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Section 31 of The Oudh Estates Act, 1869

Any Taluqdár or Grantee, heir or legatee, may, at any time hereafter, present to the Chief Commissioner of Oudh a declaration in writing, executed and registered in the manner required by this Act for the execution and registration of instruments of gift, that he is desirous that his estate should in future be held subject to the ordinary law of succession to which members of his tribe and religion are subject. On receiving such declaration, the Chief Commissioner shall cause a note thereof to be made in the proper places in each of the lists mentioned in section eight in which the name of such Taluqdár or Grantee, heir or legatee, has been entered, and thenceforward none of the provisions of this Act shall apply to such estate, which shall thenceforward be held subject in all respects to the ordinary law of succession to which members of his tribe and religion are subject.

Summary

An estate holder can choose to stop following the special inheritance rules of this law.
To do this, they must write a formal statement and register it just like a document for giving a gift.
This written statement must be given to the Chief Commissioner of Oudh.
The Chief Commissioner will then add a note about this choice to the official lists of estate holders.
After this note is added, the estate will pass to heirs using the ordinary religious and tribal laws of the owner, instead of the rules in this law.

Practical examples

1In 1885, a landowner named Tariq decides he wants his land to be divided among all his children according to ordinary Islamic law, rather than going to his eldest son. He writes a declaration, registers it, and submits it to the Chief Commissioner. His estate now follows his ordinary religious law.

2An heir named Ravi inherits a large farming estate in 1890. He registers a written request with the Chief Commissioner stating he wants ordinary Hindu inheritance laws to apply to his estate from now on. The official lists are updated, and the special rules of the 1869 law no longer apply to his land.

FAQ

1. Who can make the request to change the inheritance rules?

Any person recognized as a major estate owner, a person granted land by the government, or their heirs or people who received the estate by a will.

2. How must the request be prepared?

It must be in writing, formally executed, and officially registered in the same way a document for a gift is registered.

3. Who receives this written request?

The request must be presented to the Chief Commissioner of Oudh.

4. What happens after the request is processed?

The estate is no longer governed by any rules in this law and is instead governed completely by the ordinary law of the owner's tribe and religion.

Test yourself

Q1.Under Section 31 of The Oudh Estates Act, 1869, who must receive the registered declaration if an estate owner wants to return to their ordinary law of succession?

Q2.What is the immediate administrative action required by Section 31 of The Oudh Estates Act, 1869 after the correct official receives the written declaration?

Q3.Under Section 31 of The Oudh Estates Act, 1869, what formal requirement must be met for the written declaration to be valid?

Q4.What is the legal consequence for an estate after the process in Section 31 of The Oudh Estates Act, 1869 is completed?

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