ABSTRACT
As the legal world grapples with rapid technological change, the concept of a “will” remains largely tied to physical documentation in India. Despite increasing reliance on digital tools for financial and personal matters, digital wills continue to exist in a grey zone, lacking judicial clarity and statutory recognition. This paper investigates whether the Indian legal system is prepared to adapt to the growing need for recognising wills created or stored in digital formats. Using a comparative and normative lens, it examines international practices, legal barriers, and the ethical arguments surrounding testamentary autonomy in the digital age. The research also explores whether India’s digital infrastructure and emerging LegalTech platforms can provide a reliable foundation for such a reform. Ultimately, it asks: Can Indian succession law evolve without compromising access to justice or legal certainty?
KEYWORDS
Digital Wills, Succession Law, Legal Technology, Estate Planning, Cyber Law, Probate, E- wills, Law Reform
INTRODUCTION
A will is a testamentary instrument through which an individual specifies how their estate should devolve after their death. In India, the law governing wills is encapsulated in the Indian Succession Act, 1925, which mandates certain formal requirements: the will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and attested by two witnesses.1 These requirements were designed during the colonial era, reflecting values of the British legal system of the 19th century.
Fast forward to the 21st century- individuals today store wealth in digital wallets, operate multiple social media and online bank accounts, invest in cryptocurrencies, and maintain cloud- based businesses. Despite this digital reality, the law of wills remains analogue. Digital wills,
1 Indian Succession Act, 1925, § 63, No. 39, Acts of Parliament, 1925 (India).
or “e-wills,” refer to wills created, signed, and sometimes stored electronically, potentially using biometric authentication, blockchain timestamps or cloud storage. While these are not legally recognised in India, they are gaining attraction in other countries.2
In the United States, several states have adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act (UEWA), and even before legislation, courts in Australia recognised digital wills in various forms, such as text messages and smartphone notes, as legally valid under special circumstances.3 Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has temporarily allowed remote witnessing of wills under pandemic-era emergency laws.4
India’s current legal regime, however, excludes wills from the purview of the Information Technology Act, 2000, explicitly stating that digital formats cannot be used to execute a will.5 This exclusion creates a legal vacuum for individuals who, for practical or safety reasons, cannot create a physical will. The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the shortcomings of such rigid requirements. Elderly individuals, NRIs, and the digitally native generation faced significant barriers in executing wills during lockdowns.
This paper analyses this gap in Indian law through comparative, doctrinal, and empirical lenses. It evaluates the need for recognising digital wills, explores international practices, and suggests a pathway for Indian legal reform. In doing so, it emphasises that legal innovation can ensure both accessibility and authenticity without compromising the sanctity of testamentary documents.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This research employs a comparative, doctrinal, and empirical approach to explore the evolving legal recognition of digital wills in India. It seeks to analyse the limitations of existing testamentary law and evaluate how technological advancements are reshaping the landscape of succession rights.
2 Rohan George, Digital Wills and Succession in India, 11 Legal Era J. (2021).
3 Daniel B. Kelly, Digital Wills and the Ambiguity of Intent, 62 B.C. L. Rev. 1125 (2021).
4 U.K. Ministry of Justice, Remote Execution of Wills: Guidance During the Coronavirus Pandemic (2020), https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-on-making-wills-using-video-witnessing (last visited June 18, 2025).
5 Information Technology Act, 2000, § 1(4), No. 21, Acts of Parliament, 2000 (India).
The doctrinal method involves a close analysis of statutory frameworks such as the Indian Succession Act, 1925, and the Information Technology Act, 2000, to examine how Indian law currently treats electronic documents in the context of inheritance and wills. It also studies court judgments that deal with whether electronic or scanned wills can be legally accepted after someone’s death. In such cases, the legal process by which a will is verified and officially accepted is called probate, a formal court procedure that confirms the will’s authenticity and allows the executor to carry out the deceased person’s wishes. Through these laws and rulings, the research identifies significant gaps and uncertainties in how Indian law treats wills created or stored digitally.
A comparative legal analysis is used to investigate how other common law jurisdictions, such as Australia, England and Wales, and the United States have responded to the emergence of digital wills. For instance, the Electronic Wills Act, 2019 (Nevada) and the Wills Act, 2007 (New Zealand) are examined for their enabling provisions and safeguards.6 These legal systems are analysed to derive best practices and safeguards (e.g., audiovisual verification, digital signatures, witness authentication) that can be contextually adapted to Indian law.7
On the empirical side, although the study does not involve primary fieldwork, it draws from existing empirical data, academic surveys, case trends and reports to assess how the Indian public interacts with digital documentation and how accessible formal will-making remains.8 Reports from CIS India, Legal Tech platforms like Vakilsearch, and NITI Aayog provide real- world insights into the rising digital adoption and the legal awareness gap among India’s testator population.9 These findings support the argument for a legislative shift to accommodate digital succession planning.
