The Supreme Court is set to examine whether Muslim women can assert their right to equality in succession, considering the provisions of Article 14 (Right to equality) and Article 15 (Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth) of the Indian Constitution, among other factors.

The query came before the bench of Justices C.T. Ravikumar and Rajesh Bindal as they presided over a civil appeal.

In the factual background of the case, the respondents filed a suit asserting that a will made by the late Hazi distributed his properties among his three sons, excluding the fourth son. The Trial Court initially ruled in favor of the respondents. However, the lower appellate Court amended the decision, stipulating that Hazi could only allocate one-third of his estate through a will. Consequently, the remaining two-thirds of the estate were to be divided equally among all legal heirs.

Significantly, upon reaching the High Court, the aforementioned order was overturned, and the Trial Court's ruling was reinstated, leading to the current appeal.During the hearing, the argument posited was that the testator retains the right to bequeath one-third of their estate to a third party, with the remaining two-thirds mandated for equal distribution among legal heirs. Nonetheless, this limitation of one-third can be waived if the legal heirs provide their consent.

The judgments referenced also included the Karnataka High Court's ruling in Narunnisa v. Shek Abdul Hamid (AIR 1987 KANT 222). In this case, mention was made of a precedent where it was established that if a Muslim father leaves behind a son and a daughter, and the daughter does not consent to the father's will allocating 3/4ths of the property to the son and 1/4th to her, she would still be entitled to claim 1/3rd of the property as her share of inheritance, rather than just 50%.

The Court appointed Senior Advocate V. Giri as an Amicus Curiae in the case and also requested Advocate-on-Record Amit Krishnan to assist him in the proceedings.

The Court posted the matter to July, 25.