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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

LAW COMMISSION OF INDIA

Report No. 247

Sections 41 to 48 of the Indian Succession

Act, 1925 Proposed Reforms

September, 2014

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The 20th Law Commission was constituted for a period of three years
from 1st September, 2012 by Order No. A-45012/1/2012-Admn.III (LA)
dated the 8th October, 2012 issued by the Government of India,
Ministry of Law and Justice, Department of Legal Affairs, New Delhi.
The Law Commission consists of a full time Chairman, four full-time
Members (including Member-Secretary), two Ex-officio Members and
four part-time Members.

Chairman
Honble Justice A.P. Shah
Full-time Members
Justice S.N. Kapoor
Prof. (Dr.) Moolchand Sharma
Justice Usha Mehra
Dr. S.S. Chahar, Member-Secretary

Ex-officio Member
Mr. P.K. Malhotra, Secretary (Department of Legal Affairs)
Dr. Sanjay Singh, Secretary (Legislative Department)
Part-time Members
Shri R. Venkataramani
Prof. (Dr.) Yogesh Tyagi
Dr. Bijai Narain Mani
Prof.(Dr.) Gurjeet Singh

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The Law Commission is located in

14th Floor, Hindustan Times House,
K.G. Marg,
New Delhi-110 001

Member Secretary
Dr. S.S. Chahar

Research Staff
Dr. (Smt.) Pawan Sharma
Shri A.K. Upadhyay
Dr. V.K. Singh

: Joint Secretary & Law Officer

: Additional Law Officer
: Deputy Legal Adviser

The text of this Report is available on the Internet at :

http://www.lawcommissionofindia.nic.in

Government of

India
Law Commission of India

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At a Glance

Sl.No.

Contents

1.

Introduction

2.

Developments leading to enactment of Indian

Page No.

1
25

Succession Act, 1925

3.

Indian Succession Act, 1925

58

4.

Scheme of Sections 41-48 Unfair and unjust to

8 10

Christian Mother
5.

Suggestions & Recommendations

10 - 14

6.

Chart Epicting Changes/Amendments as

15 21

Recommended
7.

Conclusion

2122

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REPORT

Sections 41 to 48 of the Indian Succession

Act, 1925 Proposed Reforms
Introduction
Christianity is the third most populous religion in
India. Indian Christians, though united in the essence of
their faith, are diverse in their practices, rites and religion
across the country. Though uniformity among the Roman
Catholic Church is more or less maintained, the
indigenous influence has made Christianity in India
unique and different from its form in many other
countries across the World. Almost all varieties of
Christianity are believed to reside in India though the
most common groups are from the Roman Catholic
Church, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, the Protestant
Churches like the Church of South India, the Marthoma
Syrian Church, the Presbyterian Church of India and so
on. During early period Christianity was considered to be
a foreign reception and imposition in Indian context.
However, with the passage of time Indian Christianity
has become integral part of Indian culture itself and has
come to be understood as an indigenous appropriation
of Christian experience and not a foreign implant.1
1

Selva J Raj, Corrine Dempsey, POPULAR CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA:

RITING BETWEEN THE LINES, 2002, p. 3.

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Therefore, as result of above the family law

governing Christians in India is varied. Synergetic
influences have led to cultural variations that have
gained legal recognition either statutorily or judicially.
This has led to multiplicity in application of laws whereas
ambiguity most noticeable is in the laws of succession for
Christians. It is this multiplicity and ambiguity that led to
enactment of the Indian Succession Act, 1865 and finally
the Indian Succession Act, 1925.

Developments

leading

to

enactment

of

Indian

Succession Act, 1925

Succession laws in India had their origin in religion.
Thus we find that in the late 19th century, succession was
determined on the basis of customary practices and
religious laws. There were, therefore, specific rules
within the scheme of religious laws and texts for the
devolution of proprietary rights for Hindus and Muslims.
While these rules were ambiguous due to conflicting
interpretations of religious texts, regional variations in
practice,

and

synergetic

influences

of

cultural

commixture, the fact still remained that there were

specific criteria on the basis of which devolution and
succession could be governed.
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However, considerable uncertainty prevailed in

