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2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-

(a) "administrator" means a person appointed by competent authority to administer the estate of a deceased person when there is no executor;

(b) "codicil" means an instrument made in relation to a will and explaining, altering or adding to its dispositions, and shall be deemed to form part of the will;

1[(bb) "District Judge" means the Judge of a principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction;]

(c) "executor" means a person to whom the execution of the last will of a deceased person is, by the testator's appointment, confided;

(d) "Bangladesh Christian" means a citizen of Bangladesh who is, or in good faith claims to be, of unmixed Asiatic descent and who professes any form of the Christian religion;

(e) "minor" means any person subject to the Majority Act, 1875, who has not attained his majority within the meaning of that Act, and any other person who has not completed the age of eighteen years; and "minority" means the status of any such person;

(f) "probate" means the copy of a will certified under the seal of a Court of competent jurisdiction with a grant of administration to the estate of the testator;

2[* * *]

(h) "will" means the legal declaration of the intention of a testator with respect to his property which he desires to be carried into effect after his death.

3. (1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, either retrospectively from the sixteenth day of March, 1865, or prospectively, exempt from the operation of any of the following provisions of this Act, namely, sections 5 to 49, 58 to 191, 212, 213 and 215 to 369, the members of any race, sect or tribe 1[* * *], or of any part of such race, sect or tribe, to whom the Government considers it impossible or inexpedient to apply such provisions or any of them mentioned in the order.

(2) The Government may, by a like notification, revoke any such order, but not so that the revocation shall have retrospective effect.

2[(3) Persons exempted under this section are referred to as "exempted persons".]

14. The domicile of a minor follows the domicile of the parent from whom he derived his domicile of origin.

Exception.-The domicile of a minor does not change with that of his parent, if the minor is married, or holds any office or employment in the service of 1[the Republic], or has set up, with the consent of the parent, in any distinct business.

4. This Part shall not apply if the deceased was a Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina.

5.(1) Succession to the immoveable property in Bangladesh of a person deceased shall be regulated by the law of Bangladesh, wherever such person may have had his domicile at the time of his death.

6. A person can have only one domicile for the purpose of the succession to his moveable property.

7. The domicile of origin of every person of legitimate birth is in the country in which at the time of his birth his father was domiciled; or, if he is a posthumous child, in the country in which his father was domiciled at the time of the father's death.

At the time of the birth of A, his father was domiciled in England, A's domicile of origin is in England, whatever may be the country in which he was born.

8. The domicile of origin of an illegitimate child is in the country in which, at the time of his birth, his mother was domiciled.

9. The domicile of origin prevails until a new domicile has been acquired.

10. A man acquires a new domicile by taking up his fixed habitation in a country which is not that of this domicile of origin.

Explanation- A man is not to be deemed to have taken up his fixed habitation in Bangladesh merely by reason of his residing there in the civil, military, naval or air force service of Bangladesh or in the exercise of any profession or calling.

11. Any person may acquire a domicile in Bangladesh, by making and depositing in some office in Bangladesh, appointed in this behalf by the Government, a declaration in writing under his hand of his desire to acquire such domicile; provided that he has been resident in Bangladesh for one year immediately preceding the time of his making such declaration.

12. A person who is appointed by the Government of one country to be its ambassador, consul or other representative in another country does not acquire a domicile in the latter country by reason only of residing there in pursuance of his appointment; nor does any other person acquire such domicile by reason only of residing with such first-mentioned person as part of his family, or as a servant.

14. The domicile of a minor follows the domicile of the parent from whom he derived his domicile of origin.

Exception.-The domicile of a minor does not change with that of his parent, if the minor is married, or holds any office or employment in the service of 1[the Republic], or has set up, with the consent of the parent, in any distinct business.

15. By marriage a woman acquires the domicile of her husband, if she had not the same domicile before.

16. A wife's domicile during her marriage follows the domicile of her husband. 

Exception.-The wife's domicile no longer follows that of her husband if they are separated by the sentence of a competent Court, or if the husband is undergoing a sentence of transportation.

