Notwith-standing any restrictions contained in the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925), with respect to its application to members of certain communities, succession to the property of any person whose marriage is solemnized under this Act and to the property of the issue of such marriage shall be regulated by the provisions of the said Act and for the purposes of this section that Act shall have effect as if Chapter III of Part V (Special Rules for Parsi Intestates) had been omitted therefrom.
21-A. Special provision in certain cases
Where the marriage is solemnized under this Act of any person who professes the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion with a person who professes the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion, section 19
and section 21 shall not apply and so much of section 20 as creates a disability shall also not apply.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 21
Section 21 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 governs succession to the property of persons married under the Act, applying the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
Section 21 harmonizes inter-faith civil marriage with secular succession, securing equal testamentary and intestate inheritance rights under the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
Section 21 is of paramount estate planning significance for inter-faith couples. Under the Indian Succession Act, 1925, daughters and sons inherit equal shares, a surviving spouse is entitled to one-third of the estate (or one-half if there are no lineal descendants), and complete testamentary freedom is preserved without the restrictions of Muslim law (which limits testamentary disposition to one-third).