Article 14 gender equality judgment

In Ram Charan & Ors. vs Sukhram & Ors., the Supreme Court allowed the appeal of the daughters of a Scheduled Tribe woman seeking partition in ancestral property. The trial and appellate courts had denied them the claim, holding that no custom supporting female succession had been proved. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that in absence of any proven custom to the contrary, the principles of justice, equity and good conscience—preserved under Section 6 of the Central Provinces Laws Act, 1875—must prevail. It emphasized that denial of inheritance to female heirs, without lawful justification, violates Article 14 of the Constitution.