Sections 1-2 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Sections 1 and 2 are the gateway to the Act. Section 1 gives the Act its name, its start date, its territorial reach and a list of things it does not touch. Section 2 repealed older enactments named in a Schedule. Before you rely on any other section of the Act for a family or private trust, it helps to check these two. If you are unsure whether the Act reaches your arrangement, our legal consultation team can look at the documents with you.
Section 1 says the Act "may be called the Indian Trusts Act, 1882" and that it came into force on 1 March 1882. It then says that nothing in it affects the rules of Mohammedan law as to Waqf or the mutual relations of members of an undivided family, and does not apply to public or private religious or charitable endowments or to trusts to distribute prizes taken in war. It also says Chapter II does not apply to trusts created before that day. Section 2 is a repeal clause and is now spent.
The text of section 1
The first limb is the title and commencement: "This Act may be called the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, and it shall come into force on the first day of March, 1882."
The second limb deals with local extent. As printed in the scanned copy, the Act "extends to the whole of India" and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with a power for the Central Government to extend it to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands or any part of them by notification in the Official Gazette. The OCR of this sentence is cluttered with footnote markers and the exact wording of the Andaman and Nicobar part should be checked in the official text. The footnotes in our source state that the words "except the State of Jammu and Kashmir" were omitted by Act 34 of 2019 with effect from 31-10-2019.
The savings clause
The third limb is the one readers meet most often. The section says: "nothing herein contained affects the rules of Mohammedan law as to Waqf, or the mutual relations of the members of an undivided family as determined by any customary or personal law, or applies to public or private religious or charitable endowments, or to trusts to distribute prizes taken in war among the captors; and nothing in the Second Chapter of this Act applies to trusts created before the said day."
| Item | What section 1 says |
|---|---|
| Waqf | The rules of Mohammedan law as to Waqf are not affected |
| Undivided family | The mutual relations of members of an undivided family, as decided by any customary or personal law, are not affected |
| Religious or charitable endowments | The Act does not apply to public or private religious or charitable endowments |
| Prize trusts | The Act does not apply to trusts to distribute prizes taken in war among the captors |
| Older trusts | Nothing in Chapter II (creation of trusts) applies to trusts created before 1 March 1882 |
What this means for private trusts
The Act is a law about private trusts: an owner of property hands it to a trustee to hold for named people. A public charitable or religious trust is outside this Act, and is governed by other laws such as State public trusts Acts. Our article on private trust vs public trust sets out how the two kinds differ.
Two points of reading are worth stating carefully:
- The exclusions are about what the Act does not affect or apply to. They do not say that a trust for family members is invalid; they say the Act is not the source of rules for the listed areas.
- The family exclusion is narrow. It speaks of the "mutual relations of the members of an undivided family" under customary or personal law. A trust created by a parent for children in the ordinary way, with a deed, a trustee and named beneficiaries, is a different thing from those mutual relations, though the facts of each case should be checked with a professional.
Section 2: repeal of enactments
Section 2 reads: "The Statute and Acts mentioned in the Schedule hereto annexed shall, to the extent mentioned in the said Schedule, be repealed in the territories to which this Act for the time being extends." The Schedule sits at the end of the Act and lists the older enactments and the extent of repeal. It matters for legal history and not for day-to-day trust planning today. This article does not reproduce the Schedule. The text gives no illustrations under either section.
A modern example of our own
Meera Nair wants to set up a family trust so that a flat in Pune is held for her two children's education. Before drafting, she asks whether the Indian Trusts Act applies. The flat is ordinary property; the beneficiaries are her children; there is no religious or charitable purpose. On the text of section 1, none of the listed exclusions is in play, so the Act is the natural source of the default rules on trustees' duties and powers, which the deed can then adjust where the Act allows.
Compare Rohan Kapoor, who dedicates a plot to run a dispensary open to the public without charge. That is a public charitable purpose. Section 1 says the Act does not apply to public charitable endowments, so the rules for that arrangement must be looked for in the State public trusts law and the other laws that govern it, not in this Act.
What the instrument of trust can change
Sections 1 and 2 do not contain wording such as "subject to the instrument of trust". They are statements about the reach of the Act, and a trust deed cannot enlarge or narrow that reach. What a deed can do is adjust the rules in later sections that are expressly made subject to the instrument. Those are covered in the sections that follow in this series.
Practical points
- Settlors: confirm at the start that your purpose is private. Mixing a private family benefit with a public charitable object can raise questions about which law governs, and should be reviewed by a professional.
- Trustees of older trusts: if a trust was created before 1 March 1882, section 1 says Chapter II of the Act does not apply to it.
- Students: remember that the Act's own text carries the exclusions; do not read "private trust only" into the Act from outside commentary alone.
- Tax: the tax position of a trust is a separate subject; see our income-tax guides, for example taxation of trust in India.
Need help deciding which law governs your trust?
If you are not sure whether your arrangement is a private trust under this Act or a public, charitable or religious one, our legal consultation service can review the facts and the draft deed. Bring the deed, a list of the property and a note of who is to benefit.
Key takeaways
- The Act is called the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 and came into force on 1 March 1882 (s.1).
- It does not affect Mohammedan law on Waqf or the mutual relations of members of an undivided family, and does not apply to public or private religious or charitable endowments or to war-prize trusts (s.1).
- Chapter II does not apply to trusts created before 1 March 1882 (s.1).
- Section 2 repealed the enactments in the Schedule to the extent stated there and is spent.
- The Act deals with private trusts; public, charitable and religious trusts are governed by other laws.
Read next
- Section 4: lawful purpose of a trust
- Section 7: who may create a trust
- Introduction to the Indian Trusts Act 1882
- Definition and creation of trust: section 3
Disclaimer: Based on the text of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 as consulted on 1 October 2026 from a scanned copy; the Act applies to private trusts, and public, charitable and religious trusts are governed by other laws. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text and take advice before acting.