the period before 1865 about the law applicable in case
of persons belonging to communities other than Hindus
and Muslims. Before 1865, the Hindus and Muslims
were governed by their respective personal laws, in
matters of inheritance and succession. But the position
was obscure in relation to other persons for example,
Anglo-Indians, Parsis, Jews, Armenians, Christians, and
others. In general the English law was applied in the
Presidency towns, but the position as regards the
Moffusil was not very clear. It is this prevalence of
obscurity that was in fact, referred to by Sir Henry
Maine, while introducing the Bill that led to the
Succession Act of 1865. The law defining the rights and
obligations of non-Hindus and non-Muslims was thus in
extremely confused position. In the Presidency towns,
the English Law was applied to members of just
mentioned communities. Outside the presidency towns,
most of the courts in the Mofussil came to apply under
the ph ase Justi e, e uit a d good o s ie e i all
cases not provided for by the legislature, the substantive
personal law of the particular person. The First Law
Commission in 1835, thus recommended that the English
Law should be declared to be the law applicable to such
persons - a recommendation that was not accepted. The
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Second Law Commission of 1853 did not favour

introduction of English Law, but it viewed it desirable to
assimilate law as was prevailing throughout the country.
However, the Third Law Commission submitted draft of
the Indian Succession Act, 1865. Finally, came the Act of
1865. The Act, dealt with succession, both testamentary
and intestate. The Act exempted Hindus and Muslims
from its scope, but the utility of the Act lay in the
codification of law of succession as regards other
persons.

The Indian Succession Act, 1865 that was based on

English law and was declared to constitute, subject to
certain exceptions, the law of British India applicable to
all classes of intestate and testamentary succession but
the exceptions were so wide as to exclude all natives of
India. A very important change was made by the Hindu
Wills Act, 1870 (Act 21 of 1870), which inter alia enacted
that certain portions of Indian Succession Act should
apply to all Wills and codicils made by any Hindu on or
after 1st day of September, 1870.

The Probate and

Administration Act 5 of 1881 was applied to Hindus and

Muhammadans. [On the coming into force of the Hindu
Succession Act, 1956, succession to property of a Hindu
is governed by its provisions except to the extent
excluded by Section 5 therein. Clause(1) of Section 5
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relates to succession to property of Hindus whose

marriage is solemnised under the Special Marriage Act,
1954, and to the property of the issue of such marriage.
Clauses (ii) and (iii) of the Section relate to impartible
property held by the persons specified therein.
Succession to the properties of all such persons is
regulated by the Indian Succession Act, 1925.]

The

British Parliament felt that in the face of such vast

scatteredness and multiplicity as described above there
was need for consolidation of law. And thus mainly
responding to this need that the British legislatives
enacted Indian Succession Act, 1925, -

primarily a

consolidating Act.

Indian Succession Act, 1925

Today the Indian Succession Act, 1925 is the principal
legislative measure in India dealing with the substantive
law of testamentary succession in regard to persons
other than Muslims and intestate succession in regard to
persons other than Hindus and Muslims. It is also the
principal legislative measure dealing with machinery of
succession in regard to the testamentary and intestate
succession in respect of such persons. In fact, it needs to
be underscored that the Act of 1925 as already
mentioned is a consolidating Act. It is only an amending
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Act and has only consolidated several pre-existing

Central Acts passed between 1841 and 1903 without
introducing any material changes. In fact, the framers of
the Act stated thus-

The su je t of this

ill is to

consolidate the Indian Law relating to succession; the

separate existence on the statute book of a number of
large and important enactments renders the present law
difficult of ascertainment and there is, therefore, every
justification for an attempt to consolidate it. The bill has
been prepared by the Statute Law Revision Committee as
purely consolidating measure. No intentional change of
law has therefore been made."2 The sweep of this Act is
wide as it consolidates twelve Acts into one. The Acts
consolidated or repealed are:i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.

vii.
viii.

The Succession (Property Protection) Act, 19

of 1841
The Indian Succession Act, 10 of 1925
The Parsi Intestate Succession Act, 21 of
1865
The Hindu Wills Act, 21 of 1870
The Mar ied Wo e s P ope t A t, 3 of the
1874, Section 2
Probate and Administration Act, 5 of 1881;
Act 6 of 1889; Act 2 of 1890 and Act 8 of
1903
The District Delegates Act, 6 of 1881
The Succession Certificate Act, 7 of 1889

Statement of objects and reasons vide Gazette of India (page 5), dated 4th
August, 1923

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ix.

