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Section 127: Bequest upon illegal or immoral condition

Indian Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1925
Section 126 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 128

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 127

Section 127 declares void any bequest conditioned upon an Illegal, Immoral, or Unlawful condition, protecting public policy in testamentary dispositions.

  • Unlawful Condition Precedent: A bequest to which is annexed a condition precedent that is contrary to law, opposed to public policy, or immoral is wholly void.
  • Restraint of Marriage and Separation: Conditions requiring a beneficiary to divorce their spouse, live in adultery, or permanently abstain from lawful marriage are void under Section 127.
  • Criminal or Fraudulent Acts: Any testamentary gift requiring the legatee to commit a crime, evade taxes, or commit a civil wrong is struck down.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Wilkinson v. Wilkinson (1871) LR 12 Eq 604: The Court held that a condition requiring a married legatee to live separate from her husband is contrary to public policy and renders the condition precedent unlawful.
  • In re Piper (1946) 2 All ER 503: Affirmed that conditions encouraging marital breakdown or illegal acts vitiate testamentary gifts under public policy doctrines.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

A testator cannot use a will to coerce beneficiaries into unlawful conduct; counsel challenging a condition that mandates marital abandonment or renunciation of religion should invoke Section 127 to declare the condition precedent void.

Section 126 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 128