act 039 of 1925 : Succession Act, 1925

This Act may be called the Indian Succession Act, 1925.

In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,--

(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, either retrospectively from the sixteenth day of March, 1865, or prospectively, exempt from the operation of any of the following provisions of this Act, namely, sections 5 to 49 , 58 to 191 , 212, 213 and 215 to 369, the members of any race, sect or tribe in the State, or of any part of such race, sect or tribe, to whom the State Government considers it impossible or inexpedient to apply such provisions or any of them mentioned in the order.

This Part shall not apply if the deceased was a Hindu, Muhammadan, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina.

(1) Succession to the immoveable property in ¹[India], of a person deceased shall be regulated by the law of ¹[India], wherever such person may have had his domicile at the time of his death.

A person can have only one domicile for the purpose of the succession to his moveable property.

The domicile of origin of every person of legitimate birth is in the country in which at the time of his birth his father was domiciled; or, if he is a posthumous child, in the country in which his father was domiciled at the time of the fathers death.

Illustration

At the time of the birth of A, his father was domiciled in England. As domicile of origin kiln England, whatever may be the country in which he was born.

The domicile of origin of an illegitimate child is in the country in which, at the time of his birth, his mother was domiciled.

The domicile of origin prevails until a new domicile has been acquired.

A man acquires a new domicile by taking up his fixed habitation in a country which is not that of his domicile of origin.

Any person may acquire a domicile in ¹[India] by making and depositing in some office in ¹[India] appointed in this behalf by the State Government, a declaration in writing under his hand of his desire to acquire such domicile; provided that he has been resident in ¹[India] for one year immediately preceding the time of his making such declaration.

A person who is appointed by the Government of one country to be its ambassador, consul or other representative in another country does not acquire a domicile in the latter country by reason only of residing there in pursuance of his appointment; nor does any other person acquire such domicile by reason only of residing with such first-mentioned person as part of his family, or as a servant.

A new domicile continues until the former domicile has been resumed or another has been acquired.

The domicile of a minor follows the domicile of the parent from whom he derived his domicile of origin.

By marriage a woman acquires the domicile of her husband, if she had not the same domicile before.

A wife’s domicile during her marriage follows the domicile of her husband.
Exception.—The wife’s domcile no longer follows that of her husband if they are separated by the sentence of a competent Court, or if the husband is undergoing a sentence of transportation.

Save as hereinbefore otherwise provided in this Part, a person cannot, during minority, acquire a new domicile.

An insane person cannot acquire a new domicile in any other way than by his domicile following the domicile of another person.

If a person dies leaving moveable property in ¹[India], in the absence of proof of any domicile elsewhere, succession to the property is regulated by the law of ¹[India].

(1) No person shall, by marriage, acquire any interest in the property of the person whom he or she marries or become incapable of doing any act in respect of his or her own property which he or she could have done if unmarried.

If a person whose domicile is not in ¹[India] marries in ¹[India] a person whose domicile is in ¹[India], neither party acquires by the marriage any rights in respect of any property of the other party not comprised in a settlement made previous to the marriage, which he or she would not acquire thereby if both were domiciled in ¹[India] at the time of the marriage.

(1) The property of a minor may be settled in contemplation of marriage, provided the settlement is made by the minor with the approbation of the minors father, or, if the father is dead or absent from ¹[India], with the approbation of the High Court.

Nothing in this Part shall apply to any will made or intestacy occurring before the first day of January, 1866, or to intestate or testamentary succession to the property of any Hindu, Muhammadan, Buddhist, Sikh, Jaina or Parsi.

Kindred or consanguinity is the connection or relation of persons descended from the same stock or common ancestor.

(1) Lineal consanguinity is that which subsists between two persons, one of whom is descended in a direct line from the other, as between a man and his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, and so upwards in the direct ascending line; or between a man and his son, grandson, great-grandson and so downwards in the direct descending line.

(1) Collateral consanguinity is that which subsists between two persons who are decended from the same stock or ancestor, but neither of whom is descended in a direct line from the other.

For the purpose of succession, there is no distinction—

Degrees of kindred are computed in the manner set forth in the table of kindred set out in Schedule I.

(1) This Part shall not apply to any intestacy occurring before the first day of January, 1866, or to the property of any Hindu, Muhammadan, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina.

A person is deemed to die intestate in respect of all property of which he has not made a testamentary disposition which is capable of taking effect,

Nothing in this Chapter shall apply to Parsis.

The property of an intestate devolves upon the wife or husband, or upon those who are of the kindred of the deceased, in the order and according to the rules hereinafter contained in this Chapter.

Where the intestate has left a widow--

¹[33A. Special provision where intestate has left widow and no lineal descendants.--(1) Where the intestate has left a widow but no lineal descendants and the nett value of his property does not exceed five thousand rupees, the whole of his property shall belong to the widow.

Where the intestate has left no widow, his property shall go to his lineal descendants or to those who are of kindred to him, not being lineal descendants, according to the rules hereinafter contained; and, if he has left none who are of kindred to him, it shall go to the Government.

A husband surviving his wife has the same rights in respect of her property, if she dies intestate, as a widow has in respect of her husband’s property, if he dies intestate.

The rules for the distribution of the intestate's property (after deducting the widow's share, if he has left a widow) amongst his lineal descendants shall be those contained in sections 37 to 40.

Where the intestate has left surviving him a child or children, but no more remote lineal descendant through a deceased child, the property shall belong to his surviving child, if there is only one, or shall be equally divided among all his surviving children.

Where the intestate has not left surviving him any child but has left a grandchild or grandchildren and no more remote descendant through a deceased grandchild, the property shall belong to his surviving grandchild if there is one, or shall be equally divided among all his surviving grandchildren.

In like manner the property shall go to the surviving lineal descendants who are nearest in degree to the intestate, where they are all in the degree of great-grandchildren to him, or are all in a more remote degree.

(1) If the intestate has left lineal descendants who do not all stand in the same degree of kindred to him, and the persons through whom the more remote are descended from him are dead, the property shall be divided into such a number of equal shares as may correspond with the number of the lineal descendants of the intestate who either stood in the nearest degree of kindred to him at his decease, or, having been of the like degree of kindred to him, died before him, leaving lineal descendants who survived him.

Where an intestate has left no linal descendants, the rules for the distribution of his property (after deducting the widow’s share, if he has left a widow) shall be those contained in sections 42 to 48.

If the intestate’s father is living, he shall succeed to the property.

If the intestate's father is dead, but the intestate's mother is living and there are also brothers or sisters of the intestate living, and there is no child living of any deceased brother or sister, the mother and each living brother or sister shall succeed to the property in equal shares.

If the intestate's father is dead but the intestate's mother is living, and if any brother or sister and the child or children of any brother or sister who may have died in the intestate's lifetime are also living, then the mother and each living brother or sister, and the living child or children of each deceased brother or sister, shall be entitled to the property in equal shares, such children (if more than one) taking in equal shares only the shares which their respective parents would have taken if living at the intestate's death.

If the intestate's father is dead, but the intestate's mother is living, and the brothers and sisters are all dead, but all or any of them have left children who survived the intestate, the mother and the child or children of each deceased brother or sister shall be entitled to the property in equal shares, such children (if more than one) taking in equal shares only the shares which their respective parents would have taken if living at the intestate's death.

If the intestate’s father is dead, but the intestate’s mother is living, and there is neither brother, nor sister, nor child of any brother or sister of the intestate, the property shall belong to the mother.

Where the intestate has left neither lineal descendant, nor father, nor mother, the property shall be divided equally between his brothers and sisters and the child or children of such of them as may have died before him, such children (if more than one) taking in equal shares only the shares which their respective parents would have taken if living at the intestate’s death.

Where the intestate has left neither lineal descendant, nor parent, nor brother, nor sister, his property shall be divided equally among those of his relatives who are in the nearest degree of kindred to him.

