The word coparcener has been used very widely in relation to the Hindu law and the HUF. In relation to HUF property, a coparcener is a person who acquires a right in the ancestral property by birth and a person who has a right to demand partition in the HUF property. Prior to the amendments made by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act,2005, only male members of a family had a right to the Ancestral property by birth and they were only entitled to demand partition in the HUF Property and thus only male members were called coparceners. Under the 1 lindu law, it has also been said that the male members upto three lineal descendants are coparceners meaning a family consisting of father, his son, son’s son and son’s grandson are coparceners in the Hindu property. The genesis of coparcenary thus is a common male ancestor with his lineal descendants in the male line within three degrees excluding him e.g. his son, son’s son and son’s grandson. This genesis is so long as the male ancestor is alive and after his death, the three degrees can consist of collaterals such as brothers, uncles, nephews and cousins etc. lhis position is 1so subject to the amendments made by Hindu succession (amendment) Act, 2005 whereby even daughters have been included within the term coparceners and all references to son shall equally apply to daughters also.
Any member other than the above who were not entitled to right in the HUF property by birth or who did not have a right to demand partition were not coparceners and were simply members who had a right of maintenance out of the 1-hindu family property.
However, with the amendments made by the 1 hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 a daughter has also been given equal rights as son and she has also become a coparcener in the Hindu property and she has also got rights over the Hindu property to demand partition.
Form the above it follows, that all the, coparceners are members of 1 IUF, but not the vice versa i.e., a member of HUF may not necessarily be a coparcener say a daughter in law in the Ilindu family.
As we have seen in earlier Chapters, Coparcener in relation to a Joint 1-lindu family means a person who is entitled to demand partition of his share in the Coparcenary property.
We have seen in earlier Chapters that there are two kinds of Schools governing the HUFs and they are Mitakshara law and tlie I)ayabhaga law.
The coparcenary can be further understood by way of an example as below:
If say a person X who has acquired property by his own labour i.e., he is holding self acquired property has a son Y, then the said son Y doesn’t acquire any interest in the self acquired property during the life time of the father X,but on death of X, Y inherits the self acquired property of his father. Supposing if he has a son Z or a daughter /Z at the time he inherits the said property, the property becomes a Joint hindu family property in the hands of Y with his son Z or daughter ZZ. Supposing, a son A is born to Z, then the said A also becomes coparcener. This is way coparcenary is created. |
