Supreme Court Seeks Government Response on Plea Challenging Shariat Inheritance Laws as Discriminatory

The Supreme Court of India, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, has issued a notice to the Union government regarding a petition challenging the inheritance and testamentary succession provisions of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937. The petition, filed by Poulomi Pavini Shukla and represented by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Nihal Ahmed, argues that these laws are discriminatory against women and do not constitute essential religious practices under Article 25 of the Constitution. The petitioners contend that Muslim women are the only significant group in India denied equal inheritance rights, as other communities are governed by secular statutes ensuring equality. They highlight that the current framework struct assigns women lesser shares than men and restricts testamentary autonomy over self-acquired property. Furthermore, the petition points out the legal fragmentation caused by parallel regimes like State Revenue Codes and the Uniform Civil Code in certain states, which defeats the original purpose of the 1937 Act. The court's decision to examine this plea marks a significant step in addressing gender-based disparities in personal laws.