Where a distributive share in the property of a person who has died intestate is claimed by a child, or any descendant of a child, of such person, no money or other property which the intestate may, during his life, have paid, given or settled to, or for the advancement of, the child by whom or by whose descendant the claim is made shall be taken into account in estimating such distributive share.

¹[50. General principles relating to intestate succession.--For the purpose of intestate succession among Parsis--

¹[51. Division of intestate’s property among widow, widower, children and parents.—(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the property of which a Parsi dies intestate shall he divided,

In all cases where a Paris dies leaving any lineal descendant, if any child of such intestate has died in the lifetime of the intestate, the division of the share of the property of which the intestate has died intestate which such child would have taken if living at the intestate's death shall be in accordance with the following rules, namely:--

¹[54. Division of property where intestate leaves no lineal descendant but leaves a widow or widower or a widow or widower of any lineal descendant.—Where a Parsi dies without leaving any lineal descendant but leaving a widow or widower or a widow or widower of a lineal descendant, the property of which the intestate dies intestate shall be divided in accordance with the following rules, namely:--

When a Parsi dies leaving neither lineal descendants nor a widow or widower nor ¹[a widow or widower of any lineal descendant] his or her nextof-kin, in the order set forth in Part II of Schedule II, shall be entitled to succeed to the whole of the property of which he or she dies intestate. The next-of-kin standing first in Part II of that Schedule shall be preferred to those standing second, the second to the third, and so on in succession, provided that the property shall be so distributed that ²[each male and female standing in the same degree of propinquity shall receive equal shares.]

Where there is no relative entitled to succeed under the other provisions of this Chapter to the property of which a Parsi has died intestate, the said property shall be divided equally among those of the intestate's relatives who are in the nearest degree of kindred to him.]

¹[57. Application of certain provisions of Part to a class of wills made by Hindus, etc.--The provisions of this Part which are set out in Schedule III shall, subject to the restrictions and modifications specified therein, apply--

(1) The provisions of this Part shall not apply to testamentary succession to the property of any Muhammadan nor, save as provided by section 57, to testamentary succession to the property of any Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina; nor shall they apply to any will made before the first day of January, 1866.

Every person of sound mind not being a minor may dispose of his property by will.

A father, whatever his age may be, may by will appoint a guardian or guardians for his child during minority.

A will or any part of a will, the making of which has been caused by fraud or coercion, or by such importunity as takes away the free agency of the testator, is void.

A will is liable to be revoked or altered by the maker of it at any time when he is competent to dispose of his property by will.

Every testator, not being a soldier employed in an expedition or engaged in actual warfare, ¹[or an airman so employed or engaged,] or a mariner at sea, shall execute his will according to the following rules:--

If a testator, in a will or codicil duly attested, refers to any other document then actually written as expressing any part of his intentions, such document shall be deemed to form a part of the will or codicil in which it is referred to.

Any soldier being employed in an expedition or engaged in actual warfare, ¹[or an airman so employed or engaged,] or any mariner being at sea, may, if he has completed the age of eighteen years, dispose of his property by a will made in the manner provided in section 66. Such wills are called privileged wills.

(1) Privileged wills may be in writing, or may be made by word of mouth.

A will shall not be deemed to be insufficiently attested by reason of any benefit thereby given either by way of bequest or by way of appointment to any person attesting it, or to his or her wife or husband; but the bequest or appointment shall be void so far as concerns the person so attesting, or the wife or husband of such person, or any person claiming under either of them.

No person, by reason of interest in, or of his being an executor of, a will, shall be disqualified as a witness to prove the execution of the will or to prove the validity or invalidity thereof.

Every will shall be revoked by the marriage of the maker, except a will made in exercise of a power of appointment, when the property over which the power of appointment is exercised would not, in default of such appointment, pass to his or her executor or administrator, or to the person entitled in case of intestacy.

No unprivileged will or codicil, nor any part thereof, shall be trevoked otherwise than by marriage, or by another will or codicil, or by some writing declaring an intention to revoke the same and executed in the manner in which an unprivileged will is herein before required to be executed, or by the burning, tearing, or otherwise destroying the same by the testator or by some person in his presence and by his direction with the intention of revoking the same.

No obliteration, interlineation or other alteration made in any unprivileged will after the execution thereof shall have any effect, except so far as the words or meaning of the will have been thereby rendered illegible or undiscernible, unless such alteration has been executed in like manner as hereinbefore is required for the execution of the will:
Provided that the will, as so altered, shall be deemed to be duly executed if the signature of the testator and the subscription of the witnesses is made in the margin or on some other part of the will opposite or near to such alteration, or at the foot or end of or opposite to a memorandum referring to such alteration, and written at the end or some other part of the will.

A privileged will or codicil, may be revoked by the testator by an unprivileged will .or codicil, or by any act expressing an intention to revoke it and accompanied by such formalities as would be sufficient to give validity to a privileged will, or by the burning, tearing or otherwise destroying the same by the testator, or by some person in his presence and by his direction, with the intention of revoking the same.

(1) No unprivileged will or codicil, nor any part thereof, which has been revoked in any manner, shall be revived otherwise than by the re-execution thereof, or by a codicil executed in manner herein before required, and showing an intention to revive the same.

It is not necessary,. that any technical words or terms of art be used in a will, but only that the wording be such that the intentions of the testator can be known therefrom.

For the purpose of determining questions as to what person or what property is denoted by any words used in a will, a Court shall inquire into every material fact relating to the persons who claim to be interested under such will, the property which is claimed as the subject of disposition, the circumstances of the testator and of his family, and into every fact a knowledge of which may conduce to the right application of the words which the testator has used.

(1) Where the words used in a will to designate or describe a legatee or a class of legatees sufficiently show what is meant, and error in the name or description shall not prevent the legacy from taking effect.

Where any word material to the full expression of the meaning has been omitted, it may be supplied by the context.

If the thing which the testator intended to bequeath can be sufficiently identified from the description of it given in the will, but some parts of the description do not apply, such parts of the description shall be rejected as erroneous, and the bequest shall take effect.

If a will mentions several circumstances as descriptive of the thing which the testator intends to bequeath, and there is any property of his in respect of which all those circumstances exist, the bequest shall be considered as limited to such property, and it shall not be lawful to reject any part of the description as erroneous, because the testator had other property to which such part of the description does not apply.

Where the words of a will are unambiguous, but it is found by extrinsic evidence that they admit of applications, one only of which can have been intended by the testator, extrinsic evidence may be taken to show which of these applications was intended.

Where there is an ambiguity or deficiency on the face of a will, no extrinsic evidence as to the intentions of the testator shall be admitted.

The meaning of any clause in a Will is to be collected from the entire instrument, and all its parts are to be construed with reference to each other.

General words may be understood in a restricted sense where it may be collected from the Will that the testator meant to use them in a restricted sense; and words may be understood in a wider sense than that which they usually bear, where it may be collected from the other words of the Will that the testator meant to use them in such wider sense.

Where a clause is susceptible of two meanings according to one of which it has some effect, and according to the other of which it can have none, the former shall be preferred.

No part of a Will shall be rejected as destitute of meaning if it is possible to put a reasonable construction upon it.

If the same words occur in different parts of the same will, they shall be taken to have been used everywhere in the same sense, unless a contrary intention appears.

The intention of the testator shall not be set aside because it cannot take effect to the full extent, but effect is to be given to it as far as possible.

Where two clauses of gifts in a will are irreconcileable, so that they cannot possibly stand together, the last shall prevail.

A will or bequest not expressive of any definite intention is void for uncertainty.

The description contained in a will of property, the subject of gift, shall, unless a contrary intention appears by the will, be deemed to refer to and comprise the property answering that description at the death of the testator.

Unless a contrary intention appears by the will, a bequest of the estate of the testator shall be construed to include any property which he may have -power to appoint by will to any object he may think proper, and shall operate as an execution of such power; and a bequest of property described in a general manner shall be construed to include any property to which such description may extend, which he may have power to appoint by will to any object he may think proper, and shall operate as an execution of such power.