Lastly, ethical and normative argumentation is woven into the study through references to philosophical frameworks like autonomy theory and digital justice.10 These perspectives are
6 Electronic Wills Act, NEV. REV. STAT. § 133.085 (2019); Wills Act 2007, No. 36 (N.Z.).
7 Kelly, supra note 3; Law Comm’n of Eng. & Wales, Making a Will: Consultation Paper No. 231 (2017).
8 Rakesh Kumar Singh, Testamentary Practices in India: Access, Awareness & Legal Barriers, 14 Nat’l Univ.
L.J. 145 (2022).
9 NITI Aayog, India’s Digital Leap: Strategy for New India (2021); Centre for Internet and Society, Digital Rights in India: Status Report (2022); Vakilsearch, Survey on Online Will-Making Trends in Urban India (2023).
10 Deryck Beyleveld & Roger Brownsword, Human Dignity in Bioethics and Biolaw (Oxford Univ. Press 2001); John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Rev. ed., Belknap 1999).
used to evaluate whether the exclusion of digital wills violates the ease of access to legal documentation, the right to dignity, and the testator’s freedom of disposition. Together, this multi-pronged methodology of blending doctrinal research, comparative insights, and empirical realities constructs a robust legal case for modernising Indian succession law in the digital age.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The academic discourse around digital wills is still emerging in India, and literature on the subject often touches on broader themes of e-governance, legal-tech, and modernisation of succession law. Scholars have increasingly recognised the disconnect between the digital transformation of society and the rigidity of legal processes, particularly when it comes to testamentary documentation.
In the Indian context, scholars like Dr. Aparajita Bhattacharyya argue that current succession laws are “textually frozen in the colonial era,” and highlight that formalities like physical signatures and physical witnesses, while aimed at fraud prevention, fail to consider modern technology’s potential for even greater security and verification.11 She contends that Indian law does not reflect the practical realities of how people store and communicate important information today.
Legal researchers have also pointed to the growing number of informal wills (such as digital notes, e-mails, or scanned handwritten documents) being produced in family and property disputes, but with inconsistent judicial responses.12 Courts occasionally accept such wills if authorship and intent are proved, but no guiding framework exists, leading to delay and uncertainty in the probate process.13
From a technological standpoint, LegalTech scholars like Neha Chugh argue that platforms offering online will-drafting services are outpacing legislation, and there is a lack of consumer
11 Aparajita Bhattacharyya, Time to Rewrite the Testament: Why Indian Succession Law Must Go Digital, 13 NUJS L. Rev. 112 (2023).
12 Pooja Kamat, The Legal Dilemma of Informal Wills: India’s Missing Digital Link, 7 Indian J.L. & Tech. 71 (2022).
13 Anil v. Sunil, AIR 2021 Del. 92 (India).
protections and standards of enforceability for such digital services.14 Her study stresses that unless digital wills are explicitly recognized under Indian law, users of such platforms remain at risk of invalidation.
In the global arena, researchers like Daniel B. Kelly have conducted extensive studies on the rise of digital wills in U.S. jurisdictions like Arizona and Nevada.15 He outlines how blockchain storage, digital signature authentication, and video witnessing have not only enhanced will security but also reduced fraud in certain cases. The work of Naomi Cahn also highlights the flexibility digital wills provide to individuals in the face of sudden or unexpected events like the COVID-19 pandemic.16
However, not all literature is fully in favour of digital wills. Critics like Professor Mary Louise Fellows raise concerns that digital formats may undermine testamentary freedom, particularly among elderly or rural populations with low digital literacy.17 They argue that the shift to digital could introduce new vulnerabilities, such as coercion or forgery, unless backed by robust safeguards.
Despite growing international literature, there remains a critical gap in Indian academic and policy literature on digital wills. While some studies touch upon e-governance and electronic records under the IT Act, few directly tackle the intersection of digital transformation and succession law. This paper aims to contribute to that gap by providing a comparative, ethically, and legally grounded argument for reform.
METHOD
The paper investigates the legal inertia surrounding the recognition of digital wills in India by identifying the underlying causes through a layered analytical framework. It explores evolving legal standards, practical obstacles, and statutory shortcomings both within India and globally.
