The Bombay High Court recently made an important decision about who gets to inherit property in the Gond community. This case was about Sau. Barula Kodape, who disagreed with an earlier decision that said she couldn't have a share of her late father's property.
Sau. Barula Kodape is the daughter of Ramaji from his first marriage. She went to court against Smt. Suman Tekam, Ramaji's second wife, and her children, saying she deserved a part of the family property. The property is in Chandrapur, and Barula believed she should get a share of it.
The main question was whether the Gond community's tradition, which supposedly stops daughters from inheriting, was acceptable. The first court said Barula didn't prove there was a tradition that let her inherit.
Barula challenged this decision, but the District Judge agreed with the first court. The case then went to the Bombay High Court, where Judge Pravin S. Patil looked at it. The High Court thought about other court decisions, including one from the Supreme Court, which stressed that men and women should have equal rights to inherit.
"Considering the country's aim to reduce or remove gender discrimination... those who say someone can't inherit should have to prove it."
The High Court decided that Barula shouldn't have to prove she could inherit. Instead, Smt. Suman Tekam and her children should have to prove that Barula wasn't allowed to inherit because of community tradition. The court found mistakes in the earlier decisions and sent the case back to the trial court to look at it again.
The case will go back to the trial court, where both sides will get another chance to show their evidence. This time, the focus will be on whether the other side can prove there's a tradition that stops Barula from inheriting her father's property.
This decision is an important move toward making sure women in tribal communities have the same rights to inherit property, in line with the country's broader goals of fairness and equality.
