Succession to the Property of a Hindu Male Dying Intestate

In one line

Class I first and together, then Class II entry by entry, then agnates, then cognates, and the widow takes one share however many widows there are.

Section 8: the order of succession

Section 8 provides that the property of a male Hindu dying intestate shall devolve:

(a) firstly, upon the heirs being the relatives specified in Class I of the Schedule;

(b) secondly, if there is no Class I heir, upon the heirs specified in Class II;

(c) thirdly, if there is no heir of either class, upon the agnates; and

(d) lastly, if there is no agnate, upon the cognates.

Four rungs, and each is reached only when the one above is empty. If there is a single Class I heir anywhere in the world, the property stops there.

Section 9: how the two classes work

Section 9 provides that among the heirs specified in the Schedule:

• those in Class I take simultaneously and to the exclusion of all other heirs; and
• those in the first entry in Class II are preferred to those in the second, those in the second to those in the third, and so on in succession.

The difference is the point. Class I is one group and everybody in it takes together. Class II is nine ranked entries, and only the highest entry that has anybody in it takes anything.

The Schedule: Class I

The Class I heirs are:

Son; daughter; widow; mother; son of a pre-deceased son; daughter of a pre-deceased son; son of a pre-deceased daughter; daughter of a pre-deceased daughter; widow of a pre-deceased son; son of a pre-deceased son of a pre-deceased son; daughter of a pre-deceased son of a pre-deceased son; widow of a pre-deceased son of a pre-deceased son;

and, added by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005: son of a pre-deceased daughter of a pre-deceased daughter; daughter of a pre-deceased daughter of a pre-deceased daughter; daughter of a pre-deceased son of a pre-deceased daughter; daughter of a pre-deceased daughter of a pre-deceased son.

Two observations that earn marks.

The four primary heirs are son, daughter, widow and mother. They are the ones present in almost every problem, and they take equally under section 10.

The 2005 additions are all descendants through a daughter. The original Class I ran the daughter's line only one generation deep while the son's line ran three. The four new entries begin to close that gap, and the point can be made in a sentence in any answer about the 2005 reforms.

The Schedule: Class II

Nine entries, in order:

I. Father. II. Son's daughter's son; son's daughter's daughter; brother; sister. III. Daughter's son's son; daughter's son's daughter; daughter's daughter's son; daughter's daughter's daughter. IV. Brother's son; sister's son; brother's daughter; sister's daughter. V. Father's father; father's mother. VI. Father's widow; brother's widow. VII. Father's brother; father's sister. VIII. Mother's father; mother's mother. IX. Mother's brother; mother's sister.