Sections 291-292 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 person is given letters of administration, the Act asks for a promise backed by sureties that the estate will be collected and administered properly. That promise is the administration bond. Section 291 says who gives it and to whom, and s.292 lets the Court assign the bond to someone else if its engagement has not been kept. This article explains both, as per the text of the Act consulted.
Every person to whom letters of administration are committed, other than a grant under s.241, must give a bond to the District Judge with one or more sureties, engaging for the due collection, getting in and administering of the estate (s.291(1)). Where the deceased was a Hindu, Muhammadan, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina or an exempted person, the s.241 exception does not operate and the Judge may demand a like bond from a person to whom probate is granted (s.291(2)). Under s.292 the Court may assign the bond to another person if its engagement has not been kept.
Section 291(1): the bond and who gives it
Section 291(1) says that every person to whom any grant of letters of administration is committed, other than a grant under section 241, shall give a bond to the District Judge. The bond has three features in the text:
- It is given with one or more surety or sureties.
- It engages for the due collection, getting in, and administering of the estate of the deceased.
- It is in such form as the Judge may, by general or special order, direct.
The text prints no amount for the bond and no list of who may stand surety. It leaves the form to the Judge's order. So, the shape of the bond in any given case depends on what the Judge directs; the Act does not fix it.
Section 241 itself falls in Chapter II of Part IX (limited grants), and this article does not explain it. The point to take from s.291(1) is only that a grant under that section is outside the bond requirement, except as s.291(2) provides.
For help understanding what a bond demands from you or your guarantors, you can speak to us about legal consultation on administration and estate matters.
Section 291(2): the Hindu, Muhammadan, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina deceased and the exempted person
Section 291(2) deals with a class of cases defined by the deceased: "When the deceased was a Hindu, Muhammadan, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina or an exempted person". For that class, two things follow:
- The exception made by sub-section (1) in respect of a grant under section 241 does not operate. In other words, the bond requirement applies to a grant under s.241 as well.
- The District Judge may demand a like bond from any person to whom probate is granted.
Point 2 is permissive ("may"). It does not say that every executor in such a case must give a bond. It says the Judge has the power to ask for one.
An "exempted person" is a term defined in s.3 as a person belonging to a race, sect or tribe the State Government has exempted by notification from certain sections. The notification itself is not printed in the text and should be checked.
Section 292: assignment of the administration bond
Section 292 gives the Court a remedy where the bond's engagement is broken. The Court may, on application made by petition and on being satisfied that the engagement of the bond has not been kept, assign the bond to some person. The assignment can be:
- on such terms as to security as the Court thinks fit, or
- on terms providing that the money received be paid into Court, or
- otherwise as the Court thinks fit.
The assignee may be "some person, his executors or administrators". Once the bond is assigned, three consequences are printed:
- The assignee is entitled to sue on the bond in his or their own name or names, as if it had been originally given to him or them instead of to the Judge.
- He is entitled to recover on it the full amount recoverable in respect of any breach.
- He recovers "as trustees for all persons interested".
An invented example
Rahul is granted letters of administration to the estate of his uncle, and gives a bond with two sureties. Two years later, a nephew claiming an interest petitions the Court, saying that Rahul has not kept the engagement of the bond. If the Court is satisfied that it has not been kept, the text allows it to assign the bond to a suitable person on terms it thinks fit; that person may then sue on the bond in his own name and recover, as trustee for all persons interested, the full amount recoverable for the breach.
| Point | Section 291 | Section 292 |
|---|---|---|
| Who acts | The person given letters of administration; the District Judge | The Court, on petition |
| What | Bond with one or more sureties for due collection and administration | Assignment of the bond to another person |
| Trigger | A grant of letters of administration (other than s.241, subject to s.291(2)) | The Court is satisfied that the engagement has not been kept |
| Result | Bond in the form the Judge directs | Assignee may sue in his own name and recover as trustee for all interested |
Practical points
- Read the Judge's order. The form of the bond depends on a general or special order of the District Judge, so the order is the document that matters.
- Sureties are part of the text. The bond is given "with one or more surety or sureties"; a person who stands as surety should read what the bond engages for.
- Breach is a Court question. Section 292 asks the Court to be satisfied that the engagement has not been kept; it does not say who judges it other than the Court.
- Costs. The text prints no stamp duty or fee for the bond. Stamp duty on a different kind of bond is covered in our stamp duty on indemnity bond guide; check the rules that apply to your document.
For the administrator's later duties of inventory and account, see our article on sections 316 to 318. Later amendments to these sections, if any, are not shown in the text consulted, and the current law should be checked.
Need help with an administration bond?
If you are an administrator, a surety or a person with an interest in the estate who thinks a bond has been broken, we can explain the position and the next step. Begin with our legal consultation service.
Key takeaways
- An administrator gives a bond to the District Judge with one or more sureties (s.291(1)).
- The bond engages for the due collection, getting in and administering of the estate, in a form the Judge directs.
- For the classes of deceased named in s.291(2), the s.241 exception does not operate and the Judge may demand a like bond from a person given probate.
- The Court may assign the bond when its engagement has not been kept, and the assignee recovers as trustee for all persons interested (s.292).
Read next
- Sections 289-290: grant under seal and the forms of probate and letters of administration
- Sections 293-298: time for grant, contentious cases and revoked grants
- Sections 316-318: funeral, inventory and account of the estate
- Executor duties under a will: probate, inventory and distribution
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.