The Native Christian Administration of

Estates Act, 7 of 1901

Scheme of the Act The Succession Act broadly divides

succession into intestate and testamentary succession.
While the provisions of the Act relating to intestate
succession are applicable to particular classes or
communities of people leaving the personal law,
statutory and otherwise of the two major communities in
India, namely Hindus and Muslims, untouched.

The

provisions of the Act dealing with testamentary

succession are generally made applicable to everyone in
India except those exempted under the Act and a few
others.

The Act has been divided into eleven parts and

some of the parts have been sub-divided into chapters.
Part-I relates to preliminary dealing with definitions and
power of the State Government to exempt certain
classes of persons from the operation of the Act. Part-II
lays down the law relating to domicile. The concept is of
importance, because the application of the Act to
movable property of a person depends thereon.
However, this part, does not apply if the deceased was a
Hindu, Muhammadan, Budhist, Sikh or Jaina.

Part-III

states the effect of marriage on the rights of succession.

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Part-IV treats of the concept of consanguinity against a

concept of importance for the purposes of intestate
succession. Part-V enacts the provisions relating to the
intestate succession. It deals with the order of intestate
succession. As the present work largely involves issues
of intestate succession, Part-V of the Act constitutes the
main concern of the work that follows. Part-VI, which is
the longest part of the Act and comprises twenty-three
chapters and deals with testamentary succession though,
may constitute the most important portion of the Act,
though not very relevant from the perspective of present
study. However, continuing about the general scheme of
the Act, Part-VII deals with the protection of the property
of the deceased and Part-VIII with representative title to
the property of the deceased. Part-IX relates to probate,
letter of administration and administration of the assets
of the deceased and Part-X regulates the grant of
succession certificate.

Scheme of
Sections 41-48
- Unfair and
Unjust to
Christian
Mother

To bring to focus the issue of the present study;

How Sections 41 to 48 (Sections 42 to 46 to be more
specific) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 are unfair to
the interest of Christian Women and what changes in
this regard could be suggested a closer look at the
provisions of Part V is needed. It is with this part of the
Act begins the provisions actually dealing with the order
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of intestate succession. Part-V does not apply to any

intestacy occurring before the 1st January, 1866, or to the
property of any Hindu, Mohammadan, Buddhist, Sikh or
Jaina.

Chapter I (Sections 29 & 30) of this part of the Act

is preliminary while Chapter II (Sections 31 to 49) deals
ith ules i

ases of I testates othe tha Pa sis a d

Chapter III (Sections 50-56) contains special rules for

Parsis intestates.

It is Chapter II dealing with rules in cases of

intestate other than Parsis that forms the primary
concern of the present report. Chapter II of part-V of the
Act has been divided into three sub-parts. Sections 31 to
35 forming a sub-part provide rules in cases of intestate
other than Parsis, while Sections 36 to 40 forming
another sub-pa t deal

ith ules ega di g dist i utio

he e the e a e li eal des e da ts of the i testate.

Another sub-part of this Chapter of the A t ru

i g

from Sections 41 to 49 provides rules regarding

distri utio

here there are o li eal des e da ts of

the intestate.

It is in context of provisions contained in Sections

41 to 49 it has been contended that these provisions are
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unfair towards Christian Women. The concern has been

raised

by

many

including

number

of

Christian

organizations.

A number of memorandums and

representations

expressing

their

concerns

were

addressed to the Government and to the Union Law

Minister at different times in the past few years. In turn
the

Ministry

of

Law

&

Justice

referred

these

representations to the Law Commission for its

suggestions. The Commission thus undertook study on
the subject sometime in the year 2012. In this interim
and recently one of former Consultants formerly
engaged by the Commission, Shri Kanda Rao, Advocate,
A.P. High Court circulated a document on the subject
with a copy marked to the Commission. The Commission
felt that keeping in view the background and importance
of the subject it needs to give serious thoughts to the
subject and prepare a short report. Thus finally the
present report is submitted to Ministry of Law & Justice,
Government of India, for its consideration.

