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of a civil court or under an award where the terms of the gift, will or other instrument or the decree, order or award prescribe a restricted estate in such property. This provi- sion iS more in the nature of a proviso or exception to sub-section (1) and it was regarded as such by this Court in Badri Pershad v. Smt. Kanso Devi(1). It excepts certain kinds of acquisition of property by a Hindu female from the operation of sub-section (1) and being in the nature of an exception to a provision which is calculated to achieve a social purpose by bringing about change in the social and economic position of women in Hindu society, it must be construed strictly so as to impinge as little as possible on the broad sweep of the ameliorative provision contained in sub-section (1 ). It cannot be interpreted in a manner which would rob sub-section (1 ) of its efficacy and deprive a Hindu female of the protection sought to be given to her by sub-section (1 ). The language of sub-section (2) is apparently wide to include acquisition of property by a Hindu female under an instrument or a decree or order or award where the instrument, decree, order or award pre- scribes a restricted estate for her in the property and this would apparently cover a case where property is given to a Hindu female at a partition or m lieu of maintenance and the instrument, decree, order or award giving such property prescribes limited interest for her in the proper- ty. But that would virtually emasculate sub-section (1), for in that event, a large number of cases where property is given to a Hindu female at a partition or in lieu of mainte- nance under an instrument, order or award would be excluded from the operation of the beneficent provision enacted in sub-section (1 ), since in ,most of such cases, where property is allotted to the Hindu female prior to the enact- ment of the Act, there would be a provision, in consonance with the old Sastric law then prevailing, prescribing limit- ed interest in the property and where property is given to the Hindu female subsequent to the enactment of the Act, it would be the easiest thing for the dominant male to provide that the Hindu female shall have only a restricted interest in the property and thus make a mockery of sub-section (1). The Explanation to sub-section (1) which includes within the scope of that sub-section property acquired by a female Hindu at a partition or in lieu of maintenance would also be rendered meaningless, because there would hardly be a few cases where the instrument, decree, order or award giving property to a Hindu female at a partition or in lieu of maintenance would not contain a provision prescribing re- stricted estate in the property. The social purpose of the law would be frustrated and the reformist zeal underlying the statutory provision would be chilled. That surely could never have been the intention of the Legislature in enacting sub-section (2). It is an elementary rule of construction that no provision of a statute should be construed in isola- tion but it should be construed with reference to the con- text and in the light of other provisions of the statute so as, as far as possible, to make a consistent enactment of the whole statute. Sub-section (2) must, therefore, be read in the context of sub-section (1) so as to leave as large a scope for operation as possible to sub-section (1) and so read, it must be confined to cases where property is ac- quired by a female Hindu for the first time as a grant without any pre-existing (1) [1970] 2 S.C.R. 95.

After the attainment of independence, the entire per- spective changed, the nature of old human values assumed a new complexion and the need for emancipation of womanhood from feudal bondage became all the more imperative. Under the strain and stress of socio-economic conditions and a continuous agitation by the female Hindus for enlargement of their rights a new look to the rights of women as provided by the Shastric Hindu Law had to be given. In pursuance of these social pressures, it was necessary to set up a new social order where the women should be given a place of honour and equality with the male sex in every other respect. This was the prime need of the hour and the temper of the times dictated the imperative necessity of making revolutionary changes in the Hindu Law in order to abolish the invidious distinction in matters of inheritance between a male and a female. Similarly it was realised that there should be express provision for divorce on certain specified grounds inasmuch as the absence of such a provision had perpetrated a serious injustice to the Hindu females for a long time. It seems to me that it was with this object in view that the Legislature of our free country thought it as its primary duty to bring forth legis- lation to remove the dangerous anomalies appearing in the Hindu Law. Even during the British times, there were certain legislation modifying certain provisions of the Hindu Law, e.g., the Hindu Law Inheritance Act which added a few more heirs including some females; the Hindu Women's Right to Property Act, 1937, which provided that on partition a widow would be entitled to the same share as the sons in the property of her husband. The Act of 1937, while giving a share to the wife on partition had not disturbed her right to claim maintenance which was preserved in tact and al- though she was not permitted to sue for partition she was undoubtedly entiled to sue for maintenance without having recourse to the remedy of partition. After independence the Parliament passed the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956; the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956; the Hindu Marriage Act, 1956 which regulated the law of marriage and divorce and ultimately the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 which provided for intestate succession. The Hindu Succes- sion Act, 1956 was, therefore, undoubtedly a piece of social legislation which fulfilled a long felt need of the nation and was widely acclaimed by the entire people as would appear from the debates which preceded the passing of the Act.

