Intestate succession

In one minute

A Hindu is intestate if the Hindu dies without a valid will for that property. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 then fixes who inherits. This note covers the general rules that apply to every intestate estate.

Full blood is preferred to half blood. Heirs take per capita and as tenants-in-common. A child in the womb can inherit. A murderer is disqualified. If there is no heir, the property goes to the Government.

Legal provision

• Section 18: heirs by full blood are preferred to heirs by half blood, if the relationship is the same in every other respect.
• Section 19: heirs who succeed together take per capita and not per stirpes, and as tenants-in-common and not as joint tenants.
• Section 20: a child in the womb at the death, born alive later, inherits as if born before the death.
• Section 21: when two persons die and it is uncertain who survived, the younger is presumed to have survived the elder.
• Section 22: class I heirs have a preferential right to buy out a co-heir's interest in immovable property or a business.
• Sections 25 to 28: disqualifications.
• Section 29: failure of heirs.

Meaning and definition

Under section 3(1)(g), a person is deemed to die intestate in respect of property of which the person has not made a testamentary disposition capable of taking effect. The rules in this note work after the heirs are known. They fix how the heirs share, who is shut out, and what happens if no one qualifies.

• Property of a Hindu who died intestate
  • Sharing rulesFull blood first (section 18); per capita and tenants-in-common (section 19).
  • Special casesChild in the womb (section 20); simultaneous deaths (section 21).
  • Buying outPreferential right of class I heirs (section 22).
  • DisqualificationsMurderer, convert's descendants and others (sections 25 to 28).
  • No heirProperty goes to the Government (section 29).

Detailed explanation

Step 1: full blood before half blood (section 18)

Two persons are related by full blood when they descend from a common ancestor by the same wife. They are related by half blood when they descend from that ancestor by different wives. Section 18 prefers the full blood heir only if the relationship is the same in every other respect.

Step 2: how heirs share (section 19)

Heirs who succeed together take per capita, which means each takes an equal share as an individual. They do not take per stirpes, which means by branches. They hold as tenants-in-common, so each share passes to the heir's own heirs on death. Section 19 applies save as the Act expressly provides otherwise.

Step 3: the child in the womb (section 20)

A child in the womb at the intestate's death who is later born alive has the same right to inherit as if born before the death. The inheritance vests from the date of death.

Step 4: simultaneous deaths (section 21)

If two persons die in circumstances that make it uncertain whether either survived the other, the younger is presumed to have survived the elder. This applies for all purposes of succession, until the contrary is proved.

Step 5: buying out a co-heir (section 22)

Suppose an interest in immovable property or in a business devolves on two or more class I heirs. If one of them proposes to transfer the interest, the other heirs have a preferential right to acquire it. If the parties do not agree on the price, the court fixes the consideration on application. A person who then refuses to buy pays the costs of the application. If two or more heirs want to buy, the one who offers the highest consideration is preferred.

Step 6: disqualifications (sections 25 to 28)

• Section 25: a person who commits murder or abets it is disqualified from inheriting the property of the murdered person. The bar also covers any other property in furtherance of the succession to which the murder was committed or abetted.
• Section 26: where a Hindu has ceased to be a Hindu by conversion, children born after the conversion and their descendants cannot inherit the property of their Hindu relatives. They are not barred if they are Hindus when the succession opens.
• Section 27: a disqualified person's share devolves as if that person had died before the intestate.
• Section 28: no person is disqualified because of any disease, defect or deformity, or, save as provided in the Act, on any other ground.

Step 7: failure of heirs (section 29)

If an intestate leaves no heir qualified to succeed, the property devolves on the Government. The Government takes it subject to all the obligations and liabilities to which an heir would have been subject. This is the rule of escheat.

Exceptions and special rules

• Section 19: the per capita rule gives way where the Act expressly provides otherwise, as in section 10 Rule 3 and 4 and section 16 Rule 2.
• Section 26: it bars the children born after the conversion. It does not bar the convert.
• Section 28: disease, defect or deformity never disqualify.
• Section 29: the Government takes the property with all liabilities.

Don't confuse: per capita and per stirpes

Point	Per capita	Per stirpes
Meaning	Each heir takes an equal share as an individual	Heirs take by branches, through the person they descend from
Rule in the Act	The rule under section 19(a)	Used only where the Act expressly provides, as for a pre-deceased child's branch

Common mistakes

• Saying that full blood always beats half blood. Section 18 applies only if the relationship is otherwise the same.
• Saying that joint tenancy applies. Heirs take as tenants-in-common (section 19(b)).
• Saying that a convert is disqualified under section 26. The section bars the children born after the conversion.
• Saying that a murderer's wife can claim through him. Vellikannu says that no one can claim through a disqualified murderer.

Apply it

Problem

Ravi, a Hindu in Vijayawada, kills his father to get the family land. He is convicted. His wife later sues for the land through him. Does she inherit?

Issue

Can a person claim through a murderer who is disqualified from inheriting?

Rule

Section 25 disqualifies the murderer. Section 27 treats the murderer as having died before the person murdered. In Vellikannu the Court held that the murderer is not the start of a fresh line of descent.

Application

Ravi is treated as dead when his father died. His wife can claim only through him, so she can claim no better title than he had.

Conclusion

The wife does not inherit through Ravi.

Leading case laws

• Vellikannu v. R. Singaperumal

  Facts. A son murdered his father, was convicted and later released. His wife sued to inherit the father's estate, saying her husband was disqualified.

  Principle. Disqualification under section 25 is total. The murderer is treated as non-existent and not as the stock for a fresh line of descent, so no one can claim through him.

  Why it matters. It links section 25 with the fiction in section 27 and stops claims made through a disqualified murderer.

How to write this answer in the exam

Key points to remember

• Section 18: full blood before half blood, if the relationship is otherwise the same.
• Section 19: per capita, and as tenants-in-common.
• Section 20: the child in the womb inherits. Section 21: the younger is presumed to survive.
• Section 25: murderer disqualified. Section 27: treated as dead before the intestate.
• Section 29: the Government takes if there is no heir.

Quick self-test

Related topics

• Succession
• Succession to the property of Hindu Male and Female
• Classes of heirs