Suggestions &
Recommendations

The report has mainly focused around provisions

contained in Sections 41 to 49 and examined as to
whether these provisions are just and fair towards
women or these are discriminatory against them? If
discriminatory what reforms could be suggested.

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Section 41 provides that rules of distribution

where the intestate has left no lineal descendants shall
be contained in Sections 42 to 48, afte dedu ti g the
ido s sha e if he has left a

ido . A si ple eadi g

of provisions built in Sections 42 to 46 would reveal how

the scheme envisioned therein is unfair and unjust.
According to Section 42, where deceased intestate father
is living and there are no lineal descendants, father
succeeds to property and mother gets no share.
Preferential approach is writ large.

Further, even in case where the deceased

i testate s fathe does ot survive, provisions of Section
43 requires mother to equally share with brothers or
sisters of the intestate, rather being entitled to what her
hus a d i.e. de eased i testate s fathe
a

as e titled to

alli g su h p o isio s u fai . Unfairness runs

through provisions of Sections 44 and 45 as well, and it is

only when neither father, brother, sister or their children
of the deceased intestate are living that the property
goes to the mother under Section 46 a situation to a
great extent created by forces of divine circumstances.
The Law Commission in its earlier report (110th) - Indian
Succession Act, 1925 reflecting on these provisions have
thus noted: This is ot i conformity with the current
thinking as to status of women. The law is in need of
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efo

o this poi t . With this background in view the

Commission believes that the need to reform is not only

timely but becomes more glaring when one looks around
and finds that in many other jurisdictions the law on the
point is more sensitive and egalitarian. Say for example
in England law is different. There under provisions of
Section 46 of the Administration of Estates Act, 1925
even where brothers and sisters of the intestate are
alive, the father and mother take the property. And
more relevant in our context is to note that they share
equally, and if only one of them survives he or she takes
the whole.

Foregoing leads us to conclude that the law

envisioned under Sections 41 to 49 deserve change so as
to protect interest of Christian women, especially in case
of mother of deceased intestate. It is suggested that
provisions of Section 42 which weaves an archaic
principle of giving superior status to man in access and
owning property needs to be revised.

One of the

recommendations thus made in this report is to amend

provisions of Section 42 so as to ensure that deceased
i testate lea i g apa t the half fo the de eased s
widow if living) succeed the property in equal. Such
change would constitute a positive step in ensuring that
the law is fair and just towards Christian women.
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Accordingly this would lead to revisiting provisions of

Section 43 so as to ensure that where either of the
parents (father or mother) of the deceased intestate is
living, he or she as the case may be, shall succeed the
property even if deceased s

othe s a d sisters as

envisioned in existing provisions of Section 43 are

surviving.

(Position in this regard has further been

clarified in the chart to follow that epicts both the

existing provisions and amended ones). Such change is
in conformity with our rejection of the approach in
existing provisions not only in Section 43 that does not
treat mother of the deceased intestate as having status
equal to the father but running all through provisions of
Sections 44, 45 and 46 as well.

Accordingly, in our

approach provisions incorporated in Sections 44, 45 and

46 too have been revisited and revised, as could be seen
from the chart given below. Coming to Sections 47 and
48 we reiterate what has earlier been recommended by
the Law Commission in its 110th report.

As regards

Section 47 it was noted there that provisions of this

Section does not apply until there is at least one brother
or sister alive and same be clarified by adding, after the
o ds

Section, the

othe

as appea i g i

o ds

ut has left a

the te t of this
othe o a siste .

The position clarifying this has been shown in the chart.

Section 48 incorporates distribution per capita approach
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where there are no brothers or sisters, but only children

of brothers and sisters. It has been rightly pointed out
that distribution per capita may be satisfactory as a
general rule, but even unjust in case of children of
brothers and sisters and, therefore, it be amended to
provide that the succession should be per stirpes in such
cases. The accident of the death of one issue should not
affect the share of his or her decedents. The revised
position has been epicted in the chart.

