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The Supreme Court has clarified that a State Government cannot use the doctrine of escheat under Section 29 of the Hindu Succession Act to challenge a will that has been validated and granted probate by a competent court. This ruling was delivered by Justices BV Nagarathna and SC Sharma while adjudicating a case involving the estate of Raja Bahadur Sardar Singh of Khetri, whose property was bequeathed to the Khetri Trust through a will executed in 1985 and upheld by the Delhi High Court.

The Court explained that the doctrine of escheat under Section 29 is only applicable when a Hindu dies intestate—without leaving a valid will or heirs under the Act. In such cases, the property may revert to the State. However, once a will has been executed and granted probate, succession is governed by the Indian Succession Act, and only heirs who would have a claim in case the will is invalid can appeal or seek revocation of probate under Section 263 of that Act.

The bench further emphasized that the government has no locus standi in probate proceedings unless and until it is established that there are absolutely no qualified heirs. Even invoking state-specific escheat regulations does not entitle the government to contest the probate of a valid will. If a probate is wrongly granted for an invalid will, only those who would otherwise inherit as per Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act can seek to revoke it—not the State.

Thus, the Supreme Court conclusively found that in cases of testamentary succession where probate has been granted, the State remains a stranger to succession proceedings, with the responsibility for fulfilling the testator’s intentions resting solely with the beneficiary trust or legatees named in the will. This judgment reinforces that Section 29 of the Act and the doctrine of escheat do not apply where a valid, probated will exists.