Where property is bequeathed to or for the benefit of certain objects as a specified person may appoint or for the benefit of certain objects in such proportions as a specified person may appoint, and the will does not provide for the event of no appointment being made; if the power given by the will is not exercised, the property belongs to all the objects of the power in equal shares.

Where a bequest is made to the "heirs" or "right heirs" or "relations" or "nearest relations" or "family" or "kindred" or "nearest of kin" or "next-of-kin" of a particular person without any qualifying terms, and the class so designated forms the direct and independent object of the bequest, the property bequeathed shall be distributed as if it had belonged to such person and he had died intestate in respect of it, leaving assets for the payment of his debts independently of such property.

Where a bequest is made to the "representatives" or "legal representatives" or "personal representatives" or "executors or administrators" of a particular person, and the class so designated forms the direct and independent object of the bequest, the property bequeathed shall be distributed as if it had belonged to such person and he had died intestate in respect of it.

Where property is bequeathed to any person, he is entitled to the whole interest of the testator therein, unless it appears from the Will that only a restricted interest was intended for him.

Where a property is bequeathed to a person with a bequest in the alternative to another person or to a class of persons, then, if a contrary intention does not appear by the Will, the legatee first named shall be entitled to the legacy if he is alive at the time when it takes effect; but if he is then dead, the person or class of persons named in the second branch of the alternative shall take the legacy.

Where property is bequeathed to a person, and words are added which describe a class of persons but do not denote them as direct objects of a distinct and independent gift, such person is entitled to the whole interest of the testator therein, unless a contrary intention appears by the will.

Where a bequest is made to a class of persons under a general description only, no one to whom the words of the description are not in their ordinary sense applicable shall take the legacy.

In a will--

In the absence of any intimation to the contrary in a will, the word "child," the word "son", the word "daughter" or any word which expresses relationship, is to be understood as denoting only a legitimate relative, or, where there is no such legitimate relative, a person who has acquired, at the date of the Will, the reputation of being such relative.

Where a will purports to make two bequests to the same person, and a question arises whether the testator intended to make the second bequest instead of or in addition to the first; if there is nothing in the will to show what he intended, the following rules shall have effect in determining the construction to be put upon the will:--

A residuary legatee may be constituted by any words that show an intention on the part of the testator that the person designated shall take the surplus or residue of his property.

Under a residuary bequest, the legatee is entitled to all property belonging to the testator at the time of his death, of which he has not made any other testamentary disposition which is capable of taking effect.

If a legacy is given in general terms, without specifying the time when it is to be paid, the legatee has a vested interest in it from the day of the death of the testator, and, if he dies without having received it, it shall pass to his representatives.

(1) If the legatee does not survive the testator, the legacy cannot take effect, but shall lapse and form part of the residue of the testator's property, unless it appears by the Will that the testator intended that it should go to some other person.

If a legacy is given to two persons jointly, and one of them dies before the testator, the other legatee takes the whole.

If a legacy is given to legatees in words which show that the testator intended to give them distinct shares of it, then, if any legatee dies before the testator, so much of the legacy as was intended for him shall fall into the residue of the testator's property.

Where a share which lapses is a part of the general residue bequeathed by the Will, that share shall go as undisposed of.

Where a bequest has been made to any child or other lineal descendant of the testator, and the legatee dies in the lifetime of the testator, but any lineal descendant of his survives the testator, the bequest shall not lapse, but shall take effect if the death of the legatee had happened immediately after the death of the testator, unless a contrary intention appears by the Will.

Where a bequest is made to one person, for the benefit of another, the legacy does not lapse by the death, in the testator's lifetime, of the person to whom the bequest is made.

Where a bequest is made simply to a described class of persons, the thing bequeathed shall go only to such as are alive at the testator's death.

Where a bequest is made to a person by a particular description, and there is no person in existence at the testator's death who answers the description, the bequest is void.

Where a bequest is made to a person not in existence at the time of the testator's death, subject to a prior bequest contained in the will, the later bequest shall be void, unless it comprises the whole of the remaining interest of the testator in the thing bequeathed.

No bequest is valid whereby the vesting of the thing bequeathed may be delayed beyond the life-time of one or more persons living at the testator's death and the minority of some person who shall be in existence at the expiration of that period, and to whom, if he attains full age, the thing bequeathed is to belong.

If a bequest is made to a class of persons with regard to some of whom it is inoperative by reason of the provisions of section 113 or section 114, such bequest shall be ¹[void in regard to those persons only, and not in regard to the whole class].

¹[Where by reason of any of the rules contained in sections 113 and 114, any bequest in favour of a person or of a class of persons is void in regard to such person or the whole of such class, any bequest contained in the same will and intended to take effect after or upon failure of such prior bequest is also void.]

¹[117. Effect of direction for accumulation.—(1) Where the terms of a will direct that the income arising from any property shall be accumulated either wholly or in part during any period longer than a period of eighteen years from the death of the testator, such direction shall, save as hereinafter provided, be void to the extent to which the period during which the accumulation is directed exceeds the aforesaid period, and at the end of such period of eighteen years the property and the income thereof shall be disposed of as if the period during which the accumulation has been directed to be made had elapsed.

No man having a nephew or niece or any nearer relative shall have power to bequeath any property to religious or charitable uses, except by a will executed not less than twelve months before his death, and deposited within six months from its execution in some place provided by law for the safe custody of the wills of living persons:

Where by the terms of a bequest the legatee is not entitled to immediate possession of the thing bequeathed, a right to receive it at the proper time shall, unless a contrary intention appears by the will, become vested in the legatee on the testator's death, and shall pass to the legatee's representatives if he dies before that time and without having received the legacy, and in such cases the legacy is from the testator's death said to be vested in interest.

(1) A legacy bequeathed in case a specified uncertain event shall happen does not vest until that event happens.

Where a bequest is made only to such members of a class as shall have attained a particular age, a person who has not attained that age cannot have a vested interest in the legacy.

Where a bequest imposes an obligation on the legatee, he can take nothing by it unless he accepts it fully.

Where a will contains two separate and independent bequests to the same person, the legatee is at liberty to accept one of them and refuse the other, although the former may be beneficial and the latter onerous.

Where a legacy is given if a specified uncertain event shall happen and no time is mentioned in the will for the occurrence of that event, the legacy cannot take effect, unless such event happens before the period when the fund bequeathed is payable or distributable.

Where a bequest is made to such of certain persons as shall be surviving at some period, but the exact period is not specified the legacy shall go to such of them as are alive at the time of payment or distribution, unless a contrary intention appears by the will.

A bequest upon an impossible condition is void.

A bequest upon a condition, the fulfilment of which would be contrary to law or to morality is void.

Where a will imposes a condition to be fulfilled before the legatee can take a vested interest in the thing bequeathed, the condition shall be considered to have been fulfilled if it has been substantially complied with.

Where there is a bequest to one person and a bequest of the same thing to another, if the prior bequest shall fail, the second bequest shall take effect upon the failure of the prior bequest although the failure may not have occurred in the manner contemplated by the testator.

Where the will shows an intention that the second bequest shall take effect only in the event of the first bequest failing in a particular manner, the second bequest shall not take effect, unless the prior bequest fails in that particular manner.

(1) A bequest may be made to any person with the condition super-added, that, in case a specified uncertain event shall happen, the thing bequeathed shall go to another person, or that in case a specified uncertain event shall not happen, the thing bequeathed shall go over to another person.

An ulterior bequest of the kind contemplated by section 131 cannot take effect, unless the condition is strictly fulfilled.

If the ulterior bequest be not valid the original bequest is not affected by it.

A bequest may be made with the condition super-added that it shall cease to have effect in case a specified uncertain event shall happen, or in case a specified uncertain event shall not happen.

In order that a condition that a bequest shall cease to have effect may be valid, it is necessary that the event to which it relates be one which could legally constitute the condition of a bequest as contemplated by section 120.

