(1) The District Judge may order any person to produce and bring into Court any paper or writing, being or purporting to be testamentary, which may be shown to be in the possession or under the control of such person.
(2) If it is not shown that any such paper or writing is in the possession or under the control of such person, but there is reason to believe that he has the knowledge of any such paper or writing, the Court may direct such person to attend for the purpose of being examined respecting the same.
(3) Such person shall be bound to answer truly such question as may be put to him by the Court, and, if so ordered, to produce and bring in such paper or writing, and shall be subject to the like punishment under the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), in case of default in not attending or in notanswering such question or not bringing in such paper or writing, as he would have been subject to in case he had been a party to a suit and had made such default.
(4) The costs of the proceeding shall be in the discretion of the Judge.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 267
Section 267 empowers the District Judge to issue a summary order compelling any person to produce testamentary papers in his custody or possession.
If rival heirs or an estranged family lawyer refuse to hand over the original will, file an urgent application under Section 267 before the District Judge; the court will issue an immediate search and production order backed by bailable warrants.