Codicil proof and attestation must follow will formalities; registration alone does not satisfy testamentary proof requirements.

A codicil is part of the will and must be executed and proved with the same formalities as an unprivileged will under the Succession Act. A Registrar of Deeds does not become an attesting witness merely by carrying out registration duties; he can count as one only if the document was actually signed by him with the intention of attesting execution and that attestation is proved by evidence. Registration of a will or codicil creates only a presumption about proper registration, not about attestation or proof of execution. Accordingly, registration does not dispense with the statutory proof required for testamentary documents.

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Issues: (i) whether a codicil must be executed and proved with the same formalities as a will; (ii) whether a Registrar of Deeds can be an attesting witness; (iii) whether registration of a will or codicil dispenses with proof of execution and attestation required by law.

Issue (i): whether a codicil must be executed and proved with the same formalities as a will.

Analysis: A codicil is an instrument made in relation to a will and forms part of the will. The rules governing execution of an unprivileged will under the Succession Act apply equally to a codicil, and the proof of a codicil must satisfy the same requirements as proof of a will.

Conclusion: The codicil had to be executed and proved in the same manner as the will.

Issue (ii): whether a Registrar of Deeds can be an attesting witness.

Analysis: A registering officer does not become an attesting witness merely by performing official registration duties. He can be treated as an attesting witness only if, on the facts, he signed the document with the intention of attesting the execution and satisfied the legal requirements of attestation, which must ordinarily be proved by his testimony.

Conclusion: A Registrar of Deeds can be an attesting witness only if he actually attested the execution in law and is proved as such by evidence.

Issue (iii): whether registration of a will or codicil dispenses with proof of execution and attestation required by law.

Analysis: Registration endorsements create a presumption only as to regular performance of registration duties. They do not prove attestation within the meaning of the Succession Act and the Evidence Act, and registration of a testamentary document does not remove the need to examine an attesting witness where the law so requires.

Conclusion: Registration did not dispense with proof of execution and attestation of the codicil.

Final Conclusion: The will stood proved, but the codicil was not established in accordance with law, so it could not alter the testamentary disposition; the appeal therefore failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A codicil is subject to the same execution and proof requirements as a will, and registration of a testamentary document does not by itself prove attestation or satisfy the statutory proof requirement.

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