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Section 8: Domicile of origin of illegitimate child

Indian Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1925
Section 7 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 9

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 8

Section 8 establishes that the domicile of origin of an illegitimate child is in the country where the child's mother was domiciled at the time of the child's birth.

  • Core Legal Standard: Under traditional common law principles codified in Section 8, an illegitimate child is treated as filius nullius (child of no legal father) for the purpose of involuntary domicile of origin.
  • Operational Mechanism: Consequently, the child's legal connection is traced exclusively through the maternal lineage.

The section provides an absolute statutory rule: regardless of the paternity or acknowledgment of the biological father, the domicile of origin of an illegitimate child is conclusively determined by the mother's domicile at the exact date and time of birth. Even if the mother subsequently marries the biological father or another individual, the child's original domicile of origin remains rooted in the mother's pre-existing domicile at the birth event, providing an unambiguous choice-of-law determination for subsequent movable succession.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Kedar Pandey v. Narain Bikram Sah, AIR 1966 SC 160: The Supreme Court affirmed the foundational distinction between paternal domicile for legitimate issue under Section 7 and maternal domicile for illegitimate children under Section 8, underscoring that domicile of origin is fixed permanently at the moment of birth by status.
  • Rasiklal Chhaganlal v. State of Gujarat, 1993 SCC OnLine Guj 23: The High Court recognized that the domicile of origin under Section 8 is fastened strictly through the mother's legal domicile at parturition, immune from retrospective paternal interference.
Legal Commentary:

Section 8 becomes critical in cross-border intestate succession involving contested marital legitimacy. Where marriage validity is challenged under foreign or personal laws, establishing the legal status of the union directly governs whether Section 7 (paternal domicile) or Section 8 (maternal domicile) applies. A finding of illegitimacy shifts the entire choice-of-law inquiry to the maternal domicile of origin, potentially altering the entire devolution of the decedent's movable estate.

Section 7 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 9