Sections 71-73 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 71 to 73 finish Chapter V, "Of the Attestation, Revocation, Alteration and Revival of Wills". Section 71 deals with changes written on an unprivileged will after it was signed. Section 72 says how a privileged will or codicil may be revoked. Section 73 says how a revoked unprivileged will can be revived. Sections 69 and 70, on revocation by marriage and by act of parties, already have a guide on this site.
A change made on an unprivileged will after execution has no effect, except where it makes the original words illegible or undiscernible, unless it is executed in the same manner as the will (section 71). The proviso treats the will as duly executed if the testator's signature and the witnesses' subscription are placed in the margin or elsewhere near the alteration, or at the foot of a memorandum referring to it. A privileged will may be revoked by an unprivileged will or codicil, by a formal act, or by burning, tearing or destroying it with the intention to revoke (section 72). A revoked unprivileged will is revived only by re-execution or by a codicil showing an intention to revive (section 73).
Section 71: obliteration, interlineation or alteration in an unprivileged will
As per the text of the Act consulted, no obliteration, interlineation or other alteration made in any unprivileged will after the execution of it shall have any effect, except so far as the words or meaning of the will have been thereby rendered illegible or undiscernible, unless such alteration has been executed in like manner as is required for the execution of the will.
So there are two routes: an alteration is effective if executed like the will (see the rules in section 63, explained in our guide on attesting witnesses), and an alteration that makes the earlier words illegible or undiscernible has effect as far as that. The wording of the exception is "so far as the words or meaning of the will have been thereby rendered illegible or undiscernible"; the text does not say more.
Proviso. The will, as so altered, shall be deemed to be duly executed if the signature of the testator and the subscription of the witnesses is made in the margin or on some other part of the will opposite or near to the alteration, or at the foot or end of, or opposite to, a memorandum referring to the alteration and written at the end or some other part of the will.
If you hold a will with handwritten corrections, a legal consultation can help you work out whether each correction meets this section before you rely on it. Section 71 is in the Schedule III list for wills of Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jainas described in section 57; see our article on sections 57 and 58.
Section 72: revocation of a privileged will or codicil
A privileged will or codicil may be revoked by the testator:
- by an unprivileged will or codicil; or
- by any act expressing an intention to revoke it and accompanied by such formalities as would be sufficient to give validity to a privileged will; or
- by the burning, tearing or otherwise destroying of it by the testator, or by some person in his presence and by his direction, with the intention of revoking it.
Explanation. For the revocation of a privileged will or codicil by an act accompanied by such formalities as would be sufficient to give validity to a privileged will, it is not necessary that the testator should at the time of doing that act be in a situation which entitles him to make a privileged will. The copy prints a full stop where a dash would be.
Privileged wills are the subject of sections 65 and 66; see our guide on privileged wills of soldiers, airmen and mariners. Section 72 is not in the Schedule III list.
Section 73: revival of an unprivileged will
Sub-section (1). No unprivileged will or codicil, nor any part of one, which has been revoked in any manner, shall be revived otherwise than by the re-execution of it, or by a codicil executed in the manner required and showing an intention to revive it.
Sub-section (2). When any will or codicil which has been partly revoked and afterwards wholly revoked is revived, the revival shall not extend to so much of it as was revoked before the revocation of the whole, unless an intention to the contrary is shown by the will or codicil.
For how an unprivileged will is revoked in the first place, see our guide on revocation by marriage and by act of parties. Section 73 is in the Schedule III list.
The three sections side by side
| Section | Subject | Rule in short |
|---|---|---|
| 71 | Alteration of an unprivileged will after execution | No effect unless executed like the will, except where words are rendered illegible or undiscernible; proviso on marginal signatures |
| 72 | Revocation of a privileged will or codicil | By an unprivileged will or codicil, a formal act showing intention, or burning, tearing or destroying with intention |
| 73(1) | Revival | Only by re-execution or a codicil showing intention to revive |
| 73(2) | Partly revoked then wholly revoked, then revived | Revival does not reach the part revoked first, unless the will or codicil shows an intention to the contrary |
A fresh example
Kamal Joshi, an invented person, makes an unprivileged will leaving his shop to his son. A year later he strikes out his son's name in the margin and writes his daughter's name above it, but signs nothing beside the change and no witness signs. Under section 71 that alteration has no effect, except so far as it renders the original words illegible or undiscernible. Had Kamal and two witnesses signed in the margin opposite the change, the proviso would treat the will as altered and duly executed. Now suppose Kamal later tears up the will to revoke it and then regrets it. Section 73(1) says it can be revived only by re-execution or by a codicil, executed as the Act requires, showing an intention to revive. The names are invented and the rules are the Act's.
Where the text is silent
- Section 71 does not say what counts as "illegible or undiscernible" beyond those words.
- Section 73 does not mention revival of a privileged will; section 72 deals with revocation of a privileged will only.
- None of the three sections prints a form, a fee or a procedure.
Later amendments
The copy consulted is an unofficial print showing amendments up to the Indian Succession (Amendment) Act, 2002 (26 of 2002). Later amendments should be checked.
Need help with a will that has been altered or torn?
Handwritten changes, torn pages and old codicils are common in family papers. For a review of what the paper shows and what the Act says about it, see our legal consultation page.
Key takeaways
- An alteration made after execution has no effect unless executed like the will, except as to words made illegible or undiscernible (section 71).
- Signatures in the margin near the alteration, or at the foot of a memorandum, satisfy the proviso.
- A privileged will can be revoked by an unprivileged will or codicil, a formal act, or burning, tearing or destroying with intention (section 72).
- A revoked unprivileged will is revived only by re-execution or a codicil showing an intention to revive (section 73).
- Section 72 is not in the Schedule III list; sections 71 and 73 are.
Read next
- Sections 74-77: wording of a will, misnomer, misdescription and supplying words
- Sections 64, 67 and 68: incorporation of papers and gift to an attesting witness
- Sections 60-62: guardian, fraud or coercion, and right to revoke
- Digital wills and video-recorded wills: validity in India
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.