Section 3 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.
Section 3 is the dictionary of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Its words "agnate", "cognate", "heir", "intestate", "related", "full blood", "half blood" and "uterine blood" decide who stands where in the order of succession, so a mistake over one of them can change who inherits.
This article follows the consolidated text consulted (a third-party print; amendments shown up to Act 34 of 2019). Later amendments should be checked separately.
Section 3(1) defines the terms "unless the context otherwise requires". An agnate is related wholly through males; a cognate is related but not wholly through males; an heir is any person, male or female, entitled to succeed to the property of an intestate under the Act; and a person is deemed to die intestate in respect of property of which he or she has not made a testamentary disposition capable of taking effect. "Related" means related by legitimate kinship, with a proviso for illegitimate children. Section 3(2) is printed with an unusual wording on gender, noted below.
The definitions at a glance
Section 3(1) opens "In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires," and has clauses (a) to (j). If a definition is the sticking point in a real estate, our legal consultation team can apply it to your family tree.
| Clause | Term | Meaning as printed (shortened) |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | agnate | One person is an agnate of another if the two are related by blood or adoption wholly through males |
| (b) | aliyasantana law | The system of law applicable to persons who, if the Act had not been passed, would have been governed by the Madras Aliyasantana Act, 1949 or by the customary aliyasantana law, for matters the Act provides for |
| (c) | cognate | One person is a cognate of another if the two are related by blood or adoption but not wholly through males |
| (d) | custom, usage | A rule continuously and uniformly observed for a long time, which has obtained the force of law among Hindus in any local area, tribe, community, group or family; two provisos |
| (e) | full blood, half blood, uterine blood | See below |
| (f) | heir | Any person, male or female, entitled to succeed to the property of an intestate under the Act |
| (g) | intestate | A person is deemed to die intestate in respect of property of which he or she has not made a testamentary disposition capable of taking effect |
| (h) | marumakkattayam law | The system of law applicable to persons described in sub-clauses (a) and (b); does not include aliyasantana law |
| (i) | nambudri law | The system of law applicable to persons who, if the Act had not been passed, would have been governed by three named Acts |
| (j) | related | Related by legitimate kinship, with a proviso |
Agnate and cognate
These two words matter most because section 8 sends property, after Class I and Class II heirs, first to agnates and lastly to cognates.
- An agnate is related to the other person "by blood or adoption wholly through males". Every link in the chain must be a male. A man's father's brother's son is an agnate; the chain runs father, father's brother, his son, with a male at every step.
- A cognate is related "by blood or adoption but not wholly through males". If even one link in the chain is a female, the relative is a cognate. A man's sister's son is a cognate: the chain passes through a sister.
Note the words "or adoption": the relationship can be by blood or by adoption. Our article on the registration of adoption deeds deals with the paperwork of adoption; it is not needed to read section 3.
The examples above are invented for this article and apply only the printed definition.
Full blood, half blood and uterine blood
Clause (e) is printed as: full blood "half blood" and "uterine blood". The quotation marks in the heading of the clause are broken in the copy and are quoted as printed.
- Full blood: two persons are related by full blood "when they are descended from a common ancestor by the same wife".
- Half blood: they are related by half blood "when they are descended from a common ancestor but by different wives".
- Uterine blood: two persons are related by uterine blood "when they are descended from a common ancestress but by different husbands".
The clause adds an Explanation: "ancestor" includes the father and "ancestress" the mother.
So two brothers with the same father and the same mother are related by full blood. Two brothers with the same father and different mothers are related by half blood. Two brothers with the same mother and different fathers are related by uterine blood. These are the only ways the Act uses these terms. They return in section 18 (full blood preferred to half blood) and in the Explanation to the Schedule (brother or sister by uterine blood is excluded from the references to brother or sister), covered in our article on sections 18 to 21.
Heir and intestate
An heir is "any person, male or female, who is entitled to succeed to the property of an intestate under this Act". The definition ties the word to the Act: a person who takes under a will is not an "heir" in this sense.
Intestate is defined in a particular way: "a person is deemed to die intestate in respect of property of which he or she has not made a testamentary disposition capable of taking effect." Two points follow.
- The test is applied property by property. A person may die intestate as to one asset and not as to another.
- The disposition must be one "capable of taking effect". The Act uses those words and does not add further tests here.
An invented illustration: Sunita Verma leaves a will dealing with her house but says nothing about her bank deposits. For the deposits she is deemed to have died intestate; the house is governed by what her will can validly do. The way the Act then applies is explained in our topic guide on intestate succession under the Hindu Succession Act.
Custom and usage
Clause (d) says "custom" and "usage" signify any rule which, having been continuously and uniformly observed for a long time, has obtained the force of law among Hindus in any local area, tribe, community, group or family. There are two provisos: the rule must be certain and not unreasonable or opposed to public policy, and in the case of a rule applicable only to a family, it must not have been discontinued by the family.
Related
Clause (j) says "related" means related by legitimate kinship. The proviso says that illegitimate children "shall be deemed to be related to their mother and to one another", and that their legitimate descendants "shall be deemed to be related to them and to one another". Any word expressing relationship or denoting a relative is to be construed accordingly.
The regional definitions in clauses (b), (h) and (i)
Clauses (b), (h) and (i) describe three systems of law, aliyasantana, marumakkattayam and nambudri, by pointing to named older Acts of Madras, Travancore and Cochin and, in clause (h)(b), to communities in the State of Travancore-Cochin or Madras "as it existed immediately before the 1st November, 1956" (a phrase inserted by the Adaptation of Laws (No. 3) Order, 1956). They are used in sections 7 and 17, explained in our article on sections 7 and 17.
The copy prints the older Acts with their own year numbers ("2 of 1100K", "17 of 111K" and similar). Those figures are reproduced there exactly as printed and are not explained here. In clause (i) the copy also prints "Madras Nambudri Act, 1932 Madras Act (21 of 1933)" in a run-on form. The Acts named are old enactments; check the current law for any corresponding provision.
Section 3(2): masculine gender
Section 3(2) is printed: "In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, words importing the masculine gender shall not be taken to include females." This is quoted exactly as printed. Read with clause (f), where "heir" is "any person, male or female", the sub-section means that where the Act says "he", "son" or "male Hindu", it is not to be read as including a female unless the context requires, and the Act names females separately where it means them, for example "daughter" and "female Hindu".
Need help with a family tree?
Working out who is an agnate, a cognate or a person of full or half blood is easier with the family tree and documents in front of you. Our legal consultation team can help map the relationships to the printed definitions.
Key takeaways
- An agnate is related wholly through males; a cognate is related but not wholly through males; both can be by blood or adoption.
- An heir is any person, male or female, entitled to succeed to the property of an intestate under the Act.
- Intestacy is judged for each property: it depends on whether a testamentary disposition capable of taking effect has been made.
- Full blood means the same wife; half blood means different wives; uterine blood means the same ancestress and different husbands.
- "Related" means related by legitimate kinship, with a proviso for illegitimate children and their descendants.
- The copy has printing slips in clauses (e), (h) and (i); they are quoted as printed.
Read next
- Sections 1, 4 and 5 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956
- Section 2 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956: who is a Hindu
- Sections 11-13 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956: agnates, cognates and degrees
- Intestate succession under the Hindu Succession Act: Class I and Class II heirs
Disclaimer: Based on a third-party consolidated print of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 showing amendments up to Act 34 of 2019 and on the text of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, as consulted on 2 October 2026. It explains the words of the statute only; State amendments, later amendments and the way courts apply these sections should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.