UNIFORM CIVIL CODE TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY FOR PROPERTY RIGHTS IN INDIA: A CRITICAL STUDY

Abstract

Women's ownership and management of property, have an impact on their social and economic security. Since the dawn of time, all property laws, have been made expressly for the benefit of man. But with the advent of succession laws in India,1 the distribution of property under family law was deeply shaped with the help of historical traditions, statutory laws and personal laws in this regard.2 Due to the extensive colonial presence, many aspects of English succession law were introduced in our country; yet, as time went on, these rules continued to change and diverged from English law. From India's pre-independence era, women have been exposed to discrimination in various areas, including marriage, inheritance and succession. The greatest option to replace personal laws, is the Uniform Civil Code, to ensure gender equality which is enshrined under Article- 14 of the Indian Constitution but the Constitutional’s preamble and Article- 44, are the guiding principle for protecting the equality of women in property rights. The present research paper strives for the developments brought about by contemporary ideas of equality and structural inequalities that support women's property rights and the Uniform Civil Code in India. The impact of current statutory provisions, their judicial interpretations and desired improvements that could be made with the help of the Uniform Civil Code for the betterment of the economic and social circumstances of women are also examined in the present study.
Keywords: Inheritance and Succession Rights, Women, Uniform Civil Code, Gender Equality, Article 44, Constitution