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Section 9: Continuance of domicile of origin

Indian Succession Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1925
Section 8 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 10

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 9

Section 9 enacts the fundamental principle of continuity, providing that the domicile of origin of every person adheres until a new domicile has been lawfully acquired.

  • Core Legal Standard: Section 9 codifies the enduring legal tenacity of the domicile of origin.
  • Operational Mechanism: Unlike nationality or physical residence, which can be relinquished or altered with ease, the law abhors an individual being without a domicile.

Therefore, the domicile of origin clings to the person by operation of law throughout their life unless and until positive legal steps result in the acquisition of a new domicile of choice.

The substantive effect of this rule is that mere departure from one's native country, traveling abroad, or residing in foreign territories for employment, study, or commerce does not extinguish the domicile of origin. Unless the dual requirements of physical residence and an irrevocable intention to settle permanently in the new country are fully established, the domicile of origin continues uninterrupted, governing the succession to movable property regardless of how many decades have elapsed.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Central Bank of India v. Ram Narain, AIR 1955 SC 36: The Supreme Court laid down that a person's domicile of origin adheres until a new domicile is acquired. Mere change of residence, however prolonged, does not terminate the domicile of origin unless accompanied by a fixed and settled purpose to abandon it.
  • Kedar Pandey v. Narain Bikram Sah, AIR 1966 SC 160: The Supreme Court held that the burden of proving that a domicile of origin has been abandoned and a domicile of choice acquired lies heavily upon the party who asserts it, as the law presumes the retention of the domicile of origin.
Legal Commentary:

In litigating cross-border succession disputes before Indian probate courts, Section 9 represents the strongest legal shield for Indian heirs. When family members claim that a deceased relative who lived in the United States, United Kingdom, or Gulf countries acquired a foreign domicile, the propounder of that claim faces a formidable evidentiary burden. Under Section 9, unless an unshakeable intention of permanent abandonment is proven, the Indian domicile of origin continues unabated, ensuring Indian succession law governs the movable assets.

Section 8 All 391 Sections of Indian Succession Act Section 10