Sections 169-170 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.
When a will gives a house that carries rent or land that carries revenue, or shares that carry calls, the legatee and the estate have to share the cost somehow. Sections 169 and 170 draw the line at the day of the testator's death: what had fallen due or accrued up to then is the estate's burden, and what comes due afterwards is the legatee's, for shares.
As per the text of the Act consulted, where a bequest is of any interest in immovable property on which a payment in the nature of land-revenue or rent has to be made periodically, the estate makes good those payments, or a proportion of them, up to the day of the testator's death (s.169). Where there is a specific bequest of stock in a joint-stock company, in the absence of any direction in the will, a call or other payment due at the testator's death is borne by the estate, but a call or payment that becomes due after the death is borne by the legatee, if he accepts the bequest (s.170).
Section 169: periodical land-revenue or rent
Section 169 says that where there is a bequest of any interest in immovable property in respect of which payment in the nature of land-revenue or in the nature of rent has to be made periodically, the estate of the testator shall (as between such estate and the legatee) make good such payments or a proportion of them, as the case may be, up to the day of his death.
The Act's illustration: A bequeaths to B a house, in respect of which 365 rupees are payable annually by way of rent. A pays his rent at the usual time and dies 25 days after. A's estate will make good 25 rupees in respect of the rent.
The arithmetic follows the day-by-day idea: 365 rupees for a year is one rupee a day, and 25 days' worth is 25 rupees. The text prints the result and the figures; the one-rupee-a-day step is only a way of reading them.
This section works with the Explanation to section 167, which says a periodical payment in the nature of land-revenue or rent is not an incumbrance of the kind that makes the legatee liable. See our article on sections 167 and 168. Section 169 is the positive rule: the estate bears the proportion up to the day of death.
If you are an executor and the property in a will is a leasehold or a tenanted house, a legal consultation can help you work out what the estate must bear.
Section 170: calls on shares in a joint-stock company
Section 170 applies "in the absence of any direction in the Will". Where there is a specific bequest of stock in a joint-stock company:
- If any call or other payment is due from the testator at the time of his death in respect of the stock, it is borne by the estate.
- If any call or other payment becomes due after the testator's death, it is borne by the legatee, if he accepts the bequest.
The key word is "due". The date that matters is whether the call was already due at the death, not the date when the call was made or announced; illustration (v) below shows an instalment case.
The Act's five illustrations to section 170
| No. | Facts | Result |
|---|---|---|
| (i) | A bequeaths to B his shares in a certain railway. At A's death 100 rupees was due on each share as a call duly made, and five rupees on each share as interest accrued on the call | These payments must be borne by A's estate |
| (ii) | A has agreed to take 50 shares in an intended joint-stock company, and has contracted to pay up 100 rupees on each, which must be paid before his title to the shares is complete. He bequeaths these shares to B | A's estate must make good the payments necessary to complete A's title |
| (iii) | A bequeaths to B his shares in a certain railway. B accepts the legacy. After A's death a call is made on the shares | B must pay the call |
| (iv) | A bequeaths to B his shares in a joint-stock company. B accepts. Afterwards the company is wound up and each shareholder is called on for contribution | The contribution must be borne by the legatee |
| (v) | A owns ten shares in a railway company. In his lifetime a call of fifty rupees per share is made, payable in three instalments. He bequeaths the shares to B and dies between the day fixed for the first instalment and the day fixed for the second, without having paid the first | A's estate must pay the first instalment; B, if he accepts the legacy, must pay the remaining instalments |
What the illustrations show
- Illustrations (i) and (v) show the line at the date of death for calls that were already due: the estate pays what had fallen due, and the legatee pays what falls due later.
- Illustration (ii) links to section 168, completing the testator's title at the cost of the estate.
- Illustrations (iii) and (iv) show the other side: calls made after the death, including a winding-up contribution, fall on a legatee who accepts.
For a shareholder who dies with shares in a company, the process of moving the shares to the heirs is a separate matter; see our guide on how to transmit shares on the death of a shareholder.
Examples with invented names
Rent. Shilpa's will gives her son a shop on which an annual rent is payable. She pays the year's rent and dies a few weeks later. Reading section 169 with the Act's illustration (a house with a yearly rent of 365 rupees and a death 25 days after payment, where the estate makes good 25 rupees), the estate makes good the rent for the days up to her death.
Call already due. Tahir's will gives his shares in a company to his friend Uma. A call was due on 1 March; Tahir died on 15 March without paying. Under section 170 the call due at death is borne by the estate.
Call after death. The company makes a fresh call on 1 June, after Tahir's death. If Uma accepts the bequest, section 170 puts the new call on her.
Where the sections apply
Schedule III lists sections 169 and 170 among the sections of Part VI that section 57 applies to the wills and codicils of Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jainas described there. Section 58 as printed says Part VI does not apply to the testamentary succession to the property of any Muhammadan. See our article on wills of Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jainas and Schedule III. The print consulted shows amendments only up to the Indian Succession (Amendment) Act, 2002 (26 of 2002); check for later amendments.
Need help with shares or tenanted property in an estate?
When a will leaves shares or rented property, the question of who pays what up to the day of death should be settled before the legatee accepts. You can start with a legal consultation.
Key takeaways
- The estate makes good periodical land-revenue or rent payments, or a proportion, up to the day of death (s.169).
- For specifically bequeathed stock, calls due at death are the estate's burden (s.170).
- Calls that fall due after death are borne by the legatee who accepts (s.170).
- A direction in the will can change the position; the sections apply in the absence of a direction (s.170).
Read next
- Sections 167 and 168: pledge or incumbrance on the thing bequeathed
- Sections 171 and 172: bequest in general terms and bequest of interest of a fund
- How to transmit shares on the death of a shareholder
- Sections 143 to 149: specific bequests of stock, money and articles
Disclaimer: Based on an unofficial print of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 showing amendments up to the Indian Succession (Amendment) Act, 2002 (26 of 2002), as consulted on 2 October 2026. It explains the words of the statute only; later amendments, State amendments and rules, court fees and the way courts apply these sections should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.