In Ram Charan & Ors. v. Sukhram & Ors., the Supreme Court addressed whether the legal heirs of a tribal woman, Dhaiya, were entitled to a share in ancestral property belonging to her father, Bhajju Gond. The Trial Court, Appellate Court, and Chhattisgarh High Court had rejected the claim, holding that the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, does not apply to Scheduled Tribes (Section 2(2)) and that no custom supporting female inheritance was proved. The Supreme Court disagreed, stating that while the Act does not apply, the courts wrongly presumed a custom excluding women based on patriarchal assumptions. Since neither side proved any specific custom, the Court applied the principle of justice, equity, and good conscience under Section 6 of the Central Provinces Laws Act, 1875. It held that denying property rights to women violates Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution. The Court emphasized that equality must evolve and customs must not infringe fundamental rights. The appeal was allowed, granting equal share to Dhaiya’s heirs.