Constitutional Challenges to Personal Laws: A Study of Equality under Succession Laws in India

Abstract

India's family-law regime reflects a continuous tussle between personal laws and the Constitution's commitment to equality, dignity, and non-discrimination. While the Indian Constitution promises equality before the law under Article 14 and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex under Article 15, right to live with dignity under Article 21, the inheritance in India  is governed by diverse, religion-specific personal laws. This article examines the interplay between succession law of different religious communities-Hindu law, Muslim law, Christian law and Parsi law on one hand  and the provisions of the Constitution of India (Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25) on the other. This article further also examine the response of judiciary and legislature towards discriminatory succession regimes. The article argues that the succession law is not a purely private, or religious, matter, but a public institution through which property, status and intergenerational security are transferred. And in the context, this article examines the landmark judgments like Mary Roy v. State of Kerala, Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma, State of Bombay v. Narasu Appa Mali and  the impact of Article 44's directive toward a bringing Uniform Civil Code in India. The study concludes that meaningful reform must harmonize personal-law pluralism with a minimum equality baseline, ensuring that community identity does not become a shield for civil inequality.