Appointment of new trustees on death, etc
Section 73 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 deals with appointment of new trustees on death, etc. Whenever any person appointed a trustee disclaims, or any trustee, either original or substituted, dies, or is for a continuous period of six months absent from [India], or leaves [India] for the purpose of residing abroad, or is declared an insolvent, or desires to be discharged from the trust, or The Act came into force on 01 Mar 1882.
Whenever any person appointed a trustee disclaims, or any trustee, either original or substituted, dies, or is for a continuous period of six months absent from 1[India], or leaves 1[India] for the purpose of residing abroad, or is declared an insolvent, or desires to be discharged from the trust, or refuses or becomes, in the opinion of a principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction, unfit or personally incapable to act in the trust, or accepts an inconsistent trust, a new trustee may be appointed in his place by--
(a) the person nominated for that purpose by the instrument of trust (if any), or
(b) if there be no such person, or no such person able and willing to act, the author of the trust if he be alive and competent to contract, or the surviving or continuing trustees or trustee for the time being, or legal representative of the last surviving and continuing trustee, or (with the consent of the Court) the retiring trustees, if they all retire simultaneously, or (with the like consent) the last retiring trustee.
Every such appointment shall be by writing under the hand of the person making it. On an appointment of a new trustee the number of trustees may be increased.
The Official Trustee may, with his consent and by the order of the Court, be appointed under this section, in any case in which only one trustee is to be appointed and such trustee is to be the sole trustee.
The provisions of this section relative to a trustee who is dead include the case of a person nominated trustee in a will but dying before the testator, and those relative to a continuing trustee include a refusing or retiring trustee if willing to act in the execution of the power.
Section 73, The Indian Trusts Act, 1882 (Act 2 of 1882).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Referred to by 7
- Andhra Pradesh Court-fees and Suits Valuation Act s. 79 Repeal and saving
- Gujarat Court-fees Act s. 51
- s. 74 Appointment by Court
- s. 75 Vesting of trust-property in new trustees
- Karnataka Court-Fee and Suits Valuation Act s. 79 Repeal and savings
- Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1959 (No.10 of 1960) s. 87 Repeal
- Puducherry Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act s. 72 Repeal and saving
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Krishna Kumar Birla vs Rajendra Singh Lodha
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
To sustain a caveat, a caveatable interest must be shown. The test required to be applied is: does the claim of grant of probate prejudice the caveator's right because it defeats some other line of succession in terms whereof the caveator asserts his right. A fundamental characteristic of probate proceedings is that whatever would be the interest of the testator, the same must be accepted and the rules laid down must be followed. Consequently, any person questioning the existence of title in respect of the estate or the capacity of the testator to dispose of the property by will on grounds outside the law of succession would be a stranger to the probate proceeding, inasmuch as none of such rights can effectively be adjudicated therein. A caveatable interest is an interest in the estate of the deceased to which the caveator would otherwise be entitled, subject to having a special interest therein. After coming into force of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the concept of reversioner, agnate, and cognate interest in succession has been fundamentally altered. Only heirs specified in Classes I and II under the Act can claim succession. Distant relatives, family members, and executors of an earlier unprobated will do not have caveatable interest in the estate unless they are named as beneficiaries or have direct stake in the distribution. The existence of mutual wills or filing of suit to enforce mutual wills does not create caveatable interest in the original probate proceedings; such enforcement is remedy in equity through specific performance, not in probate court. A later will, even if in breach of mutual will agreement, is valid and probatable as probate court is concerned only with last will of testator.
On this section: Allows appointment of new trustee when original trustee dies or disclaims. Applicable only when trustee relationship is established. Not applicable to fill executor vacancy when original executor never assumed office.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 73
What have the courts held on Section 73 of the Indian Trusts Act?
Krishna Kumar Birla vs Rajendra Singh Lodha (31 Mar 2008) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Allows appointment of new trustee when original trustee dies or disclaims. Applicable only when trustee relationship is established. Not applicable to fill executor vacancy when original executor never assumed office.
How do I find court cases under Section 73 of the Indian Trusts Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Indian Trusts Act 1882 73, section 73 Indian Trusts Act 1882, section 73 of the Indian Trusts Act. People searching for it also type indian trust act section 73. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Krishna Kumar Birla vs Rajendra Singh Lodha (31 Mar 2008).
What should I read with Section 73 of the Indian Trusts Act, and has it changed?
7 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When did Section 73 of the Indian Trusts Act come into force?
Section 73 of the Indian Trusts Act, cited as Indian Trusts Act 1882 73, came into force on 01 Mar 1882, having been enacted on 13 Jan 1882. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.