It took her 24 years to prove her mettle against the powerful
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
“Better late than never” is an old adage. Seventy-six-years-old Mary Roy
has won the landmark case on women’s property rights in India after 24 years of legal battle. For the mother of Booker Prize-winner Arundhati Roy, it was a fight for justice. However, she donated hard-won family share, near Aymenem in Kottayam district, worth Rs 1.8 crore to a charity. Mary Roy, a divorcee and a mother of two children had walked out on her marriage and settled down in her maternal house in Ootty. But, her misery took a new turn in 1965 when her brother asked her to move out of the house because a married woman was not supposed to enjoy her father’s property. Thus started her legal battle for the property rights for Christian women. Her father was no more at that time.
Her brother’s action was based on two laws — the Travancore Christian Succession Act 1916 and Cochin Succession Act 1921 — which restricted a Keralite Syrian Christian daughter’s property rights to one-fourth son’s share or Rs 5,000, whichever was less.
Mary approached the court and, after a 21-year battle, got the Supreme Court to scrap the two laws in 1986. The case shot into fame as “Mary Roy case” in the history of Indian jurisprudence. The judgment brought all Christians in the country under the Indian Succession Act which gives equal property rights to sons and daughters, enabling thousands of Keralite Christian women to regain their share of property which had been denied to them in the past. Only two Christian women dared to implead along with her, namely, Elikkutty and Mariakkutty; two social activist organisations like Women’s Forum for Social Action and Lawyers Collective also supported her.
Yet Mary Roy’s wait for her small piece of land prolonged to nearly a quarter century longer. She approached the Kottayam sub-court seeking implementation of the apex court order in the midst of her brother’s objections. She should have got the land after her mother’s death in 2000. But one of her brothers, who had sold a part of his share for Rs 5 crore, sought to prevent the partition by dragging her to Kerala High Court.
After the high court cleared the legal hurdles, the Principal Sub-judge ordered execution of the verdict and sent court officials to carry it out. Last week, she took the possession of the land, in the midst of a cheering crowd. “I am relieved that my long struggle for justice has yielded result. My battle was not for a piece of land alone but to ensure that women in this country enjoy the rights guaranteed by the Constitution,” Mary Roy said.
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“Better late than never” is an old adage. Seventy-six-years-old Mary Roy
has won the landmark case on women’s property rights in India after 24 years of legal battle. For the mother of Booker Prize-winner Arundhati Roy, it was a fight for justice. However, she donated hard-won family share, near Aymenem in Kottayam district, worth Rs 1.8 crore to a charity. Mary Roy, a divorcee and a mother of two children had walked out on her marriage and settled down in her maternal house in Ootty. But, her misery took a new turn in 1965 when her brother asked her to move out of the house because a married woman was not supposed to enjoy her father’s property. Thus started her legal battle for the property rights for Christian women. Her father was no more at that time.Her brother’s action was based on two laws — the Travancore Christian Succession Act 1916 and Cochin Succession Act 1921 — which restricted a Keralite Syrian Christian daughter’s property rights to one-fourth son’s share or Rs 5,000, whichever was less.
Mary approached the court and, after a 21-year battle, got the Supreme Court to scrap the two laws in 1986. The case shot into fame as “Mary Roy case” in the history of Indian jurisprudence. The judgment brought all Christians in the country under the Indian Succession Act which gives equal property rights to sons and daughters, enabling thousands of Keralite Christian women to regain their share of property which had been denied to them in the past. Only two Christian women dared to implead along with her, namely, Elikkutty and Mariakkutty; two social activist organisations like Women’s Forum for Social Action and Lawyers Collective also supported her.
Yet Mary Roy’s wait for her small piece of land prolonged to nearly a quarter century longer. She approached the Kottayam sub-court seeking implementation of the apex court order in the midst of her brother’s objections. She should have got the land after her mother’s death in 2000. But one of her brothers, who had sold a part of his share for Rs 5 crore, sought to prevent the partition by dragging her to Kerala High Court.
After the high court cleared the legal hurdles, the Principal Sub-judge ordered execution of the verdict and sent court officials to carry it out. Last week, she took the possession of the land, in the midst of a cheering crowd. “I am relieved that my long struggle for justice has yielded result. My battle was not for a piece of land alone but to ensure that women in this country enjoy the rights guaranteed by the Constitution,” Mary Roy said.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
GIDF Club of IIPM Lucknow Organizes Blood Donation Camp
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM Marches Ahead in B-School Rankings...
IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board
Indian universities and higher education institutes seem to be caught in a time warp teaching things
Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU): Students' Unions can not be banned
posted by Surender @ 10:16 AM
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