The provisions of this Part which are set out in Schedule III shall, subject to the restrictions and modifications specified therein, apply-
(a) to all Wills and codicils made by any Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina, on or after the first day of September, 1870, within the territories which at the said date were subject to the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal or within the local limits of the ordinary original civil jurisdiction of the High Courts of Judicature at Madras and Bombay;
(b) to all such Wills and codicils made outside those territories and limits so far as relates to immovable property situate within those territories or limits; and
(c) to all Wills and codicils made by any Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina on or after the first day of January, 1927, to which those provisions are not applied by clauses (a) and (b):
Provided that marriage shall not revoke any such Will or codicil.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 57
Section 57 demarcates the territorial and subject-matter application of Part VI (Testamentary Succession) to wills executed by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jainas, linking statutory applicability to Schedule III.
Section 57 is the indispensable starting point for all Hindu testamentary litigation. Litigators must note that while Section 57 makes Section 63 (mandatory attestation by two witnesses) applicable to EVERY Hindu will across India, it does NOT make Section 213 (mandatory probate) applicable across all of India. Probate for a Hindu will is mandatory ONLY if the will falls within clauses (a) or (b) of Section 57 (Presidency towns or immovable property therein); elsewhere in India, a Hindu will can be directly relied upon in civil suits without probate.