The Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy followed widely by Lord Dalhousie when he was India's Governor-General from 1848 to 1856.
• According to this, any princely state under the direct or indirect (as a vassal) control of the East India Company where the ruler did not have a legal male heir would be annexed by the company.
• As per this, any adopted son of the Indian ruler could not be proclaimed as heir to the kingdom. This challenged the Indian ruler's long-held authority to appoint an heir of their choice.
So, due to the Doctrine of Lapse, Britishers did not accept Damodar Rao as the legal heir. Displeased by the injustice, Rani Lakshmibai even appealed to a court in London which discarded her case.
The plan of the Britishers was to annex Jhansi. They seized the state jewels, granted her an annual pension of Rs 60,000 and asked her to leave the fort forever.