Where a bequest is made with a condition super-added that, unless the legatee shall perform a certain act, the subject-matter of the bequest shall go to another person, or the bequest shall cease to have effect but no time is specified for the performance of the act; if the legatee takes any step which renders impossible or indefinitely postpones the performance of the act required, the legacy shall go as if the legatee had died without performing such act.

Where the will requires an act to be performed by the legatee within a specified time, either as a condition to be fulfilled before the legacy is enjoyed, or as a condition upon the nonfulfilment of which the subject-matter of the bequest is to go over to another person or the bequest is to cease to have effect, the act must be performed within the time specified, unless the performance of it be prevented by fraud, in which case such further time shall be allowed as shall be requisite to make up for the delay caused by such fraud.

Where a fund is bequeathed absolutely to or for the benefit of any person, but the will contains a direction that it shall be applied or enjoyed in a particular manner, the legatee shall be entitled to receive the fund as if the will had contained no such direction.

Where a testator absolutely bequeaths a fund, so as to sever it from his own estate, but directs that the mode of enjoyment of it by the legatee shall be restricted so as to secure a specified benefit for the legatee; if that benefit cannot be obtained for the legatee, the fund belongs to him as if the will had contained no such direction.

Where a testator does not absolutely bequeath a fund, so as to sever it from his own estate, but gives it for certain purposes, and part of those purposes cannot be fulfilled, the fund, or so much of it as has not been exhausted upon the objects contemplated by the will, remains a part of the estate of the testator.

If a legacy is bequeathed to a person who is named an executor of the will, he shall not take the legacy, unless he proves the will or otherwise manifests an intention to act as executor.

Where a testator bequeaths to any person a specified part of his property, which is distinguished from all other parts of his property, the legacy is said to be specific.

Where a certain sum is bequeathed, the legacy is not specific merely because the stock, funds or securities in which it is invested are described in the will.

Where a bequest is made in general terms of a certain amount of any kind of stock, the legacy is not specific merely because the testator was, at the date of his will, possessed of stock of the specified kind, to an equal or greater amount than the amount bequeathed.

A money legacy is not specific merely because the will directs its payment to be postponed until some part of the property of the testator has been reduced to a certain form, or remitted to a certain place.

Where a will contains a bequest of the residue of the testator's property along with an enumeration of some items of property not previously bequeathed, the articles enumerated shall not be deemed to be specifically bequeathed.

Where property is specifically bequeathed to two or more persons in succession, it shall be retained in the form in which the testator left it, although it may be of such a nature that its value is continually decreasing.

Where property comprised in a bequest to two or more persons in succession is not specifically bequeathed, it shall, in the absence of any direction to the contrary, be sold, and the proceeds of the sale shall be invested in such securities as the High Court may by any general rule authorise or direct, and the fund thus constituted shall be enjoyed by the successive legatees according to the terms of the will.

If there is a deficiency of assets to pay legacies, a specific legacy is not liable to abate with the general legacies.

Where a testator bequeaths a certain sum of money, or a certain quantity of any other commodity, and refers to a particular fund or stock so as to constitute the same the primary fund or stock out of which payment is to be made, the legacy is said to be demonstrative.

Where a portion of a fund is specifically bequeathed and a legacy is directed to be paid out of the same fund, the portion specifically bequeathed shall first be paid to the legatee, and the demonstrative legacy shall be paid out of the residue of the fund and, so far as the residue shall be deficient, out of the general assets of the testator.

If anything which has been specifically bequeathed does not belong to the testator at the time of his death, or has been converted into property of a different kind, the legacy is a deemed; that is, it cannot take effect, by reason of the subject-matter having been withdrawn from the operation of the will.

A demonstrative legacy is not adeemed by reason that the property on which it is charged by the will does not exist at the time of the death of the testator, or has been converted into property of a different kind, but it shall in such case be paid out of the general assets of the testator.

Where the thing specifically bequeathed is the right to receive something of value from a third party, and the testator himself receives it, the bequest is adeemed.

The receipt by the testator of a part of an entire thing specifically bequeathed shall operate as an ademption of the legacy to the extent of the sum so received.

If a portion of an entire fund or stock is specifically bequeathed, the receipt by the testator of a portion of the fund or stock shall operate as an ademption only to the extent of the amount so received; and the residue of the fund or stock shall be applicable to the discharge of the specific legacy.

Where a portion of a fund is specifically bequeathed to one legatee, and a legacy charged on the same fund is bequeathed to another legatee, then, if the testator receives a portion of that fund, and the remainder of the fund is insufficient to pay both the specific and the demonstrative legacy, the specific legacy shall be paid first, and the residue (if any) of the fund shall be applied so far as it will extend in payment of the demonstrative legacy, and the rest of the demonstrative legacy shall be paid out of the general assets of the testator.

Where stock which has been specifically bequeathed does not exist at the testator's death, the legacy is adeemed.

Where stock which has been specifically bequeathed exists only in part at the testator's death, the legacy is adeemed so far as regards that part of the stock which has ceased to exist.

A specific bequest of goods under a description connecting them with a certain place is not adeemed by reason that they have been removed from such place from any temporary cause, or by fraud, or without the knowledge or sanction of the testator.

The removal of the thing bequeathed from the place in which it is stated in the will to be situated does not constitute an ademption, where the place is only referred to in order to complete the description of what the testator meant to bequeath.

Where the thing bequeathed is not the right to receive something of value from a third person, but the money or other commodity which may be received from the third person by the testator himself or by his representatives, the receipt of such sum of money or other commodity by the testator shall not constitute an ademption; but if he mixes it up with the general mass of his property, the legacy is adeemed,

Where a thing specifically bequeathed undergoes a change between the date of the will and the testator's death, and the change takes place by operation of law, or in the course of execution of the provisions of any legal instrument under which the thing bequeathed was held, the legacy is not adeemed by reason of such change.

Where a thing specifically bequeathed undergoes a change between the date of the will and the testator's death, and the change takes place without the knowledge or sanction of the testator, the legacy is not adeemed.

Where stock which has been specifically bequeathed is lent to a third party on condition that it shall be replaced, and it is replaced accordingly, the legacy is not adeemed.

Where stock specifically bequeathed is sold, and an equal quantity of the same stock is afterwards purchased and belongs to the testator at his death, the legacy is not adeemed.

(1) Where property specifically bequeathed is subject at the death of the testator to any pledge, lien or incumbrance created by the testator himself or by any person under whom he claims, then, unless a contrary intention appears by the will, the legatee, if he accepts the bequest, shall accept it subject to such pledge or incumbrance, and shall (as between himself and the testator's estate) be liable to make good the amount of such pledge or incumbrance,

Where anything is to be done to complete the testator's title to the thing bequeathed, it is to be done at the cost of the testator's estate.

Where there is a bequest of any interest in immovable property in respect of which payment in the nature of land-revenue or in the nature of rent has to be made periodically, the estate of the testator shall (as between such estate and the legatee) make good such payments or a proportion of them, as the case may be, up to the day of his death.

In the absence of any direction in the will, where there is a specific bequest of stock in a joint-stock company, if any call or other payment is due from the testator at the time of his death in respect of the stock, such call or payment shall, as between the testator's estate and the legatee, be borne by the estate; but, if any call or other payment becomes due in respect of such stock after the testator's death, the same shall, as between the testator's estate and the legatee, be borne by the legatee, if he accepts the bequest.

If there is a bequest of something described in general terms, the executor must purchase for the legatee what may reasonably be considered to answer the description.

Where the interest or produce of a fund is bequeathed to any person, and the will affords no indication of an intention that the enjoyment of the bequest should be of limited duration, the principal, as well as the interest, shall belong to the legatee.

Where an annuity is created by will, the legatee is entitled to receive it for his life only, unless a contrary intention appears by the will, notwithstanding that the annuity is directed to be paid out of the property generally, or that a sum of money is bequeathed to be invested in the purchase of it.

Where the will directs that an annuity shall be provided for any person out of the proceeds of property, or out of property generally, or where money is bequeathed to be invested in the purchase of any annuity for any person, on the testator's death, the legacy vests in interest in the legatee, and he is entitled at his option to have an annuity purchased for him or to receive the money appropriated for that purpose by the will.

