Probate court jurisdiction is limited to will validity and cannot grant interim injunctions over excluded estate property.

In probate proceedings, the testamentary court's jurisdiction is confined to examining the genuineness and due execution of the will; it does not extend to deciding title to property or the existence of the deceased's assets. The Indian Succession Act, 1925 operates as a self-contained code, and its general provisions on civil-court powers must be read consistently with the specific scheme of Section 269. Where Section 269(2) excludes statutory protection for the deceased's property, the testamentary court cannot rely on general or inherent powers to grant interim injunctions restraining heirs from dealing with that property. The result is that interim relief of that nature is unavailable in the excluded probate category.

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Issues: Whether, in a probate proceeding, the testamentary court has jurisdiction to grant an interim injunction restraining heirs from dealing with the deceased's property, particularly in view of the scheme of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 and the exclusion in Section 269(2).

Analysis: The jurisdiction of a probate court is confined to deciding the genuineness and due execution of the will. It does not determine title to property or the existence of the property itself. The Indian Succession Act, 1925 is a self-contained code governing probate, letters of administration and administration of the estate. Although Sections 266 and 268 recognise powers analogous to those of a civil court and apply the Code of Civil Procedure, those general words must be read consistently with the specific scheme of Section 269. Section 269 expressly authorises protection of property pending probate in certain cases, but Section 269(2) excludes its application where the deceased belongs to the specified classes. In that situation, it is not open to the testamentary court to invoke general or inherent powers to grant interim relief in relation to the property of the deceased.

Conclusion: The testamentary court had no jurisdiction to grant the requested injunction in the probate proceeding.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed because the relief sought would have enlarged the probate court's limited testamentary jurisdiction into a determination concerning the deceased's property, which the statute does not permit in the excluded categories.

Ratio Decidendi: In a probate proceeding, the court's power is confined to the genuineness and due execution of the will, and it cannot grant interim protection of the deceased's property beyond the express scheme of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, especially where Section 269(2) excludes the statutory protection.

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