Probate or letters of administration shall have effect over all the property and estate, moveable or immoveable, of the deceased, throughout the State in which the same is or are granted, and shall be conclusive as to the representative title against all debtors of the deceased, and all persons holding property which belongs to him, and shall afford full indemnity to all debtors, paying their debts and all persons delivering up such property to the person to whom such probate or letters of administration have been granted:
Provided that: probates and letters of administration granted-
(a) by a High Court, or
(b) by a District Judge, where the deceased at the time of his death had a fixed place of abode situate within the jurisdiction of such Judge, and such Judge certifies that the value of the propertyand estate affected beyond the limits of the State does not exceed ten thousand rupees,shall, unless otherwise directed by the grant, have like effect throughout 1[the other States 2***].
1[The proviso to this section shall apply in 2[India] 3after the separation of Burma and Aden from India to probates and letters of administration granted in Burma and Aden before the date of the separation, or after that date in proceedings which were pending at that date.]
4[The proviso shall also apply in 2[India] 5*** 6after the separation of Pakistan from India to probates and letters of administration granted before the date of the separation, or after that date in procedings pending at that date, in any of the territories which on that date constituted Pakistan.]
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 273
Section 273 enacts that probate or letters of administration have effect over all the property of the deceased throughout the State, and operate across the whole of India when certified by the High Court.
Furthermore, under the Proviso to Section 273, where probate or letters of administration are granted by a High Court or by a District Judge certifying that the value of the property affected beyond the limits of the State exceeds ten thousand rupees, the grant shall have effect throughout the whole of India. This creates an indomitable national title, exempting the executor from filing multiple probate petitions across different States.
Section 273 is the indispensable mechanism for handling multi-state estates. When a testator dies leaving properties in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, the executor does not need three separate probates. By ensuring that the District Judge includes the statutory certificate under the proviso to Section 273 that assets outside the State exceed Rs. 10,000, a single probate grant in Mumbai becomes fully enforceable and effective throughout India.