Where an annuity is bequeathed, but the assets of the testator are not sufficient to pay all the legacies given by the will, the annuity shall abate in the same proportion as the other pecuniary legacies given by the will.

Where there is a gift of an annuity and a residuary gift, the whole of the annuity is to be satisfied before any part of the residue is paid to the residuary legatee, and, if necessary, the capital of the testator's estate shall be applied for that purpose.

Where a debtor bequeaths a legacy to his creditor, and it does not appear from the will that the legacy is meant as a satisfaction of the debt, the creditor shall be entitled to the legacy, as well as to the amount of the debt.

Where a parent, who is under obligation by contract to provide a portion for a child, fails to do so, and afterwards bequeaths a legacy to the child, and does not intimate by his will that the legacy is meant as a satisfaction of the portion, the child shall be entitled to receive -the legacy, as well as the portion.

No bequest shall be wholly or partially adeemed by a subsequent provision made by settlement or otherwise for the legatee.

Where a person, by his will, professes to dispose of some thing which he has no right to dispose of, the person to whom the thing belongs shall elect either to confirm such disposition or to dissent from it, and, in the latter case, he shall give up any benefits which may have been provided for him by the will.

An interest relinquished in the circumstances stated in section 180 shall devolve as if it had not been disposed of by the will in favour of the legatee, subject, nevertheless, to the charge of making good to the disappointed legatee the amount or value of the gift attempted to be given to him by the will.

The provisions of sections 180 and 181 apply whether the testator does or does not believe that which he professes to dispose of by his will to be his own.

A bequest for a person's benefit is, for the purpose of election, the same thing as a bequest made to himself.

A person taking .no benefit directly under a will, but deriving a benefit under it indirectly, is not put to his election.

A person who in his individual capacity takes a benefit under a will may, in another character, elect to take in opposition to the will.

Notwithstanding anything contained in sections 180 to 185, where a particular gift is expressed in the will to be in lieu of something belonging to the legatee, which is also in terms disposed of by the will, then, if the legatee claims that thing, he must relinquish the particular gift, but he is not bound to relinquish any other benefit given to him by the will.

Acceptance of a benefit given by a will constitutes an election by the legatee to take under the will, if he had knowledge of his right to elect and of those circumstances which would influence the judgment of a reasonable man in making an election, or if he waives inquiry into the circumstances.

(1) Such knowledge or waiver of inquiry shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be presumed if the legatee has enjoyed for two years the benefits provided for him by the will without doing any act to express dissent.

If the legatee does not, within one year after the death of the testator, signify to the testator's representatives his intention to confirm or to dissent from the will, the representatives shall, upon the expiration of that period, require him to make his election; and; if he does not comply with such requisition within a reasonable time after he has received it, he shall be deemed to have elected to confirm the will.

In case of disability the election shall be postponed until the disability ceases, or until the election is made by some competent authority.

(1) A man may dispose, by gift made in contemplation of death, of any moveable property which he could dispose of by will.

(1) If any person dies leaving property, moveable or immoveable, any person claiming a right by succession thereto, or to any portion thereof, may make application to the District Judge of the district where any part of the property is found or situate for relief, either after actual possession has been taken by another person, or when forcible means of seizing possession are apprehended.

The District Judge to whom such application is made shall, in the first place, examine the applicant on oath, and may make such further inquiry, if any, as he thinks necessary as to whether there is sufficient ground for believing that the party in possession or taking forcible means for seizing possession has no lawful title, and that the applicant, or the person on whose behalf he applies is really entitled and is likely to be materially prejudiced if left to the ordinary remedy of a suit, and that the application is made bona fide.

If the District Judge is satisfied that there is sufficient ground for believing as aforesaid but not otherwise, he shall summon the party complained of, and give notice of vacant or disturbed possession by publication, and, after the expiration of a reasonable time, shall determine summarily the right to possession (subject to a suit as hereinafter provided) and shall deliver possession accordingly.

If it further appears upon such inquiry as aforesaid that danger is to be apprehended of the misappropriation or waste of the property before the summary proceeding can be determined, and that the delay in obtaining security from the party in possession or the insufficiency thereof is likely to expose the party out of possession to considerable risk, provided he is the lawful owner, the District Judge may appoint one or more curators whose authority shall continue according to the terms of his or their respective appointment, and in no case beyond the determination of the summary proceeding and the confirmation or delivery of possession in the consequence thereof:

The District Judge may authorise the curator to take possession of the property either generally, or until security is given by the party in possession, or until inventories of the property have been made, or for any other purpose necessary for securing the property from misappropriation or waste by the party in possession:

(1) Where a certificate has been granted under Part X or under the Seccession Certificate Act, 1889¹(7 of 1889), or a grant of probate or letters of administration has been made, a curator appointed under this Part shall not exercise any authority lawfully belonging to the holder of the certificate or to the executor or administrator.

(1) The District Judge shall take from the curator security for the faithful discharge of his trust, and for rendering, satisfactory accounts of the same as hereinafter provided, and may authorise him to receive out of the property such remuneration, in no case exceeding five per centum on the moveable property and on the annual profits of the immoveable property, as the District Judge thinks reasonable.

(1) Where the estate of the deceased person consists wholly or in part of land paying revenue to Government, in all matters regarding the propriety of summoning the party in possession, of appointing a curator, or of nominating individuals to that appointment, the District Judge shall demand a report from the Collector, and the Collector shall thereupon furnish the same:

The curator shall be subject to all orders of the District Judge regarding the institution or the defence of suits, and all suits may be instituted or defended in the name of the curator on behalf of the estate:

Pending the custody of the property by the curator, the District Judge may make such allowances to parties having a prima facie right thereto as upon a summary investigation of the right and circumstances of the parties interested he considers necessary, and may, at his discretion, take security for the repayment thereof with interest, in the event of the party being found, upon the adjudication of the summary proceeding, not to be entitled thereto.

The curator shall file monthly accounts in abstract, and shall, on the expiry of each period of three months, if his administration lasts so long, and, upon giving up the possession of the property, file a detailed account of his administration to the satisfaction of the District Judge.

(1) The accounts of the curator shall be open to the inspection of all parties interested; and it shall be competent for any such interested party to appoint a separate person to keep a duplicate account of all receipts and payments by the curator.

If the Judge of any district has appointed a curator; in respect to the whole of the property of a deceased person, such appointment shall preclude the Judge of any other district within the same State from appointing any other curator, but the appointment of a curator in respect of a portion of the property of the deceased shall not preclude the appointment within the same State of another curator in respect of the residue or any portion thereof

An application under this Part to the District Judge must be made within six months of the death of the proprietor whose property is claimed by right in succession.

Nothing in this Part shall be deemed to authorise the contravention of any public act of settlement or of any legal directions given by a deceased proprietor of any property for the possession of his property after his decease in the event of minority or otherwise, and, in every such case, as soon as the Judge having jurisdiction over the property of a deceased person is satisfied of the existence of such directions, he shall give effect thereto.

Nothing in this Part shall be deemed to authorise any disturbance of the possession of a Court of Wards of any property; and in case a minor, or other disqualified person whose property is subject to the Court of Wards, is the party on whose behalf application is made under this Part, the District Judge, if he determines to summon the party in possession and to appoint a curator, shall invest the Court of Wards with the curatorship of the estate pending the proceeding without taking security as aforesaid; and if the minor or other disqualified person, upon the adjudication of the summary proceeding, appears to be entitled to the property, possession shall be delivered to the Court of Wards.

Nothing contained in this Part shall be any impediment to the bringing of a suit either by the party whose application may have been rejected before or after the summoning of the party in possession, or by the party who may have been evicted from the possession under this Part.

The decision of a District Judge in a summary proceeding under this Part shall have no other effect than that of settling the actual possession; but for this purpose it shall be final, and shall not be subject to any appeal or review.

