The religion of the claimant for succession is irrelevant under the Indian Succession Act, which governs cases of Christian succession.

( 1 ) THIS appeal is directed against the grant of letters of administration to the respondent Panchanon Majumdar alias Panchanon Mondal in respect of the estate of one Sm. Sarojini Mazumdar, deceased.

( 2 ) IT has been found by the Court below that the deceased Sarojini was a Christian by religion. That finding is not challenged before us by either party. Respondent Panchanon who was the applicant for the letters of administration was related to Sarojini in the manner as will appear from the following genealogy;

Respondent taken along with the fact that Sahadeb and Rajkumar were two brothers; or, to put it more succinctly and in a direct form, the relevant genealogy under which the respondent Panchanon claims would stand as follows;

Respondent

( 3 ) APPELLANT Benoy, who was the objector to Panchanon's claim for letters of administration, also pleaded that he was related to Sarojini through his remote ancestor Raghu who was the brother of Bharat, the paternal grandfather of Sarojini's grandmother (mother's mother) Bilashini, and, upon that allegation, he claimed under the following genealogy:

Appelent.

( 4 ) BOTH parties agree that Panchanon's claim to the letters1 of administration would depend upon his eligibility under Section 219, Succession Act which admittedly applies to this case. Under the terms of that section, a person to be entitled to letters of administration, to the estate of a Christian deceased must be connected with him or her, as the case may he, either by marriage or by consanguinity and where, as in the present case, the deceased has left no spouse or lineal descendants or parents or brothers or sisters, letters of administration should be granted to the next of kin or relations who are in the nearest degree of kindred to the deceased wide Section 219 (c) and (e) read with Sections 34, 35 36, 41 and 48, Succession Act ). On the admitted cases of the parties, Panchanon would, as a matter Of fact, be the nearest relation or next-of-kin of the deceased Sarojini, having a much closer connection with her by blood than the appellant Benoy, and prima facie, therefore, he would be entitled to letters of administration in the present case. It is argued, however, on behalf of the appellant that he (Panchanon) being a Hindu and not a Christian would not be entitled to letters of administration to the estate of the deceased Christian Sarojini even though he might, in fact, be the nearer consanguine relation or, for the matter of that, her nearest surviving relation or next-of-kin.

( 5 ) CONSANGUINITY connotes blood-relationship or descent from the same stock of ancestor. That is its dictionary meaning. That is also the meaning adopted by the statute (vide Section 24, Succession Act ). Panchanou therefore, satisfies the test of connection or relationship by consanguinity -- and that alone is relevant here the contest being between two rival claimants by blood, and the only question is whether he (Panchanon) being a Hindu and not a Christian would be entitled to the letters of administration to the estate of the deceased Sarojini who was a Christian at the time of her death or whether this difference in religion would exclude him and pave the way for the appellant's success in the present proceeding.

( 6 ) THERE is authority in this Court in favour of the view that a Hindu relation, if he is otherwise entitled to inherit the estate of a Christian deceased under the Indian Succession Act, which would admittedly govern cases of Christian succession, would not be disentitled to such inheritance merely because he is a Hindu (vide -- 'neepen Bala Debi v. Siti Kanta Banerjee', 15 Cal WN 158 (A) ). That indeed is the only possible view in the light of the Relevant provisions of law.

( 7 ) UNDER Section 29 of the present Succession Act (Act 39 of 1925) (which, it may be incidentally stated in its two Sub-sections (1) and (2) corresponds to old Sections 331 and 2 of the earlier Act (Act 10 of 1865), refer