17. Save as hereinbefore otherwise provided in this Part, a person cannot, during minority, acquire a new domicile.

18. An insane person cannot acquire a new domicile in any other way than by his domicile following the domicile of another person.

19. If a person dies leaving moveable property in Bangladesh, in the absence of proof of any domicile elsewhere, succession to the property is regulated by the law of Bangladesh.

21. If a person whose domicile is not in Bangladesh marries in Bangladesh, a person whose domicile is in Bangladesh, neither party acquires by the marriage any rights in respect of any property of the other party not comprised in a settlement made previous to the marriage, which he or she would not acquire thereby if both were domiciled in Bangladesh at the time of the marriage.

22. The property of a minor may be settled in contemplation of marriage, provided the settlement is made by the minor with the approbation of the minor's father, or, if the father is dead or absent from Bangladesh, with the approbation of the High Court Division.

(2) Nothing in this section or in section 21 shall apply to any will made or intestacy occurring before the first day of January, 1866, or to intestate or testamentary succession to the property of any Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina.

23. Nothing in this Part shall apply to any will made or intestacy occurring before the first day of January, 1866, or to intestate or testamentary succession to the property of any Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jaina or Parsi.

24. Kindred or consanguinity is the connection or relation of persons descended from the same stock or common ancestor.

25. (1) Lineal consanguinity is that which subsists between two persons, one of whom is descended in a direct line from the other, as between a man and his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, and so upwards in the direct ascending line; or between a man and his son, grandson, great-grandson and so downwards in the direct descending line.

28. Degrees of kindred are computed in the manner set forth in the table of kindred set out in Schedule I.

Illustrations

(i) The person whose relatives are to be reckoned, and his cousin-german, or first cousin, are, as shown in the table, related in the fourth degree; there being one degree of ascent to the father and another to the common ancestor, the grandfather; and from him one of descent to the uncle, and another to the cousin-german, making in all four degrees.

(ii) A grandson of the brother and a son of the uncle, i.e., a great nephew and a cousin-german, are in equal degree being each four degrees removed.

(iii) A grandson of a cousin-german is in the same degree as the grandson of a great-uncle, for they are both in the sixth degree of kindred.

31. Nothing in this Chapter shall apply to Parsis.

33. Where the intestate has left a widow-

(a) if he has also left any lineal descendants, one-third of his property shall belong to his widow, and the remaining two-thirds shall go to his lineal descendants, according to the rules hereinafter contained;

(b) save as provided by section 33A, if he has left no lineal descendant, but has left persons who are of kindred to him, one-half of his property shall belong to his widow, and the other half shall go to those who are of kindred to him, in the order and according to the rules hereinafter contained;

(c) if he has left none who are of kindred to him, the whole of his property shall belong to his widow.

1[33A. (1) Where the intestate has left a widow but no lineal descendants and the net value of his property does not exceed five thousand Taka the whole of his property shall belong to the widow.

(2) Where the net value of the property exceeds the sum of five thousand Taka, the widow shall be entitled to five thousand Taka thereof and shall have a charge upon the whole of such property for such sum of five thousand Taka, with interest thereon from the date of the death of the intestate at 4 per cent, per annuam until payment.

(3) The provision for the widow made by this section shall be in addition and without prejudice to her interest and share in the residue of the estate of such intestate remaining after payment of the said sum of five thousand Taka, with interest asaforesaid, and such residue shall be distributed in accordance with the provisions of section 33 as if it were the whole of such intestate's property.

(4) The net value of the property shall be ascertained by deducting from the gross value thereof all debts, and all funeral and administration expenses of the intestate, and all other lawful liabilities and charges to which the property shall be subject.

(5) This section shall not apply-

(a) to the property of-

(i) any Bangladesh Christian,

(ii) any child or grandchild of any male person who is or was at the time of his death a Bangladesh Christian, or

(iii) any person professing the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion the succession to whose property is, under section 24 of the Special Marriage Act, 1872, regulated by the provisions of this Act;

(b) unless the deceased dies intestate in respect of all his property.]

