A person who intermeddles with the estate of the deceased or does any other act which belongs to the office of executor, while there is no rightful executor or administrator in existence, thereby makes himself an executor of his own wrong.
Exceptions.-(1) Intermeddling with the goods of the deceased for the purpose of preserving them or providing for his funeral or for the immediate necessities of his family or property, does not make an executor of his own wrong.
(2) Dealing in the ordinary course of business with goods of the deceased received from another does not make an executor of his own wrong.
Illustrations:
(i) A uses or gives away or sells some of the goods of the deceased, or takes them to satisfy his own debt or legacy or receives payment of the debts of the deceased. He is an executor of his own wrong.
(ii) A, having been appointed agent by the deceased in his lifetime to collect his debts and sell his goods, continues to do so after he has become aware of his death. He is an executor of his own wrong in respect of acts done after he has become aware of the death of the deceased.
(iii) A sues as executor of the deceased, not being such. He is an executor of his own wrong.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 303
Section 303 defines an Executor of his own wrong (Executor de son tort), establishing that an unauthorized person who intermeddles with the estate is subject to personal liabilities.
If an estranged relative took possession of the deceased's commercial godown and collected rents without probate, sue him under Section 303 as an 'executor de son tort'; he is personal liable to render accounts and pay damages up to the full value of the intermeddled assets.