Women can sell their property:SC

Kathmandu Dec 16-The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that women are not required to obtain consent from their father, husband, son and unmarried daughter, if they want to sell and hand over ownership of their property.

A three-member bench of justices Min Bahadur Rayamajhi, Badri Kumar Basnet and Kalyan Shrestha scrapped Section 2 of the Women’s Property Chapter of Civil Code 1963, which prevents women from using property without the consent of guardian their husbands, fathers or sons.

The bench ordered the government to review two other provisions in the Parental Property Chapter of the Civil Code which says that parental property should not be given to married daughters and that such property can revert even after giving, as per Section 1(a) and 16 of the Parental Property Chapter in the line with the right to equality as guaranteed by the 1990 Constitution empowering women to sell their properties as per their wish.

The Court gave the order acting upon two separate petitions filed by Lili Thapa and advocate Prakashmani Sharma.

The petitioner had claimed the provisions were discriminatory because Article 11 of the Constitution guarantees the right to equality of the people.

In a similar historic decision, the SC, on November 29 had ruled that women under 35 are not required to obtain their parent’s or husband’s consent to apply for a passport.