The State Government may appoint public curators for any district or number of districts; and the District Judge having jurisdiction shall nominate such public curators in all cases where the choice of a curator is left discretionary with him under this Part.

(1) The executor or administrator, as the case may be, of a deceased person is his legal representative for all purposes, and all the property of the deceased person vests in- him as such.

(1) No right to any part of the property of a person who has died intestate can be established in any Court of Justice, unless letters of administration have first been granted by a Court of competent jurisdiction.

(1) No right as executor or legatee can be established in any Court of Justice, unless a Court of competent jurisdiction in ¹[India] has granted probate of the will under which the right is claimed, or has granted letters of administration with the will or with a copy of an authenticated copy of the will annexed.

(1) No Court shall--

(1) A grant of probate or letters of administration in respect of an estate shall be deemed to supersede any certificate previously granted under Part X or under the Succession Certificate Act, 1889¹ (7 of 1889) or Bombay Regulation No. VIII of 1827, in respect of any debts or securities included in the estate.

After any grant of probate or letters of administration, no other than the person to whom the same may have been granted shall have power to sue or prosecute any suit, or otherwise act as representative of the deceased, throughout the State in which the same may have been granted, until such probate or letters of administration has or have been recalled or revoked.

(1) If the deceased has died intestate and was a Hindu, Muhammadan, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina or an exempted person, administration of his estate may be granted to any person who, according to the rules for the distribution of the estate applicable in the case of such deceased, would be entitled to the whole or any part of such deceased's estate.

If the deceased has died intestate and was not a person belonging to any of the classes referred to in section 218, those who are connected with him, either by marriage or by consanguinity, are entitled to obtain letters of administration of his estate and effects in the order and according to the rules hereinafter stated, namely:--

Letters of administration entitle the administrator to all rights belonging to the intestate as effectually as if the administration had been granted at the moment after his death.

Letters of administration do not render valid any intermediate acts of the administrator tending to the diminution or damage of the intestate's estate.

(1) Probate shall be granted only to an executor appointed by the will.

Probate cannot be granted to any person who is a minor or is of unsound mind ¹[nor to any association of individuals unless it is a company which satisfies the conditions prescribed by rules to be made ²[, by notification in the Official Gazette] by the ³[State Government in this behalf.]

When several executors are appointed, probate may be granted to them all simultaneously or at different times.

(1) If a codicil is discovered after the grant of probate, a separate probate of that codicil may be granted to the executor, if it in no way repeals the appointment of executors made by the will.

When probate has been granted to several executors, and one of them dies, the entire representation of the testator accrues to the surviving executor or executors.

Probate of a will when granted establishes the will from the death of the testator, and renders valid all intermediate acts of the executor as such.

When a will has been proved and deposited in a Court of competent jurisdiction situated beyond the limits of the State, whether within or beyond the limits of ¹[India], and a properly authenticated copy of the will is produced, letters of administration may be granted with a copy of such copy annexed.

When a person appointed an executor has not renounced the executorship, letters of administration shall not be granted to any other person until a citation has been issued, calling upon the executor to accept or renounce his executorship:

The renunciation may be made orally in the presence of the Judge, or by a writing signed by the person renouncing, and when made shall preclude him from ever thereafter applying for probate of the will appointing him executor.

If an executor renounces or fails to accept an executorship within the time limited for the acceptance or refusal thereof, the will may be proved and letters of administration, with a copy of the will annexed, may be granted to the person who would be entitled to administration in case of intestacy.

When--

When a residuary legatee who has a beneficial interest survives the testator, but dies before the estate has been fully administered, his representative has the same right to administration with the will annexed as such residuary legatee.

When there is no executor and no residuary legatee or representative of a residuary legatee, or he declines or is incapable to act, or cannot be found, the person or persons who would be entitled to the administration of the estate of the deceased if he had died intestate, or any other legatee having a beneficial interest, or a creditor, may be admitted to prove the will, and letters of administration may be granted to him or them accordingly.

Letters of administration with the will annexed shall not be granted to any legatee other than an universal or a residuary legatee, until a citation has been issued and published in the manner hereinafter mentioned, calling on the next-of-kin to accept or refuse letters of administration.

Letters of administration cannot be granted to any person who is a minor or is of unsound mind, ¹[nor to any association of individuals unless it is a company which satisfies the conditions prescribed by rules to be made ²[by notification in the Official Gazette], by the ³[State Government] in this behalf.]

¹[236A. Laying of rules before State Legislature.-- Every rule made by the State Government under section 223 and section 236 shall be laid, as soon as it is made, before the State Legislature.

When a will has been lost or mislaid since the testator's death, or has been destroyed by wrong or accident and not by any act of the testator, and a copy or the draft of the will has been preserved, probate may .be granted of such copy or draft, limited until the original or a properly authenticated copy of it is produced.

When a will has been lost or destroyed and no copy has been made nor the draft preserved, probate may be granted of its contents if they can be established by evidence.

When the will is in the possession of a person residing out of the State in which application for probate is made, who has refused or neglected to deliver it up, but a copy has been transmitted to the executor, and it is necessary for the interests of the estate that probate should be granted without waiting for the arrival of the original, probate may be granted of the copy so transmitted, limited until the will or an authenticated copy of it is produced.

Where no will of the deceased is forthcoming, but there is reason to believe that there is a will in existence, letters of administration may be granted, limited until the will or an authenticated copy of it is produced.

Errors in names and descriptions, or in setting forth the time and place of the deceaseds death or the purpose in a limited grant, may be rectified by the Court and the grant of probate or letters of administration may be altered and amended accordingly.

If, after the grant of letters of administration with the will annexed, a codicil is discovered, it may be added to the grant on due proof and identification, and the grant may be altered and amended accordingly.

The grant of probate or letters of administration may be revoked or annulled for just cause.

(1) The District Judge shall have jurisdiction in granting and revoking probates and letters of administration in all cases within his district.

(1) The High Court may appoint such judicial officers within any district as it thinks fit to act for the District Judge as delegates to grant probate and letters of administration in non-contentious cases, within such local limits as it may prescribe:

The District Judge shall have the like powers and authority in relation to the granting of probate and letters of administration and all matters connected therewith, as are by law vested in him in relation to any civil suit or proceeding pending in his Court.

(1) The District Judge may order any person to produce and bring into Court any paper or writing, being or purporting to be testamentary, which may be shown to be in the possession or under the control of such person.

The proceeding of the Court of the District Judge in relation to the granting of probate and letters of administration shall, save as hereinafter otherwise provided, be regulated, so far as the circumstances of the case permit, by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908).

(1) Until probate is granted of the will of a deceased person, or an administrator of his estate is constituted, the District Judge, within whose jurisdiction any part of the property of the deceased person is situate, is authorised and required to interfere for the protection of such property at the instance of any person claiming to be interested therein, and in all other cases where the Judge considers that the property incurs any risk of loss or damage; and for that purpose, if he thinks fit, to appoint an officer to take and keep possession of the property,

Probate of the will or letters of administration to the estate of a deceased person may be granted by a District Judge under the seal of his Court, if it appears by a petition, verified as hereinafter provided, of the person applying for the same that the testator or intestate, as the case may be, at the time of his decease had a fixed place of abode, or any property, moveable or immoveable, within the jurisdiction of the Ridge.

When the application is made to the Judge of a district in which the deceased had no fixed abode at the time of his death, it shall be in the discretion of the Judge to refuse the application, if in his judgment it could be disposed of more justly or conveniently in another district, or, where the application is for letters of administration, to grant them absolutely, or limited to the property within his own jurisdiction.

Probate and letters of administration may, upon application for that purpose to any District Delegate, be granted by him in any case in which there is no contention, if it appears by petition, verified as hereinafter provided, that the testator or intestate, as the case may be, at the time of his death had a fixed place of abode within the jurisdiction of such Delegate.

