Sections 25-29 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Sections 25 to 28 say who is shut out of an inheritance and who is not: a murderer, and the post-conversion children of a Hindu who has converted, are disqualified, section 27 says how the property then passes, and section 28 says that disease, defect or deformity is no ground of disqualification. Section 29 deals with an intestate who leaves no qualified heir.
This article follows the consolidated text consulted (a third-party print; amendments shown up to Act 34 of 2019). Later amendments should be checked separately.
A person who commits murder or abets the commission of murder is disqualified from inheriting the property of the person murdered, or any other property in furtherance of the succession to which the murder was committed or abetted (section 25). Children born after a Hindu's conversion to another religion, and their descendants, are disqualified from inheriting the property of their Hindu relatives, unless they are Hindus when the succession opens (section 26). A disqualified person is treated as if he or she had died before the intestate (section 27). Disease, defect or deformity is no ground of disqualification (section 28). If there is no qualified heir, the property devolves on the Government, subject to the obligations and liabilities of an heir (section 29).
Sections 23 and 24: omitted
Between section 22 and section 25 the copy prints two headings with the word "Omitted". Section 23 is headed "" and section 24 "" ("windows" is a printing slip in the copy for "widows"). The copy says each was omitted by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 (39 of 2005), section 4 for section 23 and section 5 for section 24 (w.e.f. 9-9-2005). This article does not describe what they used to say.
Section 25: murderer disqualified
Section 25 reads: "A person who commits murder or abets the commission of murder shall be disqualified from inheriting the property of the person murdered, or any other property in furtherance of the succession to which he or she committed or abetted the commission of the murder."
Two limbs can be picked out.
- The person is disqualified from inheriting the property of the person murdered.
- The person is also disqualified from inheriting any other property in furtherance of the succession to which he or she committed or abetted the murder.
The section speaks of a person who "commits murder or abets the commission of murder". It does not print how that is to be established, and no procedure is stated here.
If a disqualification is raised in a family dispute over an estate, our legal dispute resolution team can help you set out the position against the printed words.
Section 26: convert's descendants disqualified
Section 26 reads: "Where, before or after the commencement of this Act, a Hindu has ceased or ceases to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion, children born to him or her after such conversion and their descendants shall be disqualified from inheriting the property of any of their Hindu relatives, unless such children or descendants are Hindus at the time when the succession opens."
The elements:
| Element | Words in the section |
|---|---|
| When the conversion happened | "before or after the commencement of this Act" |
| Who converts | "a Hindu has ceased or ceases to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion" |
| Who is disqualified | "children born to him or her after such conversion and their descendants" |
| From what | "inheriting the property of any of their Hindu relatives" |
| Exception | "unless such children or descendants are Hindus at the time when the succession opens" |
The section disqualifies the children born after the conversion and their descendants. It does not, in its words, disqualify the convert, and it does not disqualify children born before the conversion. For where a convert or reconvert stands in the Act's application, see our article on section 2.
The copy prints the date 17 June 1956 under the title and no separate commencement clause; no other date is given for "the commencement of this Act".
Section 27: succession when an heir is disqualified
"If any person is disqualified from inheriting any property under this Act, it shall devolve as if such person had died before the intestate."
This is the working rule behind sections 25 and 26. The disqualified person is treated as having died before the intestate, so the property goes to whoever would have taken if that person had pre-deceased.
An illustration
The family and facts are invented and only apply the printed words. Haridas Menon dies intestate. His heirs in Class I are his widow, his son Arvind and his daughter Leela. Suppose Arvind is disqualified under section 25. Under section 27 the property devolves as if Arvind had died before Haridas. The widow and Leela are left among the Class I heirs; and where the Act gives the children of a pre-deceased son a share (section 10, Rule 3 and Rule 4(i)), the question whether Arvind's own children take is answered by treating him as pre-deceased. The same treatment applies to a person disqualified under section 26. See our article on section 10 for the Rules.
Section 28: disease, defect or deformity
"No person shall be disqualified from succeeding to any property on the ground of any disease, defect or deformity, or save as provided in this Act, on any other ground whatsoever."
Two parts:
- Disease, defect or deformity is not a ground of disqualification.
- "Save as provided in this Act", no other ground whatsoever disqualifies. The disqualifications the Act itself provides, in the sections covered by this article, are those in sections 25 and 26.
Section 29: failure of heirs
Section 29, under the sub-heading "Escheat", reads: "If an intestate has left no heir qualified to succeed to his or her property in accordance with the provisions of this Act, such property shall devolve on the Government; and the Government shall take the property subject to all the obligations and liabilities to which an heir would have been subject."
- When: the intestate "has left no heir qualified to succeed".
- Result: the property devolves on the Government.
- Burden: the Government takes it "subject to all the obligations and liabilities to which an heir would have been subject".
The Act prints no procedure for this. The copy also prints a Tamil Nadu State amendment after section 29; readers in that State should check their State law, and it is not explained here.
Need help with a contested inheritance?
Disqualification and failure-of-heirs questions usually arise when a family is already in disagreement. Our legal dispute resolution team can help you understand the printed rules, and the options open to you, before you take a step.
Key takeaways
- A person who commits or abets murder is disqualified from inheriting the property of the person murdered and any other property connected with that succession (section 25).
- Children born after a Hindu's conversion to another religion, and their descendants, are disqualified from inheriting the property of their Hindu relatives unless they are Hindus when the succession opens (section 26).
- A disqualified person is treated as having died before the intestate (section 27).
- Disease, defect or deformity does not disqualify, and save as the Act provides no other ground does (section 28).
- If no qualified heir exists, the property devolves on the Government, subject to the obligations and liabilities of an heir (section 29).
- Sections 23 and 24 are omitted.
Read next
- Section 22 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956: preferential right to acquire property
- Sections 18-21: full blood, per capita, child in womb and simultaneous deaths
- Section 30 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956: testamentary succession
- Intestate succession under the Hindu Succession Act: Class I and Class II heirs
Disclaimer: Based on a third-party consolidated print of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 showing amendments up to Act 34 of 2019 and on the text of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, as consulted on 2 October 2026. It explains the words of the statute only; State amendments, later amendments and the way courts apply these sections should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.