A local court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat dismissed a lawsuit by three Hindu girls who sought the retirement benefits of their deceased mother. The court said that since their mother had converted to Islam, her daughters are no longer entitled to any benefit.
The court declared the deceased woman’s Muslim son as her legitimate heir and denied any benefit to the three daughters because they are Hindu and not entitled to any benefit under Islamic law.
As per reports, Ranjan Tripathi lost her husband, a Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) employee, in 1979, leaving behind a pregnant wife and two daughters. On the grounds of sympathy, BSNL let the widow work as a clerk. She did not, however, remain with her family for a long time, and her three girls were cared for by their paternal family.
After leaving her family, Ranjan moved in with a Muslim man. The three daughters filed a maintenance lawsuit against her in 1990, alleging abandonment and they won that lawsuit.
After her conversion to Islam, Ranjan Tripathi took the name of Rehana Malek and married the Muslim man in 1995. She had a son with him before passing away in 2009.
Once Ranjan (Rehana) passed away, her three daughters filed a lawsuit in the city civil court, asserting their right to her provident fund, gratuity, insurance, leave encashment, and other benefits by alleging that they are Class I heirs because they are her biological daughters.
However, the court noted that according to the law, if the decedent was a Muslim, her Class I heirs cannot be Hindus. Only Muslims may be the immediate heirs of a deceased Muslim.
Hence, legally, the daughters are not eligible for inheritance because their mother converted to Islam and the daughters are Hindus.
