- Section 2(2) HSA Exclusion: The Hindu Succession Act does not apply to Scheduled Tribe members unless notified by the Central Government.
- Customary Male Preference: Intestate tribal succession follows uncodified customs. Most tribal customs exclude daughters and grant land only to male heirs.
- Kamla Neti (2022) SC Ruling: The Supreme Court ruled that denying equal land rights to tribal daughters violates Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution.
- Testamentary Will Protection: A tribal father or mother can write a Will under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 to bequeath self-acquired assets to daughters.
- Land Alienation Laws: State laws like CNT Act, SPT Act, and Land Revenue Codes stop land sales to non-tribals. But gifting or Willing land to your tribal daughter is fully valid.
- Registration & Proof: Registering your Will before the Sub-Registrar with two independent witnesses stops male agnates from challenging your daughter's share.
In India, property inheritance is governed by personal religious laws. Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains follow the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Christians and Parsis follow the Indian Succession Act, 1925. Muslims follow Muslim Personal Law. But what happens when an Indian citizen belongs to a Scheduled Tribe?
Many tribal families assume that the Hindu Succession Act automatically protects them. This is a common legal mistake. Under Section 2(2) of the Hindu Succession Act, Scheduled Tribes are expressly excluded. When a tribal landowner dies without a Will, modern statutory protections do not apply. Instead, ancestral land devolves according to uncodified customary practices.
In most patrilineal tribes, customs grant land rights solely to male heirs. Daughters and widows are left without ownership. If a tribal father has only daughters, his ancestral fields often pass to distant male cousins or uncles. His own daughters receive nothing. To check your family inheritance shares under general Indian succession rules, use our free succession calculator. If you hold ancestral property in coparcenary states, you can inspect your rights with our HUF partition calculator.
1. Why Section 2(2) Excludes Scheduled Tribes from HSA
To understand tribal property rights, we must examine Section 2(2) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. This statutory provision contains a clear non-applicability clause.
Section 2(2) states that nothing in the Act shall apply to members of any Scheduled Tribe within the meaning of Article 366(25) of the Constitution of India, unless the Central Government notifies otherwise in the Official Gazette. To date, the Central Government has not issued any general notification bringing Scheduled Tribes under the Act.
Parliament created this exclusion in 1956 to protect tribal communities from unwanted cultural interference. The goal was to preserve distinct customary laws and prevent the loss of tribal lands to outside communities. However, this statutory exclusion created a serious legal side-effect for tribal women.
In 2005, Parliament amended Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act. This historic amendment made daughters equal coparceners by birth, granting them identical property rights as sons. But because of Section 2(2), this progressive reform did not apply to Scheduled Tribe daughters. Tribal women remained governed by archaic customs that favor male agnates.
Scheduled Tribes are defined under Article 366(25) and notified by the President under Article 342. Section 2(2) HSA excludes all notified Scheduled Tribes from statutory inheritance rules, leaving succession to local custom and state tenancy codes.
2. Intestate Customary Succession: How Tribal Women Lose Land
When a Scheduled Tribe member dies without leaving a Will, the succession is intestate. In states like Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh, uncodified customary law takes over.
Among major patrilineal tribes such as the Santhals, Mundas, Oraons, Hos, Gonds, and Bhils, custom dictates strict male lineage succession. Property passes strictly through the male agnatic line. Here is how customary rules treat female family members:
- Unmarried Daughters: They receive only a limited right to maintenance from farm income until marriage. They cannot demand partition or sell any portion of the land.
- Married Daughters: Once married, daughters lose all claims to their father's property. The customary view assumes they belong to their husband's family.
- Widows: A widow receives a life interest to cultivate the land for sustenance. She cannot sell or mortgage the land. If she remarries or leaves the village, her right ends immediately.
- Absence of Sons: If a tribal father leaves only daughters and a widow, the land does not go to the daughters. Instead, it passes to the deceased father's brothers, nephews, or distant male agnates.
This customary bias leaves tribal daughters economically vulnerable. In many rural districts, male relatives forcefully evict unmarried daughters and widows once the male head of the household passes away.
3. Landmark Precedents: Madhu Kishwar to Kamla Neti (2022)
The injustice of customary disinheritance has repeatedly reached the Supreme Court of India. Over three decades, the apex court has delivered landmark rulings protecting tribal women.
In this historic case, social activist Madhu Kishwar challenged Sections 7, 8, and 76 of the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act, 1908. These sections barred female inheritance. The Supreme Court held that tribal women cannot be deprived of their constitutional right to livelihood under Article 21. The Court ruled that female dependants are entitled to remain in physical possession of agricultural lands and enjoy livelihood rights so long as they survive.
A tribal woman in Chhattisgarh was denied an equal share of compensation for acquired ancestral land because of Section 2(2) HSA. The Supreme Court bench of Justice M.R. Shah and Justice Krishna Murari held that denying equal inheritance rights to a tribal daughter violates the right to equality under Article 14. The Court urged the Central Government to amend Section 2(2) so tribal women enjoy the same inheritance rights as non-tribal women.
While the Supreme Court in Kamla Neti urged Parliament to amend the law, Section 2(2) has not yet been changed by legislation. Therefore, tribal daughters cannot automatically claim equal shares in ancestral property if their father dies intestate.
