Insights into Indian succession law

Landmark cases on wills, probate and inheritance, rewritten in plain language by the experts in our community.

As per Section 263 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 the grant of probate or letters of administration may be cancelled for “just cause”.

Latest(2018) 1 SCC 2712017

Lynette Fernandes v. Gertie Mithias (D) By Lrs

It is a noteworthy case wherein bar of limitation pertaining to petitions made under Section 263 of the Indian Succession Act and other crucial aspects have been…

3 min readRead the brief

AIR 1963 SC 17031963

Pearley Lal v. Rameshwar Das

Girdhari Lal executed a Will stating that his property will be inherited by his wife Kishen Dei and adopted son, who died before Girdhari Lal. After Girdhari’s death,…

3 min read

(2008) 10 SCC 4892008

G. Gopal v. C. Baskar and others

A person made a Will which was granted a probate (legal validation of the Will provided by the competent court). The Appellants applied for the revocation of this…

2 min read

(2019) 5 SCC 582019

Joseph Easwaran Wapsphere v. Shirley Kathleen Wheeler

Gorden Wapshare died on 18.01.1991, leaving behind his brother Edward Wapshare and one sister Violet Wapshare with a daughter, Ellen Jackson. Edward Wapshare was married…

2 min read

(2007) 9 SCC 7282007

Benga Behera v. Braja Kishore Nanda

It is a case in which the validity of the executed Will dated 15.01.1982 by Sarajumani Dasi, a 70-year-old woman, in favour of Braja Kishore Nanda, who was a complete…

3 min read

(2010) SCC OnLine Bom 19092010

Bilquis Zakiuddin Banookwala v. Shehnaz Shabbir Bandukwala

The defendant produced the Will of her deceased husband, whose marriage was registered under the Special Marriage Act. The court previously held that they would be…

2 min read

(2020) 12 SCC 4802019

Sameer Kapoor v. State

Smt. Kailash Kapoor, a permanent resident of England, executed a Will dated 16.05.1990, leaving all her assets to her two grandchildren. She died in England on…

2 min read

(2015) 8 SCC 6152015

Jagdish Chand Sharma v. Narain Singh Saini

The appellant filed an application under Section 276 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, seeking grant of letter of administration (authorization of a person(s) to…

2 min read

(2001) 4 SCC 3252001

Clarence Pais & Ors. v. Union of India

Two writ petitions were filed challenging the validity of Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, as unconstitutional. Petitioner 1 is an Indian Christian and…

2 min read

AIR 2002 DELHI 1352002

Maj. Gen. Rajinder Singh Chowdhary v. Sardar Manjit Singh

The appellant filed a suit for partition of the properties on the grounds that Sardar Mohan Singh Choudhary, the father of the parties, left a Will by which he wished to…

2 min read

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A legal document that records how your assets should be distributed after your death, and who is responsible for carrying it out.

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The testator (you), the beneficiaries, the executor who carries it out, and two witnesses.

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