After considering various aspects of the matter we are inclined to agree with the contentions raised by Mr. Krishna Murthy Iyer appearing for the appellant. In the: first place, the appellant's contention appears to be more in consonance with the spirit and object of the statute itself. Secondly, we have already pointed out that the claim of a Hindu female for maintenance is undoubtedly a pre-existing right and this has been So held not only by various Courts in India but also by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and by this Court. It seems to us, and it has been held as discussed above, that the claim or the right to maintenance possessed by a Hindu female is really a substitute for a share which she would have got in the property of her husband. This being the position, where a Hindu female who. gets a share in her husband's property acquires an absolute interest by virtue of s. 14(1) of the Act, could it be intended by the legisla- ture that in the same circumstances a Hindu female who could not get a share but has a right of maintenance would not get an absolute interest ? In other words, the position would be that the appellant would suffer because her husband had died prior to the Act of 1937. If the husband of the appellant had died after 1937, there could be no, dispute that the appellant would have got an absolute interest, because she was entitled to her share under the provisions of the Hindu Women's Right to Property Act, 1937. Furthermore, it may be necessary to study the language in which the Explanation to s. 14(1) and sub-s. (2) of s. 14 are couched. It would be seen that while the Explanation to s. 14( 1 ) clearly and expressly mentions "property acquired by a female Hindu" at a partition or in lieu of maintenance or arrears of mainte- nance there is no reference in sub-s. (2) at all to this particular mode of acquisition by a Hindu female which clearly indicates that the intention of the Parliament was to exclude the application of sub-s. (2) to, cases where the property has been acquired by a Hindu female. either at a partition or in lieu of maintenance etc. The Explanation is an inclusive definition and if the Parliament intended that everything that is mentioned in the Explanation should be covered by sub-s. (2) it should have expressly so stated in sub-s. (2). Again the language of sub-s. (2) clearly shows that it would apply only to such transactions which. are absolutely independent in nature and which are not in recog- nition of or in lieu of pre-existing rights. It appears from the Parliamentary Debates that when the Hindu Succes- sion Bill, 1954, was referred to a Joint Committee by the Rajya Sabha, in s. 14(2) which was clause 16(2) of the Draft Bill of the Joint Committee, the words mentioned were only gift or will. Thus the intention of the Parliament was to confine sub-s. (2) only to two transactions, namely a gift or a will, which clearly would not include property received by a Hindu female in lieu of maintenance or at a partition. Subsequently, however, an amendment was proposed by one of the, members for adding other categories, namely, an instru- ment, decree, order or award which was accepted by the Government. This would show that the various terms, viz., gift, will, instrument, decree, order or award mentioned in s. 14(2) would have to. be read ejusdem generis so as refer to transactions where right is created for the first time in favour of the Hindu female. The intention of the Parliament in adding the other categories to sub-s. (2) was merely to ensure that any transaction under which a Hindu female gets a new or independent title under any of the modes mentioned in s. 14(2), namely, gift, will, decree, order, award or m instrument which prescribes a restricted estate would not be disturbed and would continue to occupy the field covered by s. 14(2). This would be the position even 'if a Hindu male was to get the property by any of the modes mentioned in s. 14(2): he would also get only a restricted interest and, therefore, the Parliament thought that there was no warrant for making any distinction between a male or a female in this regard and both were, therefore, sought to be equated. Finally, we cannot overlook the scope and extent of a proviso. There can be no doubt that sub-s. (2) of s. 14- is. clearly a proviso to s. 14 (1) and this has been so held by this Court in Badri Prasad's case (supra). It is well settled that a provision in the nature of a proviso merely carves out an exception to the main provision and cannot be interpreted in a manner so as to. destroy the effect of the main provision or to render the same nugatory. If we accept the argument of the respondent that sub-s. (2 ) to s. 14 would include even a property which has been acquired by a Hindu female at a partition or in lieu of maintenance then a substantial part of the Explanation would be completely set at naught which could never be the intention of the proviso Thus we are clearly of the opinion that sub-s. (2) of s. 14 of the proviso should be interpreted in such a way so as not to substantially erode s. 14(1) or the Explanation thereto. In the present case we feel that the proviso has carved out completely a separate. field and before it can apply three conditions must exist:

(4) Sub-section (2) of s. 14 applies to instruments, decrees, awards, gifts etc. which create independent and new titles in favour of the females for the first time and has no application where the instrument concerned merely seeks to confirm, endorse, declare or recognise preexisting rights. In such cases a restricted estate in favour of a female is legally permissible and s. 14(1) will not operate in this sphere. Where, however, an instrument merely de- clares or recognises a pre-existing right, such as a claim to maintenance or partition or share to which the female is entitled, the sub-section has absolutely no application and the female's limited interest would automatically be en- larged into. an absolute one by force of s. 14(1) and the restrictions placed, if any, under the document would have to be ignored. Thus where a property is allotted or trans- ferred to a female in lieu of maintenance or a share at partition, the instrument is taken out of the ambit of sub- s. (2) and would be governed by s. 14(1) despite any re- strictions placed on the powers of the transferee. (5) The use of express terms like "property acquired by a female Hindu at a partition", "or in lieu of maintenance"