34. Where the intestate has left no widow, his property shall go to his lineal descendants or to those who are of kindred to him, not being lineal descendants, according to the rules hereinafter contained; and, if he has left none who are of kindred to him, it shall go to the Government.

35. A husband surviving his wife has the same rights in respect of her property, if she dies intestate, as a widow has in respect of her husband's property, if he dies intestate.

Distribution where there are lineal descendants

37. Where the intestate has left surviving him a child or children, but no more remote lineal descendant through a deceased child, the property shall belong to his surviving child, if there is only one, or shall be equally divided among all his surviving children.

38. Where the intestate has not left surviving him any child, but has left a grandchild or grandchildren and no more remote descendant through a deceased grandchild, the property shall belong to his surviving grandchild if there is only one, or shall be equally divided among all his surviving grandchildren.

Illustrations

(i) A has three children, and no more, John, Mary, and Henry. They all die before the father, John leaving two children, Mary three and Henry four. Afterwards A dies intestate, leaving those nine grandchildren and no descendant of any deceased grandchild. Each of his grandchildren will have one ninth.

(ii) But if Henry has died, leaving no child, then the whole is equally divided between the intestate's five grandchildren, the children of John and Mary.

39. In like manner the property shall go to the surviving lineal descendants who are nearest in degree to the intestate, where they are all in the degree of great-grandchildren to him, or are all in a more remote degree.

40. (1) If the intestate has left lineal descendants who do not all stand in the same degree of kindred to him, and the persons through whom the more remote are descended from him are dead, the property shall be divided into such a number of equal shares as may correspond with the number of the lineal descendants of the intestate who either stood in the nearest degree of kindred to him at his decease, or, having been of the like degree of kindred to him, died before him, leaving lineal descendants who survived him.

(2) One of such shares shall be allotted to each of the lineal descendants who stood in the nearest degree of kindred to the intestate at his decease; and one of such shares shall be allotted

in respect of each of such deceased lineal descendants; and

the share allotted in respect of each of such deceased

lineal descendants shall belong to his surviving child or children or more remote lineal descendants, as the case may be; such surviving child or children or more remote lineal descendants always taking the share which his or their parent or parents would have been entitled to respectively if such parent or parents had survived the intestate.

Illustrations

(i) A had three children, Jhon, Mary and Henry; John died, leaving four children, and Mary died, leaving one, and Henry alone survived the father. On the death of A, intestate, one-third is allotted to Henry, one-third to John's four children and the remaining third to Mary's one child.

(ii) A left no child, but left eight grandchildren, and two children of a deceased grandchild. The property is divided into nine parts, one of which is allotted to each grandchild, and the remaining one-ninth is equally divided between the two great-granchildren.

(iii) A has three children, John, Mary and Henry; John dies leaving four children; and one of John's children dies leaving two children. Mary dies leaving one child. A afterwards dies intestate. One-third of his property is allotted to Henry, one-third to Mary's child, and one-third is divided into four parts, one of which is allotted to each of John's three surviving children, and the remaining part is equally divided between John's two grandchildren.

(iv) A has two children, and no more; John and Mary. John dies before his father, leaving his wife pregnant. Then A dies leaving Mary surviving him and in due time a child of John is born. A's property is to be equally divided between Mary and the posthumous child.

Distribution where there are no lineal descendants

41. Where an intestate has left no lineal descendants, the rules for the distribution of his property (after deducting the widow's share, if he has left a widow shall be those contained in sections 42 to 48.

42. If the intestate's father is living, he shall succeed to the property.

43. If the intestate's father is dead, but the intestate's mother living and there are also brothers or sisters of the intestate living, and there is no child living of any deceased brother or sister, the mother and each living brother or sister shall succeed to the property in equal shares.

