Indian Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1925
Section 122 of Indian Succession Act: Onerous bequests
Official Bare Act Text
Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary
Where a bequest imposes an obligation on the legatee, he can take nothing by it unless he accepts it fully.
Illustration:
A, having shares in (X), a prosperous joint stock company and also shares in (Y), a joint stock company in difficulties, in respect of which shares heavy calls are expected to be made, bequeaths to B all his shares in joint stock companies; B refuses to accept the shares in (Y). He forfeits the shares in (X).
Section 122 enacts the doctrine of onerous bequests, providing that where a single bequest imposes an obligation or burden, the legatee must accept the whole or reject the whole.
Core Legal Standard: Section 122 incorporates the equitable principle that one who desires the benefit of a testamentary disposition must also bear its associated burden ( qui sentit commodum sentire debet et onus ).
Statutory Rights & Obligations: Where a bequest imposes an obligation upon the legatee—such as paying an annuity, discharging a mortgage, or maintaining an invalid relative—the legatee cannot accept the beneficial asset and repudiate the burden.
Under this section, the legatee can take nothing by the bequest unless he accepts it fully. If the legatee refuses to discharge the onerous obligation, the entire bequest fails and falls into the residue, preventing legatees from cherry-picking advantages while leaving liabilities to the estate.
Key Landmark Precedents:
C.V. Subba Rao v. C.V. Satyanarayana, AIR 1964 AP 322: The court held that under Section 122, a legatee cannot approbate and reprobate; if a single undivided bequest contains an onerous condition, the legatee must either accept the entire bequest with its burden or reject it completely.
Pramod Kumar Jaiswal v. Bibi Husn Bano, (2005) 5 SCC 492: The Supreme Court recognized that the doctrine of onerous gifts under Section 122 prevents beneficiaries from severing obligations from testamentary benefits.
Legal Commentary:
Section 122 requires careful evaluation before accepting legacies tied to heavy lease covenants, tax arrears, or maintenance obligations. Counsel must advise legatees that if the bequest is unified under Section 122, accepting the property legally binds them to fulfill the obligation, and executors can compel performance.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 122
Section 122 enacts the doctrine of onerous bequests, providing that where a single bequest imposes an obligation or burden, the legatee must accept the whole or reject the whole.
Under this section, the legatee can take nothing by the bequest unless he accepts it fully. If the legatee refuses to discharge the onerous obligation, the entire bequest fails and falls into the residue, preventing legatees from cherry-picking advantages while leaving liabilities to the estate.
Section 122 requires careful evaluation before accepting legacies tied to heavy lease covenants, tax arrears, or maintenance obligations. Counsel must advise legatees that if the bequest is unified under Section 122, accepting the property legally binds them to fulfill the obligation, and executors can compel performance.