In cases involving letters of administration, substitution of parties is permissible to avoid unnecessary delays and multiplicity of litigation, particularly when the original petitioner has passed away.

ORDER :

M. NAGAPRASANNA, J.

The petitioner is before this court seeking the following prayers:

"i. to issue a writ of certiorari or such other appropriate writ or orders or directions, quashing order dated 18.06.2025 passed by the Hon'ble LXXIII Additional City Civil Court and Sessions Judge Mayo Hall, Bengaluru in P & SC NO.25010/2020 on IA filed by Petitioner under Section 151 of Code of Civil Procedure and to direct the office to issue the letters of Administration in the name of Petitioner (i.e. Annexure-A) by allowing the I.A filed by the Petitioner in the Hon'ble Trial Court in P & SC No.25010/2020 i.e. Annexure - B.

ii. to award costs and grant such other relief as this Hon'ble Court deems fit and expedient in the circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice and equity."

2. The petitioner is the sister of one V. Annapurna, who dies on 20.02.2003. The V. Annapurna had 2 siblings. The V. Annapurna dies leaving behind two survivors, one is V. Saroja and the other, the petitioner. It transpires that V. Saroja also dies and therefore the petitioner, the sole surviving sibling files a petition under Section 372 of the Indian SUCCESSION ACT , 1925 before the concerned court in P&SC.No.25010/2020. The petition was filed by both V. Saroja and the present petitioner. During the subsistence of the proceedings before the concerned court, V Saroja also dies on 19.04.2023. Therefore, the petitioner then files an application. The application is preferred to transfer the letter of administration to the hands of the present petitioner, who was the only surviving heir after the death of all the siblings. The application was not considered. Therefore, the petitioner was before this court in WP.No.2510/2025, which comes to be disposed directing consideration of the application. The application comes to be rejected, therefore the petitioner is before this Court.

3. The concerned Court by the impugned order rejects the application on the following grounds:

"12. The very genealogical tree marked at Ex P2 is extracted below for reference:

Mr. M. P. Vaidyanathan - FATHER

Mrs. Thangamma - MOTHER

13. Hence, as per the genealogical tree produced by the petitioner herself marked at Ex.P2 shows that there are other LRS of deceased petitioner No.2 as well as to the deceased V.Annapurna.

14. The counsel for the petitioner argued that the petitioner No.2 is unmarried and in that event her estate will fall upon the son and daughters and secondly on heirs of husband, thirdly upon the mother and father and fourthly upon the heirs of the father and lastly upon the heirs of the mother. Even to show that the mother and father of the petitioner No.2 died on 07.09.1996 and in the year 1945 respectively no document as such is produced.

15. Sec.372 of Indian SUCCESSION ACT reads as follows:

372. Application for certificate. -

(1) Application for such a certificate shall be made to the District Judge by a petition signed and verified by or on behalf of the applicant in the manner prescribed by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) for the signing and verification of a plaint by or on behalf of a plaintiff, and setting forth the following particulars, namely:-

(a) the time of the death of the deceased;

(b) the ordinary residence of the deceased at the time of his death and, if such residence was not within the local limits of the jurisdiction of the Judge to whom the application is made, then the property of