Subject: Hindu Succession Act of 1956, India

The following extract from the Hindu Succession Act of 1956, a law enacted by the Parliament of India on 17 June 1956, describes general rules of succession of a male Hindu Indian dying intestate. A person who dies without making a will is said to have died intestate. An heir is a person entitled to inherit property after the death of the intestate. The Hindu Succession Act of 1956 bases its rule of succession on the basic principle of propinquity, i.e., preference to heirs on the basis of proximity of relationship. The law of intestate succession is concerned with matters as to who are the heirs, what are the rules of preference among the various relations, in what manner is the property distributed in case there is more than one heir and so on. The Hindu Succession Act applies to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Act applies to all Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs and to any other person who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew. The property of the male Hindu dying intestate shall devolve in the following manner: 1. Firstly upon all the heirs, being the relatives specified in Class I. 2. Secondly, if there is no heir of Class I, then upon heirs being the relatives specified in Class II. 3. Thirdly if there is no heir of any of the above classes, then upon the agnates of the deceased. One person is said to be agnate of another if the two are related by blood or adoption wholly through males. 4. Lastly, if there is no agnate, then upon the cognates of the deceased. One person is said to be a cognate of another if the two are related by blood or adoption but not wholly through male. Class I Heirs 1. Son 2. Daughter 3. Widow 4. Mother 5. Son of a predeceased son 6. Daughter of predeceased son 7. Widow of predeceased son 8. Son of a predeceased daughter 9. Daughter of predeceased daughter 10. Son of predeceased so of predeceased son 11. Daughter of predeceased son of a predeceased son 12. Widow of predeceased son of a predeceased son

Class II Heirs 1. Father 2. (a) Son's daughter's son, (b) son's daughter's daughter, (c) brother, (d) sister 3. (a) Daughter's son's son, (b) daughter's son's daughter, (c) daughter' daughter's son, (d) daughter's daughter's daughter. 4. (a) Brother's son, (b) sister's son, (c) brother's daughter, (d) sister's daughter. 5. Father's father; father's mother. 6. Father's widow; brother's widow. 7. Father's brother; father's sister. 8. Mother's father; mother's mother 9. Mother's brother; mother's sister. Class I heirs take simultaneously to the exclusion of all other heirs. Heirs in the first entry of Class II shall be preferred to those in the second entry; those in the second entry shall be preferred to those in the third entry; and so on in succession. Selected References Available on the Internet 1. http://punjabrevenue.nic.in/hsuccact(1).htm 2. http://www.tax4india.com/indian-laws/inheritance-law/hindu-successionact/general-rules.html