Illustration

A dies intestate survived by his mother and two brothers of the full blood, John and Henry, and a sister Mary, who is the daughter of his mother but not of his father. The mother takes one-fourth, each brother takes one-fourth and Mary, the sister of half blood, takes one-fourth.

44. If the intestate's father is dead, but the intestate's mother is living, and if any brother or sister and the child or children of any brother or sister who may have died in the intestate's lifetime are also living, then the mother and each living brother or sister, and the living child or children or each deceased brother or sister, shall be entitled to the property in equal shares, such children (if more than one) taking in equal shares only the shares which their respective parents would have taken if living at the intestate's death.

Illustration

A, the intestate, leaves his mother, his brothers John and Henry, and also one child of a deceased sister, Mary, and two children of George, a deceased brother of the half blood who was the son of his father but not of his mother. The mother takes one-fifth, John and Henry each takes one-fifth, the child of Mary takes one-fifth, and the two children of George divide the remaining one-fifth equally between them.

45. If the intestate's father is dead, but the intestate's mother is living, and the brothers and sisters are all dead, but all or any of them have left children who survived the intestate, the mother and the child or children of each deceased brother or sister shall be entitled to the property in equal shares, such children (if more than one) taking in equal shares only the shares which their respective parents would have taken if living at the intestate's death.

A, the intestate, leaves no brother or sister, but leaves his mother and one child of a deceased sister, Mary, and two children of a deceased brother, George. The mother takes one-third, the child of Mary takes one-third, and the children of George divide the remaining one-third equally between them.

46. If the intestate's father is dead, but the intestate's mother is living, and there is neither brother, nor sister, nor child of any brother or sister of the intestate, the property shall belong to the mother.

47. Where the intestate has left neither lineal descendant, nor father, nor mother, the property shall be divided equally between his brothers and sisters and the child or children of such of them as may have died before him, such children (if more than one) taking in equal shares only the shares which their respective parents would have taken if living at the intestate's death.

48. Where the intestate has left neither lineal descendant, nor parent, nor brother, nor sister, his property shall be divided equally among those of his relatives who are in the nearest degree of kindred to him.

Illustrations

(i) A, the intestate, has left a grandfather, and a grandmother and no other relative standing in the same or a nearer degree of kindred to him. They, being in the second degree, will be entitled to the property in equal shares, exclusive of any uncle or aunt of the intestate, uncles and aunts being only in the third degree.

(ii) A, the intestate, has left a great-grandfather, or a great-grandmother, and uncles and aunts, and no other relative standing in the same or a nearer degree of kindred to him. All of these being in the third degree will take equal shares.

(iii) A, the intestate, left a great-grandfather, an uncle and a nephew, but no relative standing in a nearer degree of kindred to him. All of these being in the third degree will take equal shares.

(iv) Ten children of one brother or sister of the intestate, and one child of another brother or sister of the intestate, constitute the class of relatives of the nearest degree of kindred to him. They will each take one-eleventh of the property.

49. Where a distributive share in the property of a person who has died intestate is claimed by a child, or any descendant of a child, of such person, no money or other property which the intestate may, during his life, have paid, given or settled to, or for the advancement of, the child by whom or by whose descendant the claim is made shall be taken into account in estimating such distributive share.

50. 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 ceased 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 a widow 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 widow of any relative of an intestate has married again in the lifetime of the intestate, she shall not be entitled to receive any share of the property of which the intestate has died intestate, and she shall be deemed not to be existing at the intestate's death.

51. (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the property of which a male Parsi dies intestate shall be divided-

(a) where he dies leaving a widow and children, among the widow and children, so that the share of each son and of the widow shall be double the share of each daughter, or

(b) where he dies leaving children but no widow, among the children, so that the share of each son shall be double the share of each daughter.

(2) Where a male Parsi dies leaving one or both parents in addition to children or a widow and children, the property of which he dies intestate shall be divided so that the father shall receive a share equal to half the share of a son and the mother shall receive a share equal to half the share of a daughter.