probate

Section 2(f) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 defines probate as the copy of a will certified under the seal of a court of competent jurisdiction with a grant of administration to the estate of the testator. It can be granted only to an executor named in the will (section 222). Where there is no executor, the court grants letters of administration with the will annexed.

Probate conclusively establishes the will's genuineness and the executor's authority, as a judgment in rem. Under section 213 it is compulsory for wills made by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains only within the territories mentioned in section 57 (the old Presidency towns of Bengal, Madras and Bombay) or relating to immovable property there; elsewhere a will can be proved in ordinary proceedings.

Example

Since the will concerned land in Bengaluru, outside the areas covered by section 57, probate was not compulsory and the will could be proved in the partition suit.

In Indian law

• ss.2(f), 213 and 222, Indian Succession Act, 1925

See also

will · executor · succession certificate · testator

Read more in the study notes

• Need for ADR, international commitments and suitability of disputes (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• Kinds of accounts, opening an account, and special classes of customers (Banking Law)
• Relevance of judgments of courts (sections 34 to 38) (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam)
• Proof of documents, public and private documents, presumptions as to documents, and exclusion of oral by documentary evidence (sections 64 to 103) (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam)
• Transfer and transmission of shares, judicial intervention and rights of shareholders (Company Law)
• Original petitions and execution petitions (Drafting, Pleading and Conveyance)