4. Comparison: Intestate Custom vs Testamentary Will
The difference between letting customary law take over and taking proactive control with a legal Will is vast:
| Succession Feature | Intestate Tribal Custom | Statutory Testamentary Will |
|---|---|---|
| Governing Authority | Uncodified customs & regional tenancy codes | Indian Succession Act, 1925 (Section 59 & 63) |
| Daughter's Legal Rights | Limited maintenance until marriage only | Absolute 100% legal ownership as bequeathed |
| Interference by Male Cousins | High; male agnates claim customary reversion | Zero; Will overrides customary male reversion |
| Self-Acquired Properties | Relatives attempt to merge into common clan pool | Solely distributed as per testator's written terms |
| Bank Accounts & Cash | Disputed claims among extended clan members | Direct transmission to named daughter or wife |
| Civil Court Protection | Low; long evidentiary disputes over local custom | High; recognized under Indian Evidence Act |
5. How a Scheduled Tribe Parent Can Protect Daughters via Will
Here is the crucial legal truth that most families do not know: Customary inheritance only applies when there is no Will.
Under Indian law, every adult citizen of sound mind possesses testamentary capacity. Section 59 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 empowers individuals to dispose of their property by Will. While Section 2(2) of the Hindu Succession Act excludes Scheduled Tribes from intestate succession, it does not strip a tribal person of their constitutional right to write a Will.
Various High Courts, including the Himachal Pradesh High Court and Gauhati High Court, have repeatedly upheld that a tribal landowner can execute a valid Will in favor of daughters. By writing a Will, an ST father or mother can legally override male-only customary succession for their self-acquired properties, houses, bank deposits, and individual land holdings.
If you own land, houses, shops, or bank savings, drafting a Will ensures that your daughters inherit your wealth safely. You do not need expensive court battles. You can draft an airtight legal Will online in 15 minutes using our self-serve portal at WillDrafting.in.
6. Tribal Land Non-Alienability: CNT Act, SPT Act & State Codes
When drafting a Will for Scheduled Tribe property, one critical legal question arises: Do state land protection laws restrict testamentary bequests?
Many Indian states have protective land laws to prevent the exploitation of tribal communities:
- Jharkhand: Chota Nagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act, 1908 (Section 46) and Santhal Parganas Tenancy (SPT) Act, 1949 restrict the transfer of raiyati land to non-tribals.
- Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh: Section 165(6) of the Land Revenue Code prohibits the transfer of Bhumiswami land belonging to an ST member to a non-ST person without prior Collector permission.
- Odisha: Section 22 of the Odisha Land Reforms Act, 1960 restricts transfer of tribal land to non-tribals.
- Rajasthan: Section 42 of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 bars land transfers from Scheduled Tribe members to non-tribals.
The key legal rule established by the courts is simple: A Will cannot be used as a backdoor device to transfer tribal land to a non-tribal person. In Amrendra Pratap Singh v. Tej Bahadur Prajapati (2004) 10 SCC 65, the Supreme Court held that statutory protective land laws cannot be bypassed through collusive deeds.
However, when a tribal father writes a Will bequeathing his land to his biological tribal daughter, the land remains 100% within the Scheduled Tribe community. The protective object of the tenancy laws is fully preserved. High Courts have confirmed that intra-family bequests between tribal members do not violate land alienation bars.
7. Step-by-Step Checklist for Drafting a Tribal Will
To ensure that distant male agnates cannot challenge your Will in revenue courts or civil suits, follow this six-step legal checklist:
Clearly state your tribe, sub-caste, and village lineage in the introductory recital to eliminate any ambiguity about personal identity.
Clearly document how each property was acquired. Self-acquired properties, purchased plots, houses, and bank deposits enjoy absolute testamentary freedom.
Explicitly declare that you are bequeathing property to your daughter out of natural love, affection, and personal care, preventing collateral male cousins from alleging coercion.
Sign or place your thumb impression at the bottom of every page in the simultaneous presence of two independent adult witnesses who sign in your sight.
If the testator is senior in age, obtain a simple fitness certificate from a registered medical practitioner confirming sound mind and memory on execution day.
Registration creates strong legal evidentiary value under Section 114 of the Indian Evidence Act, making frivolous challenges virtually impossible to sustain.
8. Sample Legal Bequest Clause for Tribal Daughters
Here is an illustrative legal clause that can be adapted when drafting a Will for a Scheduled Tribe parent:
Note: Have your final document verified by an estate planning advocate to align with your specific district tenancy code.
9. Protect Your Family's Tribal Land Rights Today
Failing to plan your estate leaves your daughters and wife at the mercy of centuries-old uncodified customs. While the Supreme Court in Kamla Neti has recognized their constitutional rights, court litigation takes years to resolve.
A registered Testamentary Will is your most powerful shield. It ensures your land, home, and savings stay exactly with the people who cared for you. If you have questions about local tenancy laws or complex family situations, our experienced legal team is here to assist you.
You can draft your custom Will online right now through our guided platform at WillDrafting.in. If you need bespoke advocate consultation, reach out to our team at AMA Legal Solutions for dedicated succession advisory.