Thegrant of probate or letters of administration may be revoked or annulled for just cause.
Explanation.- Just cause shall be deemed to exist where-
(a) the proceedings to obtain the grant were defective in substance; or (b) the grant was obtained fraudulently by making a false suggestion, or by concealing from the Court something material to the case; or
(c) the grant was obtained by means of an untrue allegation of a fact essential in point of law to justify the grant, though such allegation was made in ignorance or inadvertently; or
(d) the grant has become useless and inoperative through circumstances; or
(e) the person to whom the grant was made has wilfully and without reasonable cause omitted to exhibit an inventory or account in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VII of this Part, or has exhibited under that Chapter an inventory or account which is untrue in a material respect.
Illustrations:
(i) The Court by which the grant was made had no jurisdiction.
(ii) The grant was made without citing parties who ought to have been iited. (iii) The will of which probate was obtained was forged or revoked.
(iv) A obtained letters of administration to the estate of B, as his widow, but it has since transpired that she was never married to him.
(v) A has taken administration to the estate of B as if he had died intestate, but a will has since been discovered.
(vi) Since probate was granted, a later will has been discovered.
(vii) Since probate was granted, a codicil has been discovered which revokes or adds to the appointment of executors under the will.
(viii) The person to whom probate was, or letters of administration were, granted has subsequently become of unsound mind.
(a) the proceedings to obtain the grant were defective in substance; or
(b) the grant was obtained fraudulently by making a false suggestion, or by concealing from the Court something material to the case; or
(c) the grant was obtained by means of an untrue allegation of a fact essential in point of law to justify the grant, though such allegation was made in ignorance or inadvertently; or
(d) the grant has become useless and inoperative through circumstances; or
(e) the person to whom the grant was made has wilfully and without reasonable cause omitted to exhibit an inventory or account in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VII of this Part, or has exhibited under that Chapter an inventory or account which is false in any material respect.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 263
Section 263 codifies the exclusive statutory grounds for the revocation or annulment of probate or letters of administration for 'just cause', establishing that grants procured through fraud, concealment of citations, or untrue allegations are liable to be recalled.
Clause (e) - Non-filing of Accounts: That the grantee has willfully and without reasonable cause omitted to exhibit an inventory or account under Section 317.
Section 263 is the most potent weapon to overturn secretly obtained ex parte probates. In Indian practice, unscrupulous propounders frequently obtain probate by concealing the existence of married daughters, non-resident sons, or rival claimants. Under *Basanti Devi*, proof of non-citation of a legal heir is fatal; the court will recall the grant, restore the probate petition to the file, and direct a contentious trial under Section 295.