No unprivileged will or codicil, nor any part thereof, shall be trevoked otherwise than by marriage, or by another will or codicil, or by some writing declaring an intention to revoke the same and executed in the manner in which an unprivileged will is herein before required to be executed, or by the burning, tearing, or otherwise destroying the same by the testator or by some person in his presence and by his direction with the intention of revoking the same.
Illustrations:
(i) A has made an unprivileged will. Afterwards, A makes another unprivileged will which purports to revoke the first. This is a revocation.
(ii) A has made an unprivileged will. Afterwards, A, being entitled to make a privileged will, makes a privileged will, which purports to revoke his unprivileged will. This is a revocation.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 70
Section 70 prescribes the exclusive statutory methods for revoking an unprivileged will: (1) by marriage; (2) by another valid will or codicil; (3) by a written declaration of intention to revoke executed like a will; or (4) by burning, tearing, or destroying animo revocandi.
Section 70 provides an airtight statutory boundary against informal revocation claims. Clients frequently scribble 'cancelled', cross out names, or tear off small corners of a will, believing they have revoked it. Under Section 70, scribbling or striking through text does NOT revoke the will; the original text remains fully enforceable if legible. To effect a valid revocation, the testator must either physically obliterate/destroy the document entirely or execute a formal deed of revocation duly attested by two witnesses under Section 63.