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Chart Epicting
Changes/
Amendments as
Recommended

THE INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT, 1925

CHAPTER II

Existing Sections
The Indian Succession Act 1925
(Sections 41-49)
Section 41 Rules of distribution where
intestate has left no lineal
descendantsWhere an intestate has left no
lineal descendants, the rules for
the distribution of his property
afte dedu ti g the ido s
share, if he has left a widow)
shall be those contained in
Sections 42 to 48.

Proposed Amendments
The Indian Succession
(Amendment) Act 2014

As it is

Section 42 Where i testate s father livingIf the i testate s fathe is li i g,

he shall succeed to the property.

Where i testate s pare ts

(father and mother) livingIf the i testate s pa e ts fathe
and mother) are living, they
shall succeed the property
equally.

Section 43 Where i testate s father dead,

but his mother, brothers and
sisters livingIf the i testate s fathe is dead,
ut the i testate s othe 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.
Illustration

Where either of i testate s

parents is deadIf eithe of the i testate s
parents is dead, the other
parent shall succeed to the
property.
Illustration
A dies intestate, survived by
either father or mother, the
surviving parent as the case may
be shall take the entire
property.

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A dies intestate, survived by his

mother and two brothers of the
full blood, John and Henry, and a
sister Mary, who is the daughter
of his mother but not of his
father. The mother takes onefourth, each brother takes onefourth and Mary, the sister of
half blood, takes one-fourth.
Section 44 Where i testate s father dead
and his mother, a brother or
sister, and children of any
deceased brother or sister livingIf the i testate s fathe is dead
ut the i testate s othe 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
i testate s death.
Illustration
A, the intestate, leaves his
mother, his brothers, John and
Henry, and also one child of a
deceased sister, Mary, and two
children of George, a deceased
brother of the half blood who
was the son of his father but not
16

Where i testate s father a d

mother are dead and his
brother or sister, and children
of any deceased brother or
sister livingIf the i testate s fathe a d
mother are dead but if any of
the i testate s othe o siste
and the child or children of any
brother or sister who may have
died i the i testate s lifeti e
are also living, then 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
i testate s death.
Illustration
A, the intestate, leaves his
brothers, John and Henry, and
also one child of a deceased
sister, Mary, and two children of
George, a deceased brother of
the half blood who was the son

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of his mother. The mother takes

one-fifth, John and Henry each
takes one-fifth, the child of Mary
takes one-fifth, and the two
children of George divide the
remaining one-fifth equally
between them.

Section 45 Where i testate s father dead

and his mother and children of
any deceased brother or sister
livingIf the i testate s fathe is dead,
ut the i testate s othe 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
i testate s death.
Illustration
A, the intestate, leaves no
brother or sister but leaves his
mother and one child of
deceased sister, Mary and two
children of deceased brother
George. The mother takes onethird, the child of Mary takes
one-third, and the children of
George divide the remaining onethird equally between them.
17

of his father but not of his

mother. John and Henry each
takes one-fourth, the child of
Mary takes one-fourth, and the
two children of George divide
the
remaining
one-fourth
equally between them.

Where i testate s father a d

mother are dead and the
children of any deceased
brother or sister livingIf the i testate s fathe a d
mother are dead, and the
brothers and sisters are all dead,
but all or any of them have left
children who survived the
intestate, 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
take if li i g at the i testate s
death.
Illustration
A, the intestate, leaves no
brother or sister but one child of
deceased sister, Mary and two
children of deceased brother
George. The child of Mary takes
one-half, and the two children
of George divide the remaining
one-half equally between them.

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Section 46 Where i testate s father dead,

but his mother living and no
brother, sister, nephew or nieceIf the i testate s fathe is dead,
ut the i testate s othe 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.

May be omitted (as

consequence of changed
provisions of amended Section
43)

Section 47 Where intestate has left neither

lineal descendant, nor father,
nor motherWhere 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
father, nor mother, but has left
a brother or a sister, 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 them, such children (if
more than one) taking in equal
shares only the shares which
their respective parents would
have taken if living at the
i testate s death.

Section 48 Where intestate has left neither

lineal descendant, nor parent,
nor brother, nor sisterWhere 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.
Illustrations

Where the intestate has left

neither lineal descendant nor
parents, 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.

