Home  /  Transfer of Property Act  /  Section 24

Section 24: Transfer to such of certain persons as survive at some period not specified

Transfer of Property Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1882
Section 23 All 137 Sections of Transfer of Property Act Section 25

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 24

Section 24 governs transfers to such of certain persons as survive at some period not specified, establishing that the interest goes only to those who survive the determination of the intermediate estate.

  • Survivorship Transfer: Where, on a transfer of property, an interest therein is to accrue to such of certain persons as shall be surviving at some period, but the exact period is not specified.
  • Benchmark Determination: The interest shall go to such of them as shall be alive when the intermediate or prior interest ceases.
  • Exclusion of Predeceased Parties: Heirs of persons dying before the determination of the prior estate take no share.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • F.M. Devaru Ganapati Bhat v. Prabhakar Ganapati Bhat, (2004) 2 SCC 504: The Supreme Court noted that Section 24 resolves ambiguity in survivorship clauses by fixing the date of determination of the prior life estate as the definitive vesting date.
  • Raja Bajrang Bahadur Singh v. Thakurain Bakhtraj Kuer, AIR 1953 SC 7: Affirmed that only surviving beneficiaries at the termination of the life interest take under Section 24.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In family trusts with survivorship clauses ('to surviving children'), specify whether heirs of predeceased children take their parent's share (per stirpes) to override Section 24 default exclusion.

Section 23 All 137 Sections of Transfer of Property Act Section 25