Sections 25, 26 and 27 of Hindu Succession Act 1956: Disqualification from Inheritance
Sections 25, 26 and 27 form part of the general provisions relating to succession under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. They explain when a murderer is barred from inheritance, when descendants born after a Hindu's conversion may be disqualified, and how property devolves when an heir is disqualified.
Section 25 - Murderer disqualified
Statutory provision: A person who commits murder or abets the commission of murder is disqualified from inheriting the property of the person murdered, as well as other property where the murder or abetment was committed in furtherance of the succession.
Meaning: Section 25 prevents a person from obtaining an inheritance through his or her own act of murder or abetment of murder. The disqualification is statutory and operates against the person who committed or abetted the murder in the circumstances described by the section.
For succession purposes, the effect of a disqualification under the Act must be read with Section 27, which directs how the property is to devolve after an heir is disqualified.
Section 26 - Convert's descendants disqualified
Statutory provision: Where a Hindu ceases to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion, children born to that person after the conversion and their descendants are disqualified from inheriting the property of their Hindu relatives, unless those children or descendants are Hindus when the succession opens.
Meaning: The section is directed at children born after the conversion and their descendants. It does not, by its wording, impose this particular disqualification on the convert personally. It also contains an express exception: the child or descendant is not disqualified under Section 26 if he or she is Hindu at the time the succession opens.
Section 27 - Succession when heir disqualified
Statutory provision: If a person is disqualified from inheriting property under the Act, the property devolves as if that person had died before the intestate.
Meaning: Section 27 supplies the rule for working out the succession after a statutory disqualification. The disqualified heir is treated, for the purpose of that devolution, as having predeceased the intestate. The next entitlement must then be determined under the applicable succession provisions of the Act on that basis.
Quick legal summary
| Section | Subject | Core effect |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Murderer disqualified | A person who commits or abets murder is barred from inheritance in the circumstances specified by the section. |
| 26 | Convert's descendants disqualified | Children born after conversion and their descendants cannot inherit from Hindu relatives unless they are Hindu when succession opens. |
| 27 | Succession when heir disqualified | Property devolves as though the disqualified heir had died before the intestate. |
Official legal source
The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 is Central Act No. 30 of 1956. For the authoritative consolidated text and current section arrangement, refer to the official India Code record.
India Code - Hindu Succession Act, 1956
This page is a general legal information resource. Application of succession law depends on the facts, the nature of the property, the applicable statutory provisions and binding judicial decisions.