of the mother (section 15(1)). Under section 15(2), property inherited from her father or mother goes, if she leaves no son or daughter (including children of a pre-deceased son or daughter), to the heirs of the father; property inherited from her husband or father-in-law goes in the same absence to the heirs of the husband. Section 16 says those in one entry are preferred to those in a later entry and take simultaneously.
Section 15(1): the five entries
Section 15 is headed "General rules of succession in the case of female Hindus". Sub-section (1) says "The property of a female Hindu dying intestate shall devolve according to the rules set out in section 16,-"
| Entry | Who takes, as printed |
|---|---|
| (a) | firstly, upon the sons and daughters (including the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter) and the husband |
| (b) | secondly, upon the heirs of the husband |
| (c) | thirdly, upon the mother and father |
| (d) | fourthly, upon the heirs of the father |
| (e) | lastly, upon the heirs of the mother |
"Intestate" is defined in section 3(1)(g); see our article on section 3. Section 14 deals with how a female Hindu holds her property; see our article on section 14.
If you need help applying the five entries to an actual family, our legal consultation team can set out the family tree against them.
Section 15(2): two exceptions
Sub-section (2) begins "Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1)".
- Clause (a): property from her father or mother. "any property inherited by a female Hindu from her father or mother shall devolve, in the absence of any son or daughter of the deceased (including the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter) not upon the other heirs referred in sub-section (1) in the order specified therein, but upon the heirs of the father".
- Clause (b): property from her husband or father-in-law. "any property inherited by a female Hindu from her husband or from her father-in-law shall devolve, in the absence of any son or daughter of the deceased (including the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter) not upon the other heirs referred to in sub-section (1) in the order specified therein, but upon the heirs of the husband."
Both clauses depend on the absence of a son or daughter of the deceased (including the children of any pre-deceased son or daughter). If a child exists, the exception is not reached and the main sub-section applies. The copy also prints a Kerala State amendment adding a clause after section 15(2)(b); readers in that State should check their State law, and it is not explained here.
(A printing point: clause (a) reads "referred in sub-section (1)" and clause (b) "referred to in sub-section (1)". Both are quoted as printed.)
Section 16: order and manner of distribution
Section 16 is headed "Order of succession and manner of distribution among heirs of a female Hindu". It says the order of succession among the heirs referred to in section 15 "shall be, and the distribution of the intestate's property among those heirs shall take place according to the following rules":
| Rule | Printed text (shortened) | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Rule 1 | Among the heirs specified in section 15(1), those in one entry shall be preferred to those in any succeeding entry, and those included in the same entry shall take simultaneously | Entry (a) before (b), and so on; heirs in one entry take together |
| Rule 2 | If any son or daughter of the intestate had pre-deceased the intestate leaving his or her own children alive at the time of the intestate's death, the children of such son or daughter shall take between them the share which such son or daughter would have taken if living at the intestate's death | A pre-deceased child's children take that child's share |
| Rule 3 | The devolution of the property on the heirs referred to in clauses (b), (d) and (e) of section 15(1) and in section 15(2) shall be in the same order and according to the same rules as would have applied if the property had been the father's or the mother's or the husband's as the case may be, and such person had died intestate in respect thereof immediately after the intestate's death | The "heirs of the husband", "heirs of the father" and "heirs of the mother" are found as if the property had been that person's |
Reading Rule 3
Rule 3 uses a device: to find "the heirs of the husband" (entry (b), or section 15(2)(b)), you imagine that the property had been the husband's and that he had died intestate immediately after the female Hindu's death, and then apply the Act's rules to that estate. The same device is used for the heirs of the father (entry (d) and section 15(2)(a)) and of the mother (entry (e)). The Rule does not name the class or the shares itself; they come from the other provisions of the Act.
Illustrations
The families are invented and the examples only apply the printed words.
- Entry (a). Meena Saxena dies intestate leaving a husband and a son. Both are in entry (a), so under Rule 1 they take simultaneously, and nobody in entries (b) to (e) takes. The Act prints no share as a fraction.
- Section 15(2)(b). Kavita Rao inherited a house from her husband and dies intestate, leaving no son or daughter and no child of a pre-deceased son or daughter. The house does not go to her own father and mother under entry (c); it goes "upon the heirs of the husband", found under Rule 3 as if the house had been her husband's and he had died intestate immediately after her death.
- Rule 2. Lata Bhatt dies intestate. Her son died before her and left two children alive at her death. Under Rule 2 those two children take between them the share which their father would have taken if living.
Marumakkattayam and aliyasantana persons
For persons who would have been governed by marumakkattayam or aliyasantana law, section 17 substitutes a different set of entries in section 15(1) and omits section 15(2)(a); see our article on sections 7 and 17.
What these sections do not cover
They say nothing on procedure for obtaining documents, on forms or on fees. For tax on inherited property, see our income-tax guides.
Need help with a woman's estate?
Where a woman dies without a will, much turns on where her property came from and who survives her. You can speak to our team through legal consultation and bring the family tree and a note of how each asset was acquired.
Key takeaways
- Section 15(1) has five entries: children and husband; heirs of the husband; mother and father; heirs of the father; heirs of the mother.
- Section 15(2) sends property inherited from her parents to the heirs of the father, and property inherited from her husband or father-in-law to the heirs of the husband, in the absence of a son or daughter (including children of a pre-deceased son or daughter).
- Section 16 Rule 1: earlier entry preferred; heirs in one entry take simultaneously.
- Rule 2 gives a pre-deceased child's share to that child's children.
- Rule 3 finds the heirs of the husband, father or mother as if the property had been theirs.
Read next
- Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956: absolute property of a female Hindu
- Sections 7 and 17: tarwad, tavazhi, kutumba, kavaru, illom
- Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956: general rules of succession in the case of males
- Intestate succession under the Hindu Succession Act: Class I and Class II heirs
Disclaimer: Based on a third-party consolidated print of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 showing amendments up to Act 34 of 2019 and on the text of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, as consulted on 2 October 2026. It explains the words of the statute only; State amendments, later amendments and the way courts apply these sections should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.