Date of vesting when legacy contingent upon specified uncertain event
Section 120 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 deals with date of vesting when legacy contingent upon specified uncertain event. A legacy bequeathed in case a specified uncertain event shall happen does not vest until that event happens. The Act came into force on 30 Sep 1925.
(1) A legacy bequeathed in case a specified uncertain event shall happen does not vest until that event happens.
(2) A legacy bequeathed in case a specified uncertain event shall not happen does not vest until the happening of that event becomes impossible.
(3) In either case, until the condition has been fulfilled, the interest of the legatee is called contingent.
Exception.--Where a fund is bequeathed to any person upon his attaining a particular age, and the will also gives to him absolutely the income to arise from the fund before he reaches that age, or directs the income, or so much of it as may be necessary, to be applied for his benefit, the bequest of the fund is not contingent.
Illustrations
(i) A legacy is bequeathed to D in case A, B and C shall all die under the age of 18. D has a contingent interest in the legacy until A, B and C all die under 18, or one of them attains that age.
(ii) A sum of money is bequeathed to A "in case he shall attain the age of 18," or "when he shall attain the age of 18". A's interest in the legacy is contingent until the condition is fulfilled by his attaining that age.
(iii) An estate is bequeathed to A for life, and after his death to B if B shall then be living; but if B shall not be then living to C. A, B and C survive the testator. B and C each take a contingent interest in the estate until the event which is to vest it in one, or in the other has happened.
(iv) An estate is bequeathed as in the case last supposed. B dies in the lifetime of A and C. Upon the death of B, C acquires a vested right to obtain possession of the estate upon A's death.
(v) A legacy is bequeathed to A when she shall attain the age of 18, or shall marry under that age with the consent of B, with a proviso that, if she neither attains 18 nor marries under that age with B's consent, the legacy shall go to C. A and C each take a contingent interest in the legacy. A attains the age of 18. A becomes absolutely entitled to the legacy although she may have married under 18 without the consent of B.
(vi) An estate is bequeathed to A until he shall marry and after that event to B. B's interest in the bequest is contingent until the condition is fulfilled by A's marrying.
(vii) An estate is bequeathed to A until he shall take advantage of any law for the relief of insolvent debtors, and after that event to B. B's interest in the bequest is contingent until A takes advantage of such a law.
(viii) An estate is bequeathed to A if he shall pay 500 rupees to B. A's interest in the bequest is contingent until he has paid 500 rupees to B.
(ix) A leaves his farm of Sultanpur Khurd to B, if B shall convey his own farm of Sultanpur Buzurg to C. B's interest in the bequest is contingent until he has conveyed the latter farm to C.
(x) A fund is bequeathed to A if B shall not marry C within five years after the testator's death. A's interest in the legacy is contingent until the condition is fulfilled by the expiration of the five years without B's having married C, or by the occurrence within that period of an event which makes the fulfilment of the condition impossible.
(xi) A fund is bequeathed to A if B shall not make any provision for him by will. The legacy is contingent until B's death.
(xii) A bequeaths of B 500 rupees a year upon his attaining the age of 18, and directs that the interest, or a competent part thereof, shall be applied for his benefit until he reaches that age. The legacy is vested.
(xiii) A bequeaths to B 500 rupees when he shall attain the age of 18 and directs that a certain sum, out of another fund, shall be applied for his maintenance until he arrives at that age. The legacy is contingent.
Section 120, The Indian Succession Act, 1925 (Act 39 of 1925).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
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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Usha Subbarao vs B. E. Vishveswariah
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where a testator makes a bequest of property to his sons with postponement of enjoyment and partition but directs that the income from the properties be applied for the benefit of the sons and their mother, and the sons are under an obligation to maintain their mother, the bequest constitutes a vested interest in the sons on the testator's death, not a contingent interest. The vesting of the interest is not defeated by the postponement of enjoyment or partition, and the interest passes to the legal representatives of a son who dies before the time of enjoyment. The presumption in favor of early vesting of testamentary gifts applies, and the court should not infer an intention to create a contingent interest unless such intention is definite and clear from the terms of the Will.
On this section: Provides that a legacy bequeathed in case a specified uncertain event shall happen does not vest until that event happens. The Court used this section to distinguish contingent bequests from the vested bequest in the Will.
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 120
What have the courts held on Section 120 of the Indian Succession Act?
Usha Subbarao vs B. E. Vishveswariah (08 Jul 1996) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Provides that a legacy bequeathed in case a specified uncertain event shall happen does not vest until that event happens. The Court used this section to distinguish contingent bequests from the vested bequest in the Will.
How do I find court cases under Section 120 of the Indian Succession 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: Succession Act 120, section 120 Succession Act, section 120 of the Indian Succession Act. People searching for it also type section 120 indian succession act. 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 Usha Subbarao vs B. E. Vishveswariah (08 Jul 1996).
What should I read with Section 120 of the Indian Succession Act, and has it changed?
2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When did Section 120 of the Indian Succession Act come into force?
Section 120 of the Indian Succession Act, cited as Succession Act 120, came into force on 30 Sep 1925, having been enacted on 30 Sep 1925. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 111. Survivorship in case of bequest to described class652 words
- 142. Specific legacy defined646 words
- 101. Rules of construction where will purports to make two bequests to same person620 words
- 113. Bequest to person not in existence at testator’s death subject to prior bequest486 words
- 114. Rule against perpetuity469 words
- 119. Date of vesting of legacy when payment or possession postponed444 words
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 17 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.