The Doctrine Of Pious Obligation And Its Relevance Today
Sanjana Rudra, Ramaiah College of Law, Bangalore.
Abstract
The Doctrine of Pious Obligation is that doctrine under which sons are made liable to discharge father’s debts. It is solely religious. It only refers to vyavaharika debt i.e., debts conducted for legal purposes only, and excludes avyavaharika debts i.e. debts taken for immoral and unethical purposes. There are certain questions about the relevance of the doctrine of pious obligation under Hindu Law. This is because the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 led to the abrogation of the doctrine. To understand its importance today, it is required to refer to the meaning of the doctrine of pious obligation, its origin and historical background, and an analysis of the legal position of the doctrine prior to the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 and post the amendment.
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