V. NEELADRI RAO, J.

( 1 ) PETITIONER in O. P. No. 2/90, District Munsif s Court, Siddhout is the revision petitioner. Her son Krishna Seenaiah died in an accident at Kuwait on 26-2-84. The case for claiming death compensation for legal heirs of the deceased Seenaiah was handed over to Embassy s lawyer at Kuwait. Dinars 10,000/- (KD) was awarded as compensation. Out of it an amount of KD 1040 was deducted towards fees and expenses and the balance amount of KD 8960 was sent to Embassy for disbursement to the legal heirs of the deceased. The amount of Rupees 5,29,843. 45 ps. equivalent to KD 8960, was deposited with the District Collector Cud-dapah for being paid to the legal heirs of deceased-Seenaiah. Then the revision petitioner filed O. P. praying for issual of succession certificate in the Court of District Munsif s Court, Siddhout. The learned Magistrate held that the said Court had no pecuniary jurisdiction to entertain this application. But he also observed while returning the petition that no Court in Cuddapah can entertain this application. When the said petition was presented before the District Court, Cuddapah, the learned District Judge observed that if the petitioner feels that the observation of the District Munsif s Court, Sidhout that the Court in Cuddapah cannot entertain this application is erroneous, the same can be corrected in revision. Hence this revision petition was filed.

( 2 ) SECTION 371, Succession Act, 1925 (for short the Act") provides that the District Judge within whose jurisdiction the deceased ordinarily resided, at the time of his death, or if at that time, he had no fixed place of residence, the District Judge within whose jurisdiction any part of the property of the deceased may be found may grant a certificate under Part X of the Act. Section-388 of the Act empowers the State Government by notification in the official gazette to invest any Court inferior in grade to the District Judge with power to exercise the functions of a District Judge under Part X of the Act. In exercise of the said power, the State Government issued Notification as per G. O. Ms. No. 14j4, Home (General A) dt. 31st Oct. , 1978 conferring the powers on all Courts of District Munsif s in the State with powers to exercise the functions of a District Judge under Part X of the said Act within the local limits of their respective jurisdiction.

( 3 ) THE jurisdiction of District Munsif extends to all original suits and proceedings of civil nature, not otherwise exempted from his cognizance under any other law for the time being in force, if the amount or value of the subject-matter, of the same does not exceed Rs. 25,000. 00 as laid down under S. 16 (2), A. P. Civil Courts Act as amended by A.-P. Act 30/89. Relying upon the said provision, the learned District Munsif held that the said Court had no pecuniary jurisdiction as the amount for which the succession certificate is applied for is more than Rs. 25,000. 00.

( 4 ) THE learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that when G. O. Ms. No. 1414 does not refer to pecuniary limit, it is open to the District Munsif to entertain an application praying for issual of succession certificate even if the amount for which the said certificate prayed for exceed Rs. 25,000. 00. I felt that in view of the importance of the point that had arisen for consideration, it is proper to issue notice to the learned Government Pleader. On the basis of the said notice, Sri Nagaseshaiah, the learned Government Pleader for Home appeared and assisted the Court.

( 5 ) IT was held in Bisesar Sheodayal v. Jaiman Bariayam, AIR 1940 Nagpur. 162 that if the inferior Court is invested with the powers of District Judge under S. 388 (1) of the Act, it does not become a District Court but it merely exercises certain functions of the District Judge under Part X of the Act and thus the appeal against order of that inferior Court has to be filed before the Dist. Court. In that case the Additional District Judge a

Click Here to Read the rest of this document