(i) A, the intestate, has left a

grandfather, and a
18

Explanation Where such

relatives are children of brothers
or sisters of the intestate, they
shall take stirpes.
Illustrations

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grandmother and no other

relative standing in the same
or a nearer degree of
kindred to him. They, being
in the second degree, will be
entitled to the property in
equal shares, exclusive of
any uncle or aunt of the
intestate, uncles and aunts
being only in the third
degree.

(ii) A, the intestate, has left a

great-grandfather, or a
great-grandmother, and
uncles and aunts, and no
other relative standing in the
same or a nearer degree of
kindred to him. All of these
being in the third degree will
take equal shares.
(iii) A, the intestate, left a greatgrandfather, an uncle and a
nephew, but no relative
standing in a nearer degree
of kindred to him. All of
these being in the third
degree will take equal
shares.
(iv) Ten children of one brother
or sister of the intestate and
one child of another brother
or sister of the intestate,
constitute the class of
relatives of the nearest
degree of kindred to him.
They will each take oneeleventh of the property.

19

(i)

A, the intestate, has left a

grandfather,
and
a
grandmother and no other
relative standing in the
same or a nearer degree of
kindred to him. They, being
in the second degree, will
be entitled to the property
in equal shares, exclusive
of any uncle or aunt of the
intestate, uncles and aunts
being only in the third
degree.

(ii) A, the intestate, has left a

great-grandfather, or a
great-grandmother,
and
uncles and aunts, and no
other relative standing in
the same or a nearer
degree of kindred to him.
All of these being in the
third degree will take equal
shares.

(iii) A, the intestate, left a

great-grandfather,
an
uncle and a nephew, but
no relative standing in a
nearer degree of kindred
to him. All of these being in
the third degree will take
equal shares.

(iv)

Two children of one

brother or sister of the
intestate and one child of
another brother or sister
of
the
intestate,

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constitute the class of

relatives of the nearest
degree of hindered to
him. Half of the property
shall be shared by two
children in equal shares
and the remaining half
shall go to one child of
another brother or sister.
To be more specific two
children of one brother or
sister of the intestate shall
take one-fourth each
while one child of another
brother or sister of the
intestate shall take half of
the property.
(No doubt it may sound at little
at unease, but the accident of
the death of one issue should
not affect the share of his or
her descendants. Even in
Section 47 where there are
brothers or sisters and also
children of brother and sisters
the succession is per stirpes.
There appears to be no
justification for having a
different rule under Section 48,
at least where the persons
entitled are children of brother
and sisters).

Section 49 Childre s ad a e e ts ot
brought into hotchpotWhere 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
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estimating such distributive

share.

The

Commission

believes

above

suggested

changes if meet legislative approval would go a long way

in bringing law in consonance with time and in
addressing concerns of Christian community and those
aired in various representations and memorandums
made to the Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of
India and referred to it.
I stitutio s of su essio , o dou t is p i a il

Conclusion
o

e ted ith p ope t , ut it e uall se es a a iet

of values cherished by a free society. These include

reinforcement

of

family

ties

and

responsibilities

economic and social pluralism. As pointed out by the

Commission in its earlier report (110th) that at more
fundamental level the institution of succession is a
proper response of the society to elemental motives
a gi g f o

o e s fo o e s i

ediate fa il to a

desi e to e te d o e s pe so ality far beyond death and

established patterns of inheritance may be the least
objectionable means of deciding the ownership of
p ope t

a pe so s death.

Ho e e , it

ot

overlooked that transfer of substantial wealth tend to

conflict with basic social values, including equality of
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opportunity, dispersal of economic power and avoidance

of rigid class distinctions. Tested on the last parameter
as just identified the existing provisions in Sections 42 to
46 of Indian Succession Act are archaic in nature and
foster an approach that solidify distinctions based on
gender and thus prejudicial and unfair to status of
women and Christian mother of deceased intestate in
present context. Changes suggested would make law
more reflective of rising social awareness in Christian
community and of needs of changing times.

(Justice A.P. Shah)

Chairman

(Justice S.N. Kapoor)

Member

(Dr. S.S. Chahar)

Member-Secretary

(Prof. (Dr.) Moolchand Sharma)

Member

(Justice Usha Mehra)

Member

(P.K. Malhotra)
Ex-officio Member

(Dr.Sanjay Singh)
Ex-officio Member

22