The Indian Succession Act, 1925

For the purpose of intestate succession among Parsis—

(a) there is no distinction between those who were actually born in the lifetime of a person deceased and those who at the date of his death were only conceived in the womb, but who have been subsequently born alive;

(b) a lineal descendant of an intestate who has died in the lifetime of the intestate without leaving a widow or widower or any lineal descendant or ¹[a widow or widower of any lineal descendant] shall not be taken into account in determining the manner in which the property of which the intestate has died intestate shall be divided; and

(c) where a ²[widow or widower of any relative] of an intestate has married again in the lifetime of the intestate, ³[such widow or widower] shall not be entitled to receive any share of the property of which the intestate has died intestate, and ³[such widow or widower] shall be deemed not to be existing at the intestate’s death.

(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the property of which a Parsi dies intestate shall he divided,—

(a) where such Parsi dies leaving a widow or widower and children, among the widow or widower, and children so that the widow or widower and each child received equal shares;

(b) where such Parsi dies leaving children, but no widow or widower, among the children in equal shares.

(2) Where a Parsi dies leaving one or both parents in addition to children or widow or widower and children, the property of which such Parsi dies intestate shall be so divided that the parent or each of the parents shall receive a share equal to half the share of each child.]

In all cases where a Paris dies leaving any lineal descendant, if any child of such intestate has died in the lifetime of the intestate, the division of the share of the property of which the intestate has died intestate which such child would have taken if living at the intestate’s death shall be in accordance with the following rules, namely:—

(a) If such deceased child was a son, his widow and children shall take shares in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter as if he had died immediately after the intestate’s death:

Provided that where such deceased son has left a widow or a widow of a lineal descendant but no lineal descendant, the residue of his share after such distribution has been made shall be divided in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter as property of which the intestate has died intestate, and in making the division of such residue the said deceased son of the intestate shall not be taken into account.

(b) If such deceased child was a daughter, her share shall be divided equally among her children.

(c) If any child of such deceased child has, also died during the lifetime of the intestate, the share which he or she would have taken if living at the intestate’s death, shall be divided in like manner in accordance with clause (a) or clause (b), as the case may be.

(d) Where a remoter lineal descendant of the intestate has died during the lifetime of the intestate, the provisions of clause (c) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the division of any share to which he or she would have been entitled if living at the intestate’s death by reason of the predecease of all the-intestate’s lineal descendants directly between him or her and the intestate.

Where a Parsi dies without leaving any lineal descendant but leaving a widow or widower or a widow or widower of a lineal descendant, the property of which the intestate dies intestate shall be divided in accordance with the following rules, namely:—

(a) if the intestate leaves a widow or widower but no widow or widower of a lineal descendant, the widow or widower shall take half the said property;

(b) if the intestate leaves a widow or widower and also a widow or widower of any lineal descendant, his widow or her widower shall receive one-third of the said property and the widow or widower of any lineal descendant shall receive another one-third or if there is more than one such widow or widower of lineal descendants, the last mentioned one-third shall be divided equally among them;

(c) if the intestate leaves no widow or widower, but one widow or widower of the lineal descendant, such widow or widower of the lineal descendant shall receive one-third of the said property or, if the intestate leaves no widow or widower but -more than one widow or widower of lineal descendants, two-thirds of the said property shall be divided among such widows or widowers of the lineal descendants in equal shares;

(d) the residue after the division specified in clause (a), or clause (b) or clause (c) has been made shall be distributed among the relatives of the intestate in the order specified in Part I of Schedule II; and the next-of-kin standing first in Part I of that Schedule shall be preferred to those standing second, the second to the third and so on in succession, provided that the property shall be so distributed that each male and female standing in the same degree of propinquity shall receive equal shares;

(e) if there are no relatives entitled to the residue under clause (d), the whole of the residue shall be distributed in proportion to the shares specified among the persons entitled to receive shares under this section.]

When a Parsi dies leaving neither lineal descendants nor a widow or widower nor ¹[a widow or widower of any lineal descendant], his or her next-of-kin, in the order set forth in Part II of Schedule II, shall be entitled to succeed to the whole of the property of which he or she dies intestate. The next-of-kin standing first in Part II of that Schedule shall be preferred to those standing second, the second to the third, and so on in succession, provided that the property shall be so distributed that ²[each male and female standing in the same degree of propinquity shall receive equal shares.]

Where there is no relative entitled to succeed under the other provisions of this Chapter to the property of which a Parsi has died intestate, the said property shall be divided equally among those of the intestate’s relatives who are in the nearest degree of kindred to him.]