Indian Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1925
Section 14 of Indian Succession Act: Testamentary & Estate Administration Procedure
Official Bare Act Text
Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary
The domicile of a minor follows the domicile of the parent from whom he derived his domicile of origin.
Exception.- The domicile of a minor does not change with that of his parent, if the minor is married, or holds any office or employment in the service of Government, or has set up, with the consent of the parent, any distinct business.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 14
Section 14 establishes the dependent nature of a minor's domicile, enacting that the domicile of a minor follows the domicile of the parent from whom he derived his domicile of origin.
Core Legal Standard: Section 14 codifies the general doctrine of dependent domicile.
Operational Mechanism: Because a minor lacks legal capacity to formulate an independent testamentary intention or choose a permanent home, their domicile is strictly derivative.
A legitimate minor's domicile follows the changing domicile of his father, while an illegitimate minor's domicile follows that of the mother.
The section contains an explicit exception: the minor's domicile does not follow that of the parent if the minor is married, or holds any office or employment in the service of the Government, or has set up, with the consent of the parent, an independent business or trade. In such exceptional circumstances, the minor achieves constructive emancipation, freezing their domicile from automatic parental fluctuations.
Key Landmark Precedents:
Kedar Pandey v. Narain Bikram Sah, AIR 1966 SC 160: The Supreme Court recognized that during minority, an individual's domicile is strictly dependent upon parental domicile under Section 14, changing automatically whenever the parent changes their legal domicile.
Satya v. Teja Singh, (1975) 1 SCC 120: The Supreme Court highlighted that personal status and domicile of family members remain interlinked under private international law principles reflected in Section 14.
Legal Commentary:
Section 14 is pivotal in estates where minors inherit substantial movable assets or die during minority. When a father migrates abroad and acquires a foreign domicile, the minor children's succession status automatically shifts with him, directly impacting applicable tax, inheritance, and guardianship laws. Practitioners must verify whether any statutory exception (such as marriage or independent employment) severed this derivative link prior to the relevant date.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 14
Section 14 establishes the dependent nature of a minor's domicile, enacting that the domicile of a minor follows the domicile of the parent from whom he derived his domicile of origin.
A legitimate minor's domicile follows the changing domicile of his father, while an illegitimate minor's domicile follows that of the mother.
The section contains an explicit exception: the minor's domicile does not follow that of the parent if the minor is married, or holds any office or employment in the service of the Government, or has set up, with the consent of the parent, an independent business or trade. In such exceptional circumstances, the minor achieves constructive emancipation, freezing their domicile from automatic parental fluctuations.
Section 14 is pivotal in estates where minors inherit substantial movable assets or die during minority. When a father migrates abroad and acquires a foreign domicile, the minor children's succession status automatically shifts with him, directly impacting applicable tax, inheritance, and guardianship laws. Practitioners must verify whether any statutory exception (such as marriage or independent employment) severed this derivative link prior to the relevant date.