Kerala High Court upholds Section 69 of the Succession Act on automatic revocation of wills by marriage
8 October 2026
A Kerala High Court Division Bench of Justice Sathish Ninan and Justice P. Krishna Kumar upheld the constitutional validity of Section 69 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
Section 69 provides that a will is revoked by the maker's marriage, except a will made in exercise of a power of appointment in the circumstances the section specifies; it applies to Christians, Parsis and Jews and not to Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jainas.
The court was hearing a suo motu civil reference and connected petitions, and answered both questions framed in the negative: the limited application does not violate fundamental rights, and Section 69 does not conflict with Section 20 of the Act.
It rejected the challenge under Articles 14 and 15 and found no manifest arbitrariness.
The court noted that the rule was adapted from the English Wills Act, 1837, on the premise that marriage changes a person's duties and priorities.
The Division Bench delivered the judgment on 8 October 2026; it was reported on 9 October and 12 October 2026.
In plain words
Suo motu reference A matter taken up by the court on its own motion — Here a civil reference was made to examine the validity of Section 69.
Will Legal declaration of how a person's property is to be distributed after death — Under Section 69 a covered will is revoked when its maker marries.