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Section 229: Grant of administration where executor has not renounced

Indian Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1925
Section 228 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 230

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 229

Section 229 mandates that letters of administration with will annexed cannot be granted to a legatee until citation has issued calling upon the executor to renounce or accept executorship.

  • Mandatory Citation to Named Executor: When a person appointed an executor has not renounced the executorship, letters of administration cannot be granted to any other person until citation has been served on the executor.
  • Executor's Primacy: Honors the testator's primary choice of personal representative by giving the named executor the first right to prove the will.
  • Forfeiture upon Default: If the executor fails to appear after service of citation, the court declares his executorship forfeited and grants administration to the legatee.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Chiranjilal Shrilal Goenka v. Jasjit Singh (1993) 2 SCC 507: The Supreme Court affirmed that the named executor has statutory priority to administer the estate, and no grant can be made to beneficiaries without exhausting Section 229 citations.
  • Basanti Devi v. Ravi Prakash (2008) 1 SCC 267: Held that bypassing named executors without citation invalidates subsequent administration grants for defect of substance.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

A beneficiary seeking letters of administration with will annexed because the executor is inactive must first issue a formal citation under Section 229; filing directly without citing the named executor results in the petition being returned with office objections.

Section 228 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 230