Property of Father-in-Law and Rights of Daughter-in-Law

Property of Father-in-Law and Rights of Daughter-in-Law

Case of Geeta Sharma v. Kanchana Rai [2025] GCtR 1553 (Delhi) has answered "whether a daughter-in-law, who becomes a widow after the demise of her father-in-law, is entitled to claim maintenance from the estate derived from coparcenary property of her deceased father-in-law."

It was held that Section 21(vii) of the HAMA, 1956 expressly provides that a widow is entitled to seek maintenance from the estate of her father-in-law. 

A widowed daughter-in-law is entitled to claim maintenance from her father-in law's estate, contingent upon her status as a dependant, who is unable to secure maintenance from her husband‟s estate, or from her own or her children‟s estate. 

The liability of father-in-law regarding the maintenance of his widowed daughter-in-law also emerges from Section 19 of the HAMA. Notably, under Section 19(2) of the HAMA, 1956 it is provided that the liability of the father-in-law to maintain is not personal in nature rather is limited to the extent of any coparcenary property in his possession. To put it in other words, even if the father-in-law owns significant separate or self-acquired assets, the duty to maintain arises only from the coparcenary property which would subsequently form a part of his estate after his death.