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Section 220: Effect of letters of administration

Indian Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1925
Section 219 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 221

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 220

Section 220 enacts the doctrine of relation back for letters of administration, providing that the grant entitles the administrator to all rights belonging to the intestate as effectually as if administration had been granted at the moment of death.

  • Core Legal Standard: Section 220 codifies the legal fiction known as the doctrine of relation back for letters of administration.
  • Statutory Rights & Obligations: Letters of administration entitle the administrator to all rights belonging to the intestate as effectually as if the administration had been granted at the moment after his death.

This statutory relation back cures the administrative hiatus between the intestate's death and the formal court grant. It legalizes all bona fide interim acts performed by the administrator for the protection and benefit of the estate, confirms their standing to sue on causes of action that arose immediately upon death, and vests complete representative title in the administrator retrospectively.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Crystal Developers v. Asha Lata Ghosh, (2005) 9 SCC 92: The Supreme Court recognized that by virtue of statutory relation back under Section 220, the administrator's title relates back to the moment of the intestate's death, validating intermediate protective transactions.
  • Rukmani Devi v. Narendra Lal Gupta, (1985) 1 SCC 144: The Supreme Court highlighted that Section 220 establishes seamless continuity of representation from the death of the intestate.
Legal Commentary:

Section 220 is vital for preserving estate claims from limitation bars. If a debt was about to become time-barred after the intestate's death, an administrator who filed a recovery suit before receiving the formal grant has their standing validated retrospectively under Section 220 upon the issuance of the grant.

Section 219 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 221