Section 69 Succession Act: Revocation of will by testator's marriage

Section 69 of Indian Succession Act: Revocation of will by testator's marriage

Official Bare Act Text

Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary

Every will shall be revoked by the marriage of the maker, except a will made in exercise of a power of appointment, when the property over which the power of appointment is exercised would not, in default of such appointment, pass to his or her executor or administrator, or to the person entitled in case of intestacy.

Explanation.- Where a man is invested with power to determine the disposition of property of which he is not the owner, he is said to have power to appoint such property.

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 69

Section 69 enacts the statutory rule that every will is revoked by the marriage of the maker, subject to exceptions for wills made in exercise of a power of appointment.

Core Legal Standard: Section 69 incorporates the traditional English doctrine of revocation by marriage.
Statutory Rights & Obligations: Because marriage fundamentally alters an individual's family status, bringing into existence a spouse and potential children who have moral and statutory claims on the estate, the law presumes that any pre-marital will does not reflect the testator's post-marital obligations.

Under Section 69, every will is revoked by the subsequent marriage of the testator, whether male or female. The section provides a narrow exception: a will made in exercise of a power of appointment is not revoked by marriage when the property so appointed would not, in default of appointment, pass to the testator's executor, administrator, or statutory next-of-kin.

Key Landmark Precedents:

M.B. Ramesh v. K.M. Veeraje Urs, (2013) 7 SCC 490: The Supreme Court examined statutory revocation under Section 69, confirming that subsequent marriage operates as a complete statutory revocation of pre-existing wills for governed communities.
Mary Roy v. State of Kerala, (1986) 2 SCC 209: The Supreme Court recognized that statutory revocation under Section 69 reflects legislative concern for protecting surviving spouses and dependents.

Legal Commentary:

Litigators must note a crucial personal law exemption: under Schedule III, Section 69 does NOT apply to wills executed by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, or Jainas! A Hindu's will is NOT revoked by their subsequent marriage. For Indian Christians, Parsis, and persons governed by the Special Marriage Act, however, marriage automatically and irrevocably destroys all prior wills, requiring the execution of a fresh post-marital testament.

Section 69: Revocation of will by testator's marriage

Section 69 of Indian Succession Act: Revocation of will by testator's marriage

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 69