Chennai, Aug 11 (IANS): Political leaders in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court judgement giving equal rights of inheritance to daughters in ancestral property.

Chief Minister K. Palaniswami in a tweet said he is happy to note that the Supreme Court has said that daughters have the same rights as sons in ancestral property.

The judgement protects social justice and is a welcome one, he said.

Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said the judgement further strengthens women's advancement.

DMK President M.K. Stalin too welcomed the apex court's decision.

He said the judgement lays the foundation for women to go up in life as empowered persons.

The apex court on Tuesday ruled that daughters have equal rights in the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) ancestral property even if their father had died before 2005.

The court held that a daughter gets coparcenary rights in a property even if her father had passed away prior to the amendment made to the Hindu Succession Act in 2005.

In other words the 2005 amendment is valid retrospectively.