Probate or letters of administration shall have effect over all the property and estate, moveable or immoveable, of the deceased, throughout the State in which the same is or are granted, and shall be conclusive as to the representative title against all debtors of the deceased, and all persons holding property which belongs to him, and shall afford full indemnity to all debtors, paying their debts and all persons delivering up such property to the person to whom such probate or letters of administration have been granted:

(1) Where probate or letters of administration has or have been granted by a High Court or District Judge with the effect referred to in the proviso to section 273, the High Court or District Judge shall send a certificate thereof to the following Courts, namely:-

The application for probate or letters of administration, if made and verified in the manner hereinafter provided, shall be conclusive for the purpose of authorising the grant of probate or administration; and no such grant shall be impeached by reason only that the testator or intestate had no fixed place of abode or no property within the district at the time of his death, unless by a proceeding to revoke the grant if obtained by a fraud upon the Court.

(1) Application for probate or for letters of administration, with the will annexed, shall be made by a petition distinctly written in English or in the language in ordinary use in proceedings before the Court in which the application is made, with the will or, in the cases mentioned in sections 237, 238 and 239, a copy, draft, or statement of the contents thereof, annexed, and stating

In cases wherein the will, copy or draft, is written in any language other than English or than that in ordinary use in proceedings before the Court, there shall be a translation thereof annexed to the petition by a translator of the Court, if the language be one for which a translator is appointed; or, if the will, copy or draft, is in any other language, then by any person competent to translate the same, in which case such translation shall be verified by that person in the following manner, namely:--

(1) Application for letters of administration shall be made by petition distinctly written as aforesaid and stating-

(1) Every person applying to any of the Courts mentioned in the proviso to section 273 for probate of a will or letters of administration of an estate intended to have effect throughout ¹[India], shall state in his petition, in addition to the matters respectively required by section 276 and section 278, that to the best of his belief no application has been made to any other Court for a probate of the same will or for letters of administration of the same estate, intended to have such effect as last aforesaid,

The petition for probate or letters of administration shall in all cases be subscribed by the petitioner and his pleader, if any, and shall be verified by the petitioner in the following manner, namely:--

Where the application is for probate, the petition shall also be verified by at least one of the witnesses to the will (when procurable) in the manner or to the effect following, namely:--

If any petition or declaration which is hereby required to be verified contains any averment which the person making the verification knows or believes to be false, such person shall be deemed to have committed an offence under section 193 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

(1) In all cases the District Judge or District Delegate may, if he thinks proper,--

(1) Caveats against the grant of probate or administration may be lodged with the District Judge or a District Delegate.

No proceeding shall be taken on a petition for probate or letters of administration after a caveat against the grant thereof has been entered with the Judge or District Delegate to whom the application has been made or notice has been given of its entry with some other Delegate, until after such notice to the person by whom the same has been entered as the Court may think reasonable.

A District Delegate shall not grant probate or letters of administration in any case in which there is contention as to the grant, or in which it otherwise appears to him that probate or letters of administration ought not to be granted in his Court.

In every case in which there is no contention, but it appears to the District Delegate doubtful whether the probate or letters of administration should or should not be granted, or when any question arises in relation to the grant, or application for the grant, of any probate or letters of administration, the District Delegate may, if he thinks proper, transmit a statement of the matter in question to the District Judge, who may direct the District Delegate to proceed in the matter of the application, according to such instructions as to the Judge may seem necessary, or may forbid any further proceeding by the District Delegate in relation to the matter of such application, leaving the party applying for the grant in question to make application to the Judge.

In every case in which there is contention, or the District Delegate is of opinion that the probate or letters of administration should be refused in his Court, the petition, with any documents which may have been filed therewith, shall be returned to the person by whom the application was made, in order that the same may be presented to the District Judge, unless the District Delegate thinks it necessary, for the purposes of justice, to impound the same, which he is hereby authorised to do; and, in that case, the same shall be sent by him to the District Judge.

When it appears to the District Judge or District Delegate that probate of a will should be granted, he shall grant the same under the seal of his Court in the form set forth in Schedule VI.

When it appears to the District Judge or District Delegate that letters of administration to the estate of a person deceased, with or without a copy of the will annexed, should be granted, he shall grant the same under the seal of his Court in the form set forth in Schedule VII.

(1) Every person to whom any grant of letters of administration, other than a grant under section 241, is committed, shall give a bond to the District Judge with one or more surety or sureties, engaging for the due collection, getting in, and administering the estate of the deceased, which bond shall be in such form as the Judge may, by general or special order, direct.

The Court may, on application made by petition and on being satisfied that the engagement of any such bond has not been kept, and upon such terms as to security, or providing that the money received be paid into Court, or otherwise, as the Court may think fit, assign the same to some person, his executors or administrators, who shall thereupon be entitled to sue on the said bond in his or their own name or names as if the same had been originally given to him or them instead of to the Judge of the Court, and shall be entitled to recover thereon, as trustees for all persons interested, the full amount recoverable in respect of any breach thereof,

No probate of a will shall be granted until after the expiration of seven clear days, and no letters of administration shall be granted until after the expiration of fourteen clear days, from the day of the testator or intestate's death.

(1) Every District Judge, or District Delegate, shall file and preserve all original wills, of which probate or letters of administration with the will annexed may be granted by him, among the records of his Court, until some public registry for wills is established.

In any case before the District Judge in which there is contention, the proceedings shall take, as nearly as may be, the form of a regular suit, according to the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) in which the petitioner for probate or letters of administration, as the case may be, shall be the plaintiff, and the person who has appeared to oppose the grant shall be the defendant.

(1) When a grant of probate or letters of administration is revoked or annulled under this Act, the person to whom the grant was made shall forthwith deliver up the probate or letters to the Court which made the grant.

When a grant of probate or letters of administration is revoked, all payments bona fide made to any executor or administrator under such grant before the revocation thereof shall, notwithstanding such revocation, be a legal discharge to the person making the same; and the executor or administrator who has acted under any such revoked grant may retain and reimburse himself in respect of any payments made by him which the person to whom probate or letters of administration may afterwards be granted might have lawfully made.

Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, it shall, where the deceased' was a Muhammadan, Buddhist or exempted person, or a Hindu, Sikh or Jaina to whom section 57 does not apply, be in the discretion of the Court to make an order refusing, for reasons to be recorded by it in writing, to grant any application for letters of administration made lousier this Act.

Every order made by a District Judge by virtue of the powers hereby conferred upon him shall be subject to appeal to the High. Court in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), applicable to appeals.

(1) The High Court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the District Judge in the exercise of all the powers hereby conferred upon the District Judge.

The High Court may, on application made to it, suspend, remove or discharge any private executor or administrator and provide for the succession of another person to the office of any' such executor or administrator who may cease to hold office, and the vesting in such successor of any property belonging to the estate.

Where probate or letters of administration in respect of any estate has or have been granted under this Act, the High Court may, on application made to it, give to the executor or administrator any general or special directions in regard to the estate or in regard to the administration thereof.

A person who intermeddles with the estate of the deceased or does any other act which belongs to the office of executor, while there is no rightful executor or administrator in existence, thereby makes himself an executor of his own wrong.

When a person has so acted as to become an executor of his own wrong, he is answerable to the rightful executor or administrator, or to any creditor or legatee of the deceased, to the extent of the assets which may have come to his hands after deducting payments made to the rightful executor or administrator, and payments made in due course of administration.

An executor or administrator has the same power to sue in respect of all causes of action that survive the deceased, and may exercise the same power for the recovery of debts as the deceased had when living.

All demands whatsoever and all rights to prosecute or defend any action or special proceeding existing in favour of or against a person at the time of his decease, survive to and against his executors or administrators; except causes of action for defamation, assault, as defined in the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), or other personal injuries not causing the death of the party; and except also cases where, after the death of the party, the relief sought could not be enjoyed or granting it would be nugatory.

(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), and executor or administrator has power to dispose of the property of the deceased, vested in him under section 211, either wholly or in part, in such manner as he may think fit.

