In simple words Karta means the manager of a joint family. Until now, only men were allowed to be Karta in a Hindu Undivided Family but now the eldest woman member of a family can be its Karta. Karta is the head of a hindu undivided family usually the senior most male member. He is that adult male coparcener of a HUF who has the responsibility and authority of managing the affairs and assets of the HUF. He has the maximum power. Traditionally, Karta has been the elder-most surviving male member of the HUF and in the case where the only surviving members of HUF are only a woman and her minor children (son and daughter) the son would be the Karta acting through his natural guardian i.e. his mother. So the woman would be the de facto Karta of the family. It is an assumption that generally senior most male member is the Karta of the family and the Karta is always a member in the family not any outsider or any stranger can be become a Karta of the family. The senior most male member so as long as he is alive may be, aged, infirm or ailing continues as Karta. By the death of the Karta, the Kartaship will pass on to next senior most male member of the family. In the presence of senior most male member of the family a junior member cannot act as Karta but if all coparcener agree, a junior member can also become a Karta. And in certain exceptional cases women can also be the Karta. Karta can be defined as the manager of a joint family. The position of Karta is a powerful one as this person controls, and is also the custodian of the finances in an HUF. The Karta borrows money for and on behalf of the family. Without being accountable the female Karta can spend the money for the family. The Karta holds a distinctive position in the HUF, he/she holds diverse powers while performing his tasks as he decision maker of the family and a Karta cannot be held accountable to any member of the family during carrying his duties until it is a matter of fraud or misappropriation. Under the new provision of the hindu law a daughter of a coparcener in a joint hindu undivided family becomes a coparcener in her own right and thus enjoys equal as enjoyed a son of a coparcener. The daughter now stands on an equal footing as the son, she is now vested with all the rights including the right to seek partition of the coparcener property. Under the old law a female could not act as a Karta of the family but under the new provision she can also become the Karta of the family and has equal rights in all aspects as the men in modern day life and they cannot be deprived of the right and privilege of managing a HUF by being a Karta. So the eldest woman of the family can be its Karta.
However a Hindu widow is not a coparcener in the HUF of her husband and, therefore, cannot act as Karta of the HUF after the death of her husband. So in case the male adult coparcener has died and there is no male coparcener surviving or where the sole male coparcener is a minor then HUF does not come to an end. So, in such a case mother of the male coparcener can act as the legal guardian of the minor and also looks after his role as the Karta in her capacity as the minor’s legal guardian. As the daughters have been made equal coparceners in their paternal families, there is no reason as to why they should not be ‘Karta’s’. However a widow is never a coparcener in the HUF of her deceased husband, therefore she cannot be a ‘Karta’.The amendment in the Hindu Succession laws gave women equal rights of inheritance, making them coparceners. Since the women can act as coparcenaries so they must also be given the powers of Karta. It is clear that in the absence of senior member a junior member (if he has reached the age of legal competence) may incur debts for the needs of their family and in the absence of a male member a female member could do so. It empowers women to act as Karta in instances like when the husband is away or missing or the son is yet to attain majority. The Karta usually is the eldest coparcener. So the logical extension of the law implies that women can also assume the position of a Karta. Equality for women is not just a matter of equity for the so called weaker sex but a computation of the modernity of Indian society and the realistic nature of our civilization.