The Doctrine of Lapse was adopted by Lord Dalhousie. According to this doctrine, succession to protected state depended upon the will of the British. Lord Dalhousie decided that if the ruler of a dependent state had no male child, he could not adopt a son. It meant that if a native ruler died without leaving a son behind, the dependent state would pass into the hands of the British. On the grounds of Doctrine of Lapse, Dalhousie annexed seven dependent kingdoms into the British Empire which included Nagpur, Jhansi, Jaipur and Satara.
