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Section 304: Liability of executor of his own wrong

Indian Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1925
Section 303 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 305

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 304

Section 304 defines the Liability of an Executor of his own wrong, making him liable to the extent of all assets he received or wasted.

  • Extent of Personal Liability: An executor of his own wrong is liable to the extent of all assets which may have come to his hands after deducting payments made to lawful creditors and for funeral expenses.
  • Surcharge for Waste and Negligence: Personally liable for all waste, damage, or neglect committed in respect of the estate assets in his unauthorized custody.
  • No Right to Retain Debt: Unlike a lawful executor, an executor de son tort has no right to retain his own debt in preference to other creditors of equal degree.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana (2012) 1 SCC 656: The Supreme Court recognized that Section 304 imposes strict fiduciary liability on unauthorized meddlers, requiring full restitution of squandered estate wealth.
  • Chiranjilal Shrilal Goenka v. Jasjit Singh (1993) 2 SCC 507: Affirmed that Section 304 ensures that creditors and lawful heirs can recover estate property directly from an intermeddler's personal assets.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In bringing an action against an executor de son tort under Section 304, pray for a decree of accounts and attachment of his personal bank accounts up to the value of the misapplied estate property; Section 304 pierces his personal asset shield.

Section 303 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 305