Indian Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1925
Section 7 of Indian Succession Act: Domicile of origin of person of legitimate birth
Official Bare Act Text
Override / Mandate Mens Rea (Intent) Actus Reus (Conduct) Punishment Limitation Monetary
The domicile of origin of every person of legitimate birth is in the country in which at the time of his birth his father was domiciled; or, if he is a posthumous child, in the country in which his father was domiciled at the time of the father's death.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 7
Section 7 defines the domicile of origin for every person of legitimate birth, establishing that it resides in the country in which, at the time of the child's birth, the father was domiciled.
Core Legal Standard: The section establishes the foundational rule of involuntary domicile received by operation of law at birth.
Operational Mechanism: Under Section 7, the domicile of origin of a legitimate child is inextricably linked to the paternal domicile at the moment of birth.
It is entirely independent of the physical territory where the child happens to be born; if an Indian-domiciled father temporarily visits England where his legitimate child is born, the child's domicile of origin remains India, not England.
The proviso addresses posthumous legitimate children: if the father dies before the birth of the child, the child's domicile of origin is fixed in the country where the mother was domiciled at the time of the child's birth. This statutory imputation of origin creates an enduring legal anchor that persists throughout the individual's minority and can only be supplanted by the subsequent acquisition of a domicile of choice upon attaining majority.
Key Landmark Precedents:
Kedar Pandey v. Narain Bikram Sah, AIR 1966 SC 160: The Supreme Court held that the domicile of origin is received at birth by operation of law under Section 7 and remains latent even when a domicile of choice is acquired, instantly reviving if the domicile of choice is abandoned without acquiring another.
Central Bank of India v. Ram Narain, AIR 1955 SC 36: The Supreme Court held that the domicile of origin attaches to an individual from birth by force of law and clings to them with supreme tenacity until legally supplanted.
Legal Commentary:
Domicile of origin operates as the default legal fallback in succession disputes. Because the domicile of origin adheres with profound tenacity, the burden of proving that an individual severed their domicile of origin and acquired a new domicile of choice rests with absolute rigor upon the party asserting the change. In estate disputes involving NRIs who die abroad intestate, proving that the paternal domicile of origin in India was never legally discarded ensures that Indian succession principles govern their movable assets.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 7
Section 7 defines the domicile of origin for every person of legitimate birth, establishing that it resides in the country in which, at the time of the child's birth, the father was domiciled.
It is entirely independent of the physical territory where the child happens to be born; if an Indian-domiciled father temporarily visits England where his legitimate child is born, the child's domicile of origin remains India, not England.
The proviso addresses posthumous legitimate children: if the father dies before the birth of the child, the child's domicile of origin is fixed in the country where the mother was domiciled at the time of the child's birth. This statutory imputation of origin creates an enduring legal anchor that persists throughout the individual's minority and can only be supplanted by the subsequent acquisition of a domicile of choice upon attaining majority.
Domicile of origin operates as the default legal fallback in succession disputes. Because the domicile of origin adheres with profound tenacity, the burden of proving that an individual severed their domicile of origin and acquired a new domicile of choice rests with absolute rigor upon the party asserting the change. In estate disputes involving NRIs who die abroad intestate, proving that the paternal domicile of origin in India was never legally discarded ensures that Indian succession principles govern their movable assets.