BENGALURU: A

can’t be divested of the property of her deceased husband on her second marriage.

The high court made this observation while dismissing a petition filed by AN Amruth Kumar, a resident of Challakere town in

, and son of Nagaraj Setty.

Amruth and his widowed-stepmother AN Vanitha were parties to a suit in a civil court for partition and separate possession of Setty’s properties. After Vanitha remarried, Amruth moved the civil court saying after his father’s death, she can’t claim a share in the family property. The court on November 22, 2019 rejected his application.

Amruth challenged the verdict in the high court. He claimed his application for re-adjudication of rights of the parties under the decree couldn’t have been rejected and a cost of Rs 5,000 shouldn’t have been imposed on him.

According to him, as his stepmother had contracted a second marriage after his father’s death, there should have been fresh adjudication regarding her share.

However, Justice Krishna S Dixit dismissed his claim. “If unchastity or

of a Hindu widower is not a ground to divest the property vested in him, it strikes at the root of law, at reason and justice to divest a Hindu widow of the property vested in her only because she has contracted a second marriage, especially when the Constitution of India mandates gender equality,” the judge observed in the order.

A widow becomes the full owner of the share in her husband’s property that may devolve on her by succession under the present section. Her remarriage, which would evidently be after the share is vested in her on her husband’s death, would not divest her of such a share, the judge noted.