Abuse of Process of Law in Succession Proceedings

JUDGMENT

Amit Bansal, J. - The present petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India impugns two orders dated 27th March, 2021 passed by the Administrative Civil Judge, South-East, Saket Court, New Delhi in Succ. Court No.1554/16, whereby the application filed on behalf of the petitioner Company, inter alia, seeking impleadment in the succession proceedings and permitting the petitioner Company to cross-examine the respondent no.1, PW-1 in the succession proceedings, has been dismissed. Furthermore, the objections filed on behalf of the petitioner Company have also been dismissed.

2. Submissions of the parties were heard on 13th September, 2021 and on 17th November, 2021, when the judgment was reserved.

3. Brief facts leading to the filing of the present petition are set out below:

3.1 Late Sh. Somesh Mehrotra was a director and shareholder in the petitioner Company. He expired on 22nd August, 2015.

3.2 A suit bearing CS(OS) No.65/2018 was filed by the petitioner Company seeking recovery of Rs.1,50,00,000/- along with interest from the estate of late Sh. Somesh Mehrotra, which is pending before this Court.

3.3 The Succession Petition from which the present petition arises was filed on behalf of the respondents No.1 and 2, being the wife and the daughter of late Sh. Somesh Mehrotra respectively on 3rd October, 2015.

3.4 The respondents No.3, 4 and 5 being the father, brother and sister of late Sh. Somesh Mehrotra respectively, were impleaded as respondents in the said Succession Petition.

3.5 The petitioner Company filed an application for impleadment in the Succession Petition, which was dismissed by the Succession Court vide order dated 15th September, 2020.

3.6 The said order was challenged before this Court and this Court vide order dated 24th November, 2020 in CM(M) No.559/2020 gave permission to the petitioner Company to file its objections in the succession proceedings.

3.7 Accordingly, the petitioner Company filed its objections on 18th December, 2020 and also filed an application seeking impleadment in the Succession Petition and sought permission to cross-examine PW-1 and direction to the respondent No.2 to enter appearance in her individual and independent capacity and to file her independent and separate affidavit of evidence.

3.8 The said application and the objections filed on behalf of the petitioner Company were dismissed by the Succession Court vide orders dated 27th March, 2021. Hence, this petition.

4. The application for impleadment filed by the petitioner Company was dismissed by the Succession Court vide the impugned order reasoning/observing that, (i) the application was an abuse of process of law as on an earlier occasion, vide order dated 15th September, 2020, a similar application had already been rejected by the Succession Court; (ii) this Court vide order 24th November, 2020 did not allow the impleadment of the petitioner Company, but only allowed the petitioner Company to file its objections; (iii) there was no question of allowing cross-examination of the respondents No.1 and 2 by the petitioner Company; and (iv) if any direction was to be given in respect of the respondent No.2, being the daughter of late Sh. Somesh Mehrotra and who had become a major during the pendency of the succession proceedings, the same was between the Court and the said respondent No.2 and no application in this regard could be made by the petitioner Company. With the aforesaid observations, the application filed on behalf of the petitioner Company was dismissed with costs of Rs.25,000/- as, in the opinion of the Succession Court, the same was filed only to delay the proceedings.

5. The objections filed on behalf of the petitioner Company were also dismissed by the Succession Court vide impugned order of the same date, by observing/holding that, (i) proceedings for grant of succession certificates were summary in nature and therefore, difficult questions of law and facts cannot be decided in such proceedings; (ii) Section 3