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Section 280: Petition for probate, etc., to be signed and verified

Indian Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1925
Section 279 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 281

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 280

Section 280 mandates that every petition for probate or letters of administration must be signed and verified by the petitioner and subscribed by a statutory verification of truth.

  • Mandatory Signature and Verification: The petition for probate or letters of administration must be signed and verified by the petitioner or by his duly authorized agent.
  • Statutory Affidavit of Truth: Must contain a formal verification declaring that the statements in the petition are true to the petitioner's own knowledge, or believed to be true based on information received.
  • Criminal Penalties for False Verification: False verification in a probate petition renders the petitioner liable to prosecution for perjury and false evidence under the Penal Code (Section 193 IPC / Section 227 BNS).
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • H. Venkatachala Iyengar v. B.N. Thimmajamma AIR 1959 SC 443: The Supreme Court stressed that the solemn verification mandated by Section 280 anchors the propounder's strict personal liability for the truth of the statements made in the probate petition.
  • Kalyan Singh v. Chhoti (1990) 1 SCC 266: Affirmed that due verification under Section 280 is an essential statutory prerequisite to invoke the in-rem jurisdiction of the probate court.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Ensure that the verification clause at the foot of the petition strictly adopts the statutory language of Section 280: 'I, [Name], the petitioner above-named, do hereby declare that what is stated in paragraphs 1 to [X] is true to my knowledge...'; informal or defective verifications are fatal to the petition's maintainability.

Section 279 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 281