14 Neha Chugh, LegalTech in Estate Planning: Regulating Digital Wills in India, in Law and Technology: Emerging Themes 204 (LexisNexis 2022).
15 Kelly, supra note 3.
16 Naomi Cahn, Wills in the Time of Coronavirus, 68 UCLA L. REV. DISC. 180 (2020).
17 Mary Louise Fellows, Undue Influence in the Digital Age: Testamentary Risks Reconsidered, 49 U. MICH.
J.L. REFORM 1011 (2021).
The first cause is the textual rigidity of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, which mandates attested, signed, and written wills.18 These formalities were designed in an era devoid of digital technology and have not been substantially amended to reflect modern document creation or storage practices. Even the Information Technology Act, 2000, India’s principal law on digital documentation, explicitly excludes wills under Section 1(4), thereby shutting the door on any statutory recognition of e-wills.19
Secondly, there is a lack of judicial activism or legal precedent pushing for the inclusion of digital wills. While isolated High Court rulings have admitted scanned wills or informal digital documents when corroborated by strong evidence of intent, there remains no consistent judicial trend toward relaxing traditional formalities.20 The judiciary has largely trodden cautiously, possibly due to concerns around coercion, digital forgery, and fraud.
The third barrier lies in limited digital infrastructure and low public awareness. A significant percentage of the Indian population still lacks digital literacy or access to secure platforms for creating authenticated e-wills.21 In contrast, jurisdictions like Nevada (USA) and Victoria (Australia) have developed secure legal mechanisms for digital signature verification and remote witnessing, especially in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.22 This comparative legal lens allows the paper to extract models adaptable to India’s socio-legal context.
Furthermore, the paper considers ethical and jurisprudential concerns. Should the law prioritise technological adaptability over traditional safeguards? What if digital innovation enhances access for urban testators but marginalises elderly or rural populations? To answer these, the paper draws from theories of access to justice, dignity-based jurisprudence, and legal utilitarianism. These frameworks help interrogate the moral justification for denying legal validity to a digitally expressed will, even when the testator’s intent is clear and uncontested.
Finally, to evaluate whether India is institutionally and technologically ready to support digital wills, the paper examines existing government schemes, such as Digital India and IndiaStack,
18 Indian Succession Act, 1925, § 63-65, No. 39, Acts of Parliament, 1925 (India).
19 Information Technology Act, 2000, § 1(4), No. 21, Acts of Parliament, 2000 (India).
20 Gopal v. Krishnan, AIR 2019 Mad 204 (India); Shalini v. State, 2022 SCC OnLine Bom 131 (India).
21 NITI Aayog, Digital Literacy in India: Bridging the Divide (2021); MeitY, Digital India Report (2022).
22 Electronic Wills Act, NEV. REV. STAT. § 133.085 (2019); Justice Legislation Amendment (System Enhancements and Other Matters) Act 2021 (Vic).
along with the role of emerging LegalTech platforms like LawSikho, LegalDesk, and Vakilsearch. These services already allow users to draft wills online, yet the legal enforceability of these documents remains ambiguous.23
In sum, the method integrates judicial and statutory analysis, comparative legal reasoning, and ethical critique, supported by select empirical data, to identify the roots of India’s hesitation toward digital wills and make a grounded case for reform.
SUGGESTIONS
Considering the growing practical need for modernisation and statutory vacuum, India must move towards a balanced legal framework that recognises digitally executed wills while maintaining appropriate safeguards. Below are concrete, evidence-backed suggestions that aim to both protect testamentary intent and uphold procedural integrity.
- AMEND THE INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT, 1925
The foundational step is to amend Sections 63 and 65 of the Indian Succession Act to allow for wills created and stored in electronic form. This amendment should incorporate essential criteria such as:
⇒ Digital signatures compliant with the Information Technology Act, 2000.
⇒ Two remote witnesses using audio-video conferencing.
⇒ Time-stamped metadata and secure electronic storage.
Models from Nevada and Victoria can be adapted, where courts accept digital wills if authenticity and intent are verifiable.24 A statutory definition of “digital will” must be included to eliminate ambiguity.
23 Vakilsearch, Survey on Will Drafting Trends in Urban India (2023); LegalDesk, Online Wills – FAQs & Services (2024), https://legaldesk.com/ (last visited June 18, 2025); IndiaStack, Paperless Layer: Digital Documentation Solutions (2023), https://indiastack.org/ (last visited June 18, 2025).
