(1) No right as executor or legatee can be established in any Court of Justice, unless a Court of competent jurisdiction in 3[India] has granted probate of the will under which the right is claimed, or has granted letters of administration with the will or with a copy of an authenticated copy of the will annexed.
1[(2) This section shall not apply in the case of wills made by Muhammadans 2[or Indian Christians], and shall only apply-
(i) in the case of wills made by any Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina where such wills are of the classes specified in clauses (a) and (b) of section 57; and
(ii) in the case of wills made by any Parsi dying, after the commencement of the Indian Succession (Amendment) Act, 1962 (16 of 1962), where such wills are made within the local limits of the 3[ordinary-original civil jurisdiction] of the High Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, and where such wills are made outside those limits, in so far as they relate to immovable property situate within those limits.]
State Amendments
Karela.-
213. Amendment of section.-
In sub-section (2) of section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (Central Act 39 of 1925), after the word 'Muhammadans', the words 'or Indian Christians' shall be inserted. [Vide Kerala Act 1 of 1997, sec. 2].
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 213
Section 213 codifies the celebrated rule governing the necessity of probate, enacting that no right as executor or legatee can be established in any court unless probate or letters of administration with the will annexed have been granted, subject to crucial territorial limits.
Crucially, sub-section (2) read with Section 57 strictly restricts this mandatory probate requirement. In the case of wills made by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, or Jainas, Section 213 applies ONLY if:
(a) The will was made within the territories of the ordinary original civil jurisdiction of the High Courts of Bombay, Madras, or Calcutta; OR
(b) The will relates to immovable property situated within those territories, even if executed elsewhere.
Outside these historic Presidency town territories (e.g., in Delhi, Punjab, UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, etc.), probate is NOT mandatory for Hindu wills. A Hindu legatee in Delhi can establish their title in a civil court based on the original will without obtaining probate.
Section 213 is the single most misunderstood provision in Indian conveyancing. Municipal authorities, banks, and registrars across North and West India routinely refuse to mutate property without probate. Counsel must educate authorities using *Clarence Pais* and *Keventer Agro*: unless the property is situated in the Presidency towns of Mumbai, Chennai, or Kolkata, probate is NOT mandatory for Hindu wills! However, for Indian Christians, Parliament amended Section 213(2) in 2002 to exempt Christian wills from mandatory probate as well.