An executor or administrator may, in addition to, and not in derogation of any other powers of expenditure lawfully exercisable by him, incur expenditure--

An executor or administrator shall not be entitled to receive or retain any commission or agency charges at a higher rate than that for the time being fixed in respect of the Administrator-General by or under the Administrator-Generals Act, 1913 (3 of 1913).

If any executor or administrator purchases, either directly or indirectly, any part of the property of the deceased, the sale is voidable at the instance of any other person interested in the property sold.

When there are several executors or administrators, the powers of all may, in the absence of any direction to the contrary, be exercised by any one of them who has proved the Will or taken out administration.

Upon the death of one or more of several executors or administrators, in the absence of any direction to the contrary in the will or grant of letters of administration, all the powers of the office become vested in the survivors or survivor.

The administrator of effects unadministered has, with respect to such effects, the same powers as the original executor or administrator.

An administrator during minority has all the powers of an ordinary administrator:

When a grant of probate or letters of administration has been made to a married woman, she has all the powers of an ordinary executor or administrator.

It is the duty of an executor to provide funds for the performance of the necessary funeral ceremonies of the deceased in a manner suitable to his condition, if he has left property sufficient for the purpose.

(1) An executor or administrator shall, within six months from the grant of probate or letters of administration, or within such further time as the Court which granted the probate or letters may appoint, exhibit in that Court an inventory containing a full and true estimate of. all the property in possession, and all the credits, and also all the debts owing by any person to which the executor or administrator is entitled in that character; and shall in like manner, within one year from the grant or within such further time as the said Court may appoint, exhibit an account of the estate, showing the assets which have come to his hands and the manner in which they have been applied or disposed of.

in all cases where a grant has been made of probate or letters of administration intended to have

The executor or administrator shall collect, with reasonable diligence, the property of the deceased and the debts that were due to him at the time of his death.

Funeral expenses to a reasonable amount, according to the degree and quality of the deceased, and death-bed charges, including fees for medical attendance, and board and lodging for one month previous to his death, shall be paid before all debts.

The expenses of obtaining probate or letters of administration, including the costs incurred for or in respect of any judicial proceedings that may be necessary for administering the estate, shall be paid next after the funeral expenses and death-bed charges.

Wages due for services rendered to the deceased within three months next preceding his death by any labourer, artizan or domestic servant shall next be paid, and then the other debts of the deceased according to their respective priorities (if any).

Save as aforesaid, no creditor shall have a right of priority over another; but the executor or administrator shall pay all such debts as he knows of, including his own, equally and rateably as far as the assets of the deceased will extend.

(1) If the domicile of the deceased was not in ¹[India], the application of his moveable property to the payment of his debts is to be regulated by the law of ¹[India].

Debts of every description must be paid before any legacy.

If the estate of the deceased is subject to any contingent liabilities, an executor or administrator is not bound to pay any legacy without a sufficient indemnity to meet the liabilities whenever they may become due.

If the assets, after payment of debts, necessary expenses and specific legacies, are not sufficient to pay all the general legacies in full, the latter shall abate or be diminished in equal proportions, and, in the absence of any direction to the contrary in the will, the executor has no right to pay one legatee in preference to another, or to retain any money on account of a legacy to himself or to any person for whom he is a trustee.

Where there is a specific legacy, and the assets are sufficient for the payment of debts and necessary expenses, the thing specified must be delivered to the legatee without any abatement.

Where there is a demonstrative legacy, and the assets are sufficient for the payment of debts and necessary expenses, the legatee has a preferential claim for payment of Isis legacy out of the fund from which the legacy is directed to be paid until such fund is exhausted and if, after the fund is exhausted, part of the legacy still remains unpaid, he is entitled to rank for the remainder against the general assets as for a legacy of the amount of such unpaid remainder.

If the assets are not sufficent to answer the debts and the specific legacies, an abatement shall be made from the latter rateably in proportion to their respective amounts.

For the purpose of abatement, a legacy for life, a sum appropriated by the will to produce an annuity, and the value of an annuity when no sum has been appropriated to produce it, shall be treated as general legacies.

The assent of the executor or administrator is necessary to complete a legatee's title to his legacy.

(1) The assent of the executor or administrator to a specific bequest shall be sufficient tb divest his interest as executor or administrator therein, and to transfer the subject of the bequest of the legatee, unless the nature or the circumstances of the property require that it shall be transferred in a particular way.

The assent of an executor or administrator to a legacy may be conditional, and if the condition is one which he has a right to enforce, and it is not performed, there is no assent.

(1) When the executor or administrator is a legatee, his assent to his own legacy is necessary to complete his title to it, in the same way as it is required when the bequest is to another person, and his assent may, in like manner, be expressed or implied.

The assent of the executor or administrator to a legacy gives effect to it from the death of the testator.

An executor or administrator is not bound to pay or deliver any legacy until the expiration of one year from the testator's death.

Where an annuity is given by a will and no time is fixed for its commencement, it shall commence from the testator's death, and the first payment shall be made at the expiration of a year next after that event.

Where there is a direction that the annuity shall be paid quarterly or monthly, the first payment shall be due at the end of the first quarter or first month, as the case may be, after the testator's death; and shall, if the executor or administrator thinks fit, be paid when due, but the executor or administrator shall not be bound to pay it till the end of the year.

(1) Where there is a direction that the first payment of an annuity shall be made within one month or any other division of time from the death of the testator, or on a day certain, the successive payments are to be made on the anniversary of the earliest day on which the will authorises the first payment to be made.

Where a legacy, not being a specific legacy, is given for life, the sum bequeathed shall at the end of the year he invested in such securities as the High Court may by any general rule authorise or direct, and the proceeds thereof shall be paid to the legatee as the same shall accrue due.

(1) Where a general legacy is given to be paid at a future time, the executor or administrator shall invest a sum sufficient to meet it in securities of the kind mentioned in section 341.

Where an annuity is given and no fund is charged with its payment or appropriated by the will to answer it, a Government annuity of the specified amount shall be purchased, or, if no such annuity can be obtained, then a sum sufficient to produce the annuity shall be invested for that purpose in securities of the kind mentioned in section 341.

Where a bequest is contingent, the executor or administrator is not bound to invest the amount of the legacy, but may transfer the whole residue of the estate to the residuary legatee, if any, on his giving sufficient security for the payment of the legacy, if it shall become due.

(1) Where the testator has bequeathed the residue of his estate to a person for life without any direction to invest it in any particular securities, so much thereof as is not at the time of the testator's decease invested in securities of the kind mentioned in section 341 shall be converted into money and invested in such securities.

When the testator has bequeathed the residue of his estate of a person for life with a direction that it shall be invested in certain specified securities, so much of the estate as is not at the time of his death invested in securities of the specified kind shall be converted into money and invested in such securities.

Such conversion and investment as are contemplated by sections 345 and 346 shall be made at such times and in such manner as the executor or administrator thinks fit; and, until such conversion and investment are completed, the person who would be for the time being entitled to the income of the fund when so invested shall receive interest at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum upon the market-value (to be computed as at the date of the testator's death) of such part of the fund as has not been so invested:

(1) Where, by the terms of a bequest, the legatee is entitled to the immediate payment or possession of the money or thing bequeathed, but is a minor, and there is no direction in the will to pay it to any person on his behalf, the executor or administrator shall pay or deliver the same into the Court of the District Judge, by whom or by whose District Delegate the probate was, or letters of administration with the will annexed were, granted to the account of the legatee, unless the legatee is a ward of the Court of Wards.

The legatee of a specific legacy is entitled to the clear produce thereof. if any, from the testator's death.

The legatee under a general residuary bequest is entitled to the produce of the residuary fund from the testator's death.

Where no time has been fixed for the payment of a general legacy, interest begins to run from expiration of one year from the testator's death.

Where a time has been fixed for the payment of a general legacy, interest begins to run from the time so fixed. The interest up to such time forms part of the residue of the testator's estate.

The rate of interest shall be four per cent. per annum in all cases except when the testator was a Hindu, Muhammadan, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina or an exempted person, in which case it shall be six per cent. per annum.