24 NEV. REV. STAT. § 133.085 (2019); Justice Legislation Amendment (Vic.); see Kelly, supra note 3.
- CARVE OUT AN EXCEPTION IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT,
2000
Section 1(4) of the IT Act currently excludes wills. This exclusion, originally meant to avoid misuse in sensitive personal matters, is now outdated. A conditional exception should be introduced to allow digitally signed wills under prescribed guidelines. The IT Act already supports digital lockers and e-authentication, which can be leveraged for secure storage.25
- JUDICIAL GUIDELINES IN THE INTERIM
Until legislative amendments are enacted, the Supreme Court of India or High Courts may consider issuing binding guidelines under Articles 141 or 226 of the Constitution. These could provide for:
⇒ Admissibility of digitally signed and scanned wills with circumstantial evidence.
⇒ Presumptions of validity if authorship and intent are clear.
Such interim judicial recognition would not only ease probate procedures but also create precedent for Parliament to act upon.26
- ADOPT A TIERED VALIDITY SYSTEM
Drawing from Florida’s “Electronic Wills Act, 2020”, India could adopt a tiered approach to digital wills:
⇒ Fully digital wills (e-signed and remotely witnessed) can be valid if stored via government- recognised digital services.
⇒ Hybrid wills (handwritten but scanned and signed electronically) may be treated as valid, subject to judicial satisfaction of intent.
25 Information Technology Act, 2000, § 1(4), No. 21, Acts of Parliament, 2000 (India).
26 Constitution of India, arts. 14, 21.
This flexible approach respects testamentary freedom while offering courts discretion to prevent misuse.27
- STRENGTHEN DIGITAL ACCESS AND LITERACY
To ensure inclusivity, reforms must be accompanied by awareness campaigns, especially in rural and semi-urban areas. Partnerships with NGOs, state legal services authorities, and LegalTech companies can help conduct will-making workshops, both digital and in-person.28
Additionally, integrating e-will options into platforms like DigiLocker, which already offers government-verified document storage, could reduce fraud and enhance accessibility for citizens of varying digital skills.
- ESTABLISH REGULATORY OVERSIGHT FOR LEGALTECH PLATFORMS
LegalTech companies offering online will-making must be regulated through a licensing framework that ensures:
⇒ Privacy protections and Standard terms.
⇒ Mandatory digital signature verification and encryption.
⇒ Accountability in the event of data breaches or invalid wills.
This would safeguard consumers and instil trust in digital testamentary processes.29
These reforms are not just technologically necessary; they are morally imperative. Recognising digital wills upholds the right to autonomy, improves access to justice, and reflects the changing ways in which people express and record their final wishes. With thoughtful legislative action and technological collaboration, India can move toward a future where no person’s intent is denied simply because it wasn’t printed on paper.
CONCLUSION
27 Florida Electronic Wills Act, FLA. STAT. § 732.521 (2019); Cahn, supra note 16.
28 NITI Aayog & MeitY, Digital Literacy Report (2022).
29 Neha Chugh, LegalTech in Estate Planning: Regulating Digital Wills in India, in Law and Technology: Emerging Themes 204 (2022).
In an era defined by digital transformation, the legal system must not remain anchored in analogue frameworks, especially when it concerns something as fundamental as a person’s right to decide the fate of their property after death. While the Indian legal framework continues to treat wills as exclusively physical documents, the realities of digital communication, remote interactions, and online legal services are rapidly reshaping how people engage with the law.
This paper has shown that the exclusion of digital wills from statutory recognition is not merely a technical oversight but a substantive barrier to testamentary freedom, particularly for younger, tech-savvy individuals and non-resident Indians who rely heavily on digital infrastructure. At the same time, concerns around coercion, fraud and misuse, though valid, can be addressed through carefully drafted legal safeguards, as demonstrated by jurisdictions such as Australia, Canada and the United States.
The issue is not whether digital wills are possible, but whether the law is willing to regulate and trust this possibility. The existing legal vacuum creates confusion for testators, inconsistency in courtrooms, and a missed opportunity for LegalTech innovation. Through a combination of judicial guidance, regulatory support, and statutory amendments, India can pave the way for an inclusive, progressive, and secure digital testamentary regime.
While India may not yet be ready for a complete digital overhaul, the first steps, access, legal recognition, pilot frameworks, and public awareness must begin now. Reform is not only a matter of technological catch-up; it is a step toward honouring individual autonomy, reducing legal uncertainty, and ensuring that no last wish is lost in translation between code and ink.
AUTHOR: Rudra Khatri
COLLEGE: O.P. Jindal Global University