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nism-series-xb-will-execution-probate-letters-of-administration[ INVESTMENT ADVISER (LEVEL 2) ]

Under the Indian Succession Act, 1925, in which geographical jurisdictions is obtaining a 'Probate of a Will' from a competent court statutorily mandatory for Hindu testators?

[ A ]Across all rural villages and agricultural farmland in India.
[ B ]Only when the testator lived in foreign Commonwealth countries.
[ C ]Where the Will is made within, or relates to immovable property situated within, the historical Presidency towns of Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai.[ CORRECT ]
[ D ]Probate of a Will is never required anywhere in India.
Takeaway

Option C is correct: Where the Will is made within, or relates to immovable property situated within, the historical Presidency towns of Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai.

Derivation
Sections 57 and 213 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 carve out a narrower probate mandate than is commonly assumed: it applies where the Will is executed within, or governs immovable property situated within, the three former Presidency towns of Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai — a legacy of British-era colonial administration in those port cities specifically. Outside these jurisdictions, executors and heirs can typically administer a Hindu testator's estate without first obtaining formal court probate, unless the Will is contested or a bank/registrar specifically insists on it for its own risk-management purposes. This geographic scope, rather than any rural-versus-urban or Indian-versus-foreign distinction, is exactly what the exam is testing.
Why the others fail
A — Across all rural villages and agricultural farmland in India.
Probate is mandated for the three historical Presidency towns of Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai, not across rural villages and agricultural land nationwide.
B — Only when the testator lived in foreign Commonwealth countries.
Probate requirements depend on where the Will is made or the property is situated, not on the testator's country of residence at any point in their life.
D — Probate of a Will is never required anywhere in India.
A Will is a legally recognized instrument, and probate is a legitimate court certification process for it, not a procedure that never applies anywhere.