<P> The doctrine of lapse was an annexation policy applied by the Lord Dalhousie in India before 1858 . According to the doctrine , any Indian princely state under the suzerainty of the British East India Company ( the dominant imperial power in the subcontinent ) , as a vassal state under the British subsidiary system , would have its princely status abolished ( and therefore annexed into British India ) if the ruler was either `` manifestly incompetent or died without a male heir '' . The latter supplanted the long - established right of an Indian sovereign without an heir to choose a successor . In addition , the British decided whether potential rulers were competent enough . The doctrine and its application were widely regarded by many Indians as illegitimate . </P>
<P> The doctrine of lapse was an annexation policy applied by the Lord Dalhousie in India before 1858 . According to the doctrine , any Indian princely state under the suzerainty of the British East India Company ( the dominant imperial power in the subcontinent ) , as a vassal state under the British subsidiary system , would have its princely status abolished ( and therefore annexed into British India ) if the ruler was either `` manifestly incompetent or died without a male heir '' . The latter supplanted the long - established right of an Indian sovereign without an heir to choose a successor . In addition , the British decided whether potential rulers were competent enough . The doctrine and its application were widely regarded by many Indians as illegitimate . </P>
who applied the doctrine of lapse to the indian state
who applied the doctrine of lapse to the indian state
Lord Dalhousie
Lord Dalhousie