Section 6 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 6 deals with the interest of a coparcener in the property of a Joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara law. As substituted by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, it makes a coparcener's daughter a coparcener by birth, says how a coparcener's interest passes on death, and deals with pious obligation and with partitions.
This article follows the consolidated text consulted (a third-party print; amendments shown up to Act 34 of 2019) and quotes the wording of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, which prevails where the print differs. 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.
From the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 (9 September 2005, as the footnotes of the consolidated text show), in a Joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara law the daughter of a coparcener becomes a coparcener by birth, in her own right, in the same manner as the son, with the same rights and the same liabilities. Property she becomes entitled to is held with the incidents of coparcenary ownership and can be disposed of by will. When a Hindu dies, his interest devolves by succession and not by survivorship, and the coparcenary property is deemed to have been divided as if a partition had taken place. Section 6 also deals with pious obligation to pay a father's debts and with partitions made before the 20th day of December, 2004.
Where section 6 sits and what it is not
The section is headed "Devolution of interest in coparcenary property". The consolidated copy opens it with a footnote mark and records "Subs. by s. 3, ibid., for section 6 (w.e.f. 9-9-2005)", the reference being to Act 39 of 2005. The copy also prints a State amendment for Karnataka after section 6; readers in that State should check their State law, and it is not explained here.
The Act does not use the word "HUF" or "karta". "HUF" is the name used for the joint Hindu family in tax law; the Act speaks of a "Joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara law", a "coparcener" and "coparcenary property". For tax on property that devolves under this section, see our income-tax guides, for example tax on sale of ancestral property. Nothing about taxation is stated in this article.
For a family trying to place its own property against these words, a HUF and joint family advisory service can walk through the structure with you.
Section 6(1): the daughter becomes a coparcener
Section 6(1) as worded in the amending Act reads: "On and from the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, in a Joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara law, the daughter of a coparcener shall,-"
| Clause | The daughter of a coparcener shall |
|---|---|
| (a) | by birth become a coparcener in her own right in the same manner as the son |
| (b) | have the same rights in the coparcenary property as she would have had if she had been a son |
| (c) | be subject to the same liabilities in respect of the said coparcenary property as that of a son |
After the clauses the sub-section adds: "any reference to a Hindu Mitakshara coparcener shall be deemed to include a reference to a daughter of a coparcener."
A printing slip. In clause (a) the third-party print reads "in her own right the same manner as the son", dropping the word "in". The amending Act has "in her own right in the same manner as the son", and that wording is followed here. The print also spells "coparcenary" as "coparcenery" in clauses (b), (c) and sub-section (3), and adds "(39 of 2005)" after each mention of the amending Act; those additions are not in the amending Act's own text.
The proviso. "Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall affect or invalidate any disposition or alienation including any partition or testamentary disposition of property which had taken place before the 20th day of December, 2004." The date is quoted as printed. The proviso speaks of a disposition or alienation, including a partition or testamentary disposition, that had taken place before that date.
Section 6(2): coparcenary ownership and will
"Any property to which a female Hindu becomes entitled by virtue of sub-section (1) shall be held by her with the incidents of coparcenary ownership and shall be regarded, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, or any other law for the time being in force, as property capable of being disposed of by her by testamentary disposition."
Two things are stated. The property is held with the incidents of coparcenary ownership, and, despite anything else in the Act or other law, it counts as property she can dispose of by will. How a will is made and proved is the subject of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, which the Act itself names in section 30; check the current law for the corresponding provision. Our guide on what a will can dispose of, ancestral and self-acquired property is a post on wills under that Act, not an explanation of section 6.
Section 6(3): devolution on death and the notional partition
Sub-section (3) applies "Where a Hindu dies after the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005". Then:
- His interest in the property of a Joint Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara law "shall devolve by testamentary or intestate succession, as the case may be, under this Act and not by survivorship".
- The coparcenary property "shall be deemed to have been divided as if a partition had taken place".
- Within that deemed division: (a) the daughter is allotted the same share as is allotted to a son; (b) the share of a pre-deceased son or a pre-deceased daughter, as they would have got had they been alive at the time of partition, is allotted to the surviving child of such pre-deceased son or pre-deceased daughter; and (c) the share of a pre-deceased child of a pre-deceased son or of a pre-deceased daughter, as that child would have got had he or she been alive at the time of the partition, is allotted to the child of such pre-deceased child.
The Explanation fixes what "interest" means here: "the interest of a Hindu Mitakshara coparcener shall be deemed to be the share in the property that would have been allotted to him if a partition of the property had taken place immediately before his death, irrespective of whether he was entitled to claim partition or not."
An illustration
The family and the figures below are invented for this article; the Act prints no share as a fraction or amount. Assume, only for the arithmetic, that on the deemed partition the coparcenary property works out to equal allotments of Rs 12 lakh each for three lines: the surviving son Arjun Pillai, the surviving daughter Leela Pillai, and a pre-deceased son, Mohan. Under clause (a) Leela is allotted the same share as the son, Rs 12 lakh. Under clause (b) Mohan's allotment, which he would have got had he been alive, goes to his surviving child, Ishaan, who is allotted Rs 12 lakh. If Ishaan too had died earlier, clause (c) would send that share to his child.
Section 6(4): pious obligation and old debts
Sub-section (4) says that "After the commencement of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, no court shall recognise any right to proceed against a son, grandson or great-grandson for the recovery of any debt due from his father, grandfather or great-grandfather solely on the ground of the pious obligation under the Hindu law, of such son, grandson or great-grandson to discharge any such debt."
The proviso keeps two things alive for a debt "contracted before the commencement" of the 2005 Act: the creditor's right to proceed against the son, grandson or great-grandson, and any alienation made in respect of or in satisfaction of the debt, each enforceable under the rule of pious obligation "in the same manner and to the same extent as it would have been enforceable as if the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 had not been enacted."
The Explanation: for the purposes of clause (a) of the proviso, "son", "grandson" or "great-grandson" means one "who was born or adopted prior to the commencement" of the 2005 Act.
Section 6(5): earlier partitions and the meaning of "partition"
"Nothing contained in this section shall apply to a partition, which has been effected before the 20th day of December, 2004." The copy prints this sentence without a closing full stop; the amending Act has one.
The Explanation defines the word for the section: "partition" means "any partition made by execution of a deed of partition duly registered under the Registration Act, 1908 (16 of 1908) or partition effected by a decree of a court." The Registration Act is quoted as printed; check the current law for the corresponding provision. Our post on how to register a partition deed is about that Act's registration process, not about section 6.
Need help with a joint family property question?
Families often ask what section 6 means for a house or business held in the family for several generations. A HUF and joint family advisory service can go through the family tree and the property list and set out the printed text against the facts, so that you know which questions to put to a lawyer.
Key takeaways
- Section 6(1) makes the daughter of a coparcener a coparcener by birth, in her own right, in the same manner as the son, with the same rights and the same liabilities.
- Property she becomes entitled to is held with the incidents of coparcenary ownership and can be disposed of by will (sub-section (2)).
- On the death of a Hindu after the commencement of the 2005 Act, his interest devolves by succession, not by survivorship, on a deemed partition (sub-section (3)).
- After the commencement of the 2005 Act no court shall recognise a right to proceed against a son, grandson or great-grandson solely on pious obligation, subject to the proviso on earlier debts (sub-section (4)).
- Sub-section (5) leaves out a partition effected before the 20th day of December, 2004, and defines "partition".
Read next
- Section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956: testamentary succession and will of coparcenary interest
- Sections 7 and 17 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956: 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.