The Kerala High Court while hearing one Appeal came across the principal questions with respect to the permissibility of granting either a probate or letters of administration in substitution of a declaration or adjudication pertaining to testament or Will by a competent civil court, at what stage the jurisdiction to issue a probate or letters of administration can be exercised, along with the question regarding exercise of jurisdiction by the Courts within the State of Kerala. 

The Apex Court with regard to the above question stated that “the legal position that sub-section (2) of Section 264 of Indian Succession Act, 1925 imposes a bar upon the Courts in any local area beyond the limits of the towns of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, from receiving applications for probate or letters of administration, until the State Government, by a notification in the Official Gazette, authorised it so to do, wherever the deceased is a Hindu, Muhammadan, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina or an exempted person, though it has no application to cases, to which Section 57 applies. So far no notification has been issued by the State Government under Section 264(2) of the Act. In the Rules framed by the High Court (Indian Succession Rules (Kerala) 1968), though provisions were made regarding issuance of probate and letters of administration, nothing was incorporated to the effect of notification as mandated under Section 264(2) of the Act. In fact, a notification under Section 264(2) of the Act has to be issued by the Government and in the absence of such notification, no jurisdiction can be exercised by the Courts within the State of Kerala for issuance of either probate or letters of administration.”