U. Durga Prasad Rao, J.

1. Perused the office objections and heard learned counsel for appellant.

2. This C.M.A. is filed by the appellant aggrieved by the order dated 25.07.2016 in S.O.P. (SR) No. 2632 of 2016 passed by the Senior Civil Judge, Ramachandrapuram whereby the learned Judge dismissed the petition filed by the petitioner/appellant for granting succession certificate. Hence, the CMA.

3. The office took the objection that since the impugned order was passed by the Senior Civil Judge, how the CMA is maintainable before the High Court. It appears, the office view is that the appeal should have been filed before the concerned District Court.

4. Learned counsel would submit that the Senior Civil Judge entertained the Succession O.P as a delegate of District Judge by virtue of the powers conferred by the High Court under ROC No. 40/SO/72.1 and ROC No. 40/SO/72.2 and therefore, the order passed by the Senior Civil Judge shall be deemed to have been passed by the District Court and by virtue of Section 384 of the Indian Succession Act, an appeal shall lie to the High Court from an order of a District Judge whether granting or refusing or revoking a succession certificate and hence the appeal filed before the High Court is legally maintainable.

5. As per Section 371 of the Indian Succession Act, the District Judge within whose jurisdiction the deceased ordinarily resided at the time of his death or, if at the time he had no fixed place of his residence, the District Judge within whose jurisdiction any part of the property of the deceased may be found, may grant a succession certificate. As per Section 2 (bb) of the said Act, the District Judge means the Judge of a Principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction. Hence, at the inception of the Act, the Judge of a Principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction alone was vested with the power to grant succession certificate under Section 371 of the Act.

6. Be that as it may, the High Court under the power conferred under Section 265 of the Act, appointed Subordinate Judges (now Senior Civil Judges) including the Additional Judges in City Civil Courts, ex-officio as District delegates under the Act. Further, as per ROC No. 40/SO/72.2, the High Court, under Section 19(1) of Andhra Pradesh Civil Courts Act, 1972, authorized all the subordinate judges to take cognizance of any of the proceedings under Indian Succession Act, 1925, which cannot be disposed of by the District delegates. This aspect has been clarified by this High Court in CMA No. 46 of 2010 dated 20.03.2010.

7. So, by virtue of the aforesaid conferment of powers, the Senior Civil Judges also have been entertaining the succession O.Ps as District delegates. As per Section 384 of the Act, an appeal shall lie to the High Court from an order of a District Judge granting, refusing or revoking a succession certificate. The submission of learned counsel for appellant is that since the Senior Civil Judges have been issuing the succession certificates in the capacity as delegates to the District Judge, the orders passed by them shall be deemed to have been passed by the District Judge and hence the appeal against such order shall lie before the High Court alone under Section 384 of the Indian succession Act.

8. The above argument though apparently sounds valid but the same cannot be accepted for the following reasons.

(a) Following the letter Roc No. 408/SO-3/2009, dated 01.11.2011 of the Registrar General, Andhra Pradesh High Court, Hyderabad, the Government of Andhra Pradesh issued G.O.Ms. No. 11 dated 08.02.2012, which reads thus:

ORDER:

1. The Registrar General, High Court of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, in his letter read above, has forwarded the Draft Notification with regard to the Conferment of powers on Senior Civil Judge Courts to entertain Original Petitions filed under the Indian Succession Act, 1925.

2. The Government after careful examination of the matter have decided to approve the Draft Notification with regard to