stridhan
Stridhan includes gifts made to a woman before, at or after marriage by her parents, relatives, husband and in-laws, as well as her earnings and property she acquires. It belongs to her absolutely; the husband or in-laws who hold it are only custodians. Section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 makes any property possessed by a Hindu female her absolute property.
In Pratibha Rani, the Supreme Court held that stridhan entrusted to the husband or his family is held in trust, and refusal to return it can amount to criminal breach of trust. Stridhan is different from dowry, which is given as consideration for the marriage and is prohibited.
Example
The wife's jewellery given by her parents at the wedding was her stridhan, and the in-laws' refusal to return it was criminal breach of trust.
In Indian law
- Section 14, Hindu Succession Act, 1956; Section 316, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (old s.406, Indian Penal Code, 1860)
- Pratibha Rani v. Suraj Kumar, 1985 INSC 50: stridhan is the wife's absolute property; husband holds it in trust
See also
dowry · criminal breach of trust · succession
Read more in the study notes
- Succession to a Hindu female and stridhana (Family Law I - Hindu Law)
- Maintenance, alimony and dowry prohibition (Family Law I - Hindu Law)
- Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961: ceiling on land holdings and restrictions on holding or transfer of agricultural land (Land Law)
- Conditions restraining alienation and repugnant restrictions (Property Law)
- State, law and property as social institutions (Sociology I - Invitation to Sociology)