The Indian Succession Act, 1925

Act No. 39

30-Sep-1925

Section 1 — Short title

1. Short title .-This Act may be called the Indian Succession Act, 1925.

Section 2 — Definitions

2. Definitions .-In this Act, unless there is anything repug nant in the subject or context, -

(a)“administrator ” means a person appointed by competent authority to administer the estate of a deceased person when there is no executor;

(b)“codicil ” means an instrument made in relation to a Will, and explaining, altering or adding to its dispositions, and shall be deemed to form part of the Will; 3[(bb) “District Judge ” means the Judge of a Principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction;]

(c)“executor ” means a person to whom the execution of the last Will of a deceased person is, by the testator's appointment, confided; 4[(cc) “India ” means the territory of India excluding the State of Jammu and Kashmir;]

(d)“Indian Christian ” means a native of India who is, or in good faith claims to be, of unmixed Asiatic descent and who professes any form of the Christian religion;

(e)“minor ” means any person subject to the Indian Majority Act, 1875 (9 of 1875) who has not attained his majo rity within the meaning of that Act, and any other person who has not completed the age of eighteen years; and “minority ” means the status of any such person;

(f)“probate ” means the copy of a will certified under the seal of a court of competent jurisdict ion with a grant of administration to the estate of the testator; 5[(g) “State ” includes any division of India having a court of the last resort;] and

(h)“will” means the legal declaration of the intention of a testator with respect to his property which he desires to be carried into effect after his death.

Section 3 — Power of State Government to exempt any race, sect or tribe in the State from operation of

3. Power of State Government to exempt any race, sect or tribe in the State from operation of Act.

(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.

Section 1 — The Act has been extended to Berar by the Berar Laws Act, 1941 (4 of 1941), to Manipur by the Union Territories (Laws)

1. The Act has been extended to Berar by the Berar Laws Act, 1941 (4 of 1941), to Manipur by the Union Territories (Laws) Amendment Act, 1956 (68 of 1956) and to Dadra and Nagar Haveli (w.e.f. 1 -7-1965) by Reg. 6 of 1963, s. 2 and the First Schedule.

Section 4 — Application of Part

4. Application of Part. -This Part shall not apply if the deceased was a Hin du, Muhammadan, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina.