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Section 359: When each legatee compellable to refund in proportion

Indian Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1925
Section 358 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 360

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 359

Section 359 prescribes that when legatees are compelled to refund, each legatee must contribute rateably in proportion to the value of their respective bequest, ensuring equitable loss distribution.

  • Equitable Apportionment Among Legatees: Where refunding is required to satisfy estate debts or under Section 340/356, the liability is distributed rateably across all paid legatees.
  • Proportional Capital Calculation: Each legatee's contribution is strictly proportionate to the net capital sum or valuation of the specific property actually received by them.
  • Prevention of Selective Enrichment: An executor or creditor cannot arbitrarily target a single legatee for the entire debt recovery while exempting other similarly situated legatees.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • In re Harris; Davis v. Harris [1912] 2 Ch 241: Held that refunding among legatees must be strictly rateable, and equity will not permit one legatee to bear more than their proportionate share of estate liabilities.
  • Gour Chandra v. Khirodebandhu, AIR 1928 Cal 52: The Calcutta High Court held that where assets were distributed prematurely, the refund decreed against legatees must be apportioned pari passu according to the value of each bequest.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

A defendant legatee sued for refund by a creditor or executor must file an application under Order I Rule 10 CPC to implead all other distributed legatees, asserting rateable apportionment under Section 359 to prevent paying more than their proportional share.

Section 358 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 360