IMPORTANT POINT
The jurisdiction for issuing Legal Heirship Certificate and the proper course for adjudication of legal heirs in land acquisition cases.

1. The petitioners are claiming that they are the legal heirs of one Sri. V.M. Jayadevan, who died on 31.03.2006.

2. According to the petitioners, the land belonging to the said Sri. V.M. Jayadevan was acquired under the Land Acquisition Act and they require Legal Heirship Certificate for getting payment of the compensation amount from the land acquisition authorities as his legal heirs. They made a Request to the Respondent No. 1 to issue a Legal Heirship Certificate of Late Sri. V.M. Jayadevan, but the same was turned down by Ext.P6 order holding that the authority to issue Legal Heirship Certificate of Late Sri. V.M. Jayadevan is the Revenue Authorities in Mahe, the place where Sri. V.M. Jayadevan had resided and was dead. The petitioners have filed this writ petition challenging Ext.P6 and seeking direction to the respondents to issue Legal Heirship Certificate of the said late V.M. Jayadevan.

3. The Respondent No. 1 filed a Statement opposing the prayers in the writ petition and reiterating the reasons stated in Ext.P6.

4. Ext.P1 Death Certificate shows that the Sri. V.M. Jayadevan died at Kottupalayam within the Municipality of Oulgaret of Union Territory of Pondicherry.

5. The learned Government Pleader argued that the authority to issue the Legal Heirship Certificate of Sri. V.M. Jayadevan is the authority within the Mahe District in which place the aforesaid V.M. Jayadevan died and that the Revenue authorities concerned can issue Legal Heirship Certificate only after conducting necessary enquiry in the matter. According to him, Sri. V.M. Jayadevan was admittedly, a permanent resident in Mahe till his death and his death took place in Mahe and hence the enquiry in the present case could be done only in Mahe.

6. The Learned Single Judge of this Court had occasion to consider the purpose for which the Legal Heirship Certificate is issued in Renuka K.K. vs. State of Kerala and Others, 2018 (5) KHC 601. In the said decision, the Learned Judge referred to Clause 261 of the Village Manual and G.O. (MS) No. 359/67/RD dated 10.08.67 which provides for issuance of Heirship Certificates. As per the said provision, Heirship Certificates are intended specifically for movable assets; the value of which is less than Rs. 5,000/- .

7. In a later decision in Premalatha Subash vs. State of Kerala, 2021 (5) KHC 736 another learned Single Judge considered the very same issue. By the time the amount of Rs. 5,000/- was enhanced to Rs. 1,00,000/- by way of amendment as per G.O. (MS) No. 136/2007/RD dated 27/04/2007. The said decision reveals that G.O. (MS) No. 359/67/RD dated 10/08/1967 deals with Standing Orders on issuance of certificates including ‘Heirship Certificates’ that under the provisions of the Kerala Financial Code, Volume I, pay, leave, salary and other emoluments due to and claimed on behalf of a deceased Government servant can be paid without the production of the usual legal authority, but on production of an heirship certificate issued by the Tahsildar in whose jurisdiction the Government Servant lived and died or was drawing his pay etc. or in whose jurisdiction the heirs of the deceased live, provided the amount due to the deceased Government Servant does not exceed Rs. 1 lakh; that as per Part III of the Kerala Service Rules, the arrears of pension of a deceased pensioner can be paid to the heirs of the deceased to the extent of Rs. 1 lakh on production of an heirship certificate issued by a Tahsildar under the State Government in whose jurisdiction the pensioner lived and died or was drawing his pension or in whose jurisdiction the heirs of the deceased live; that the heirship certificates should be issued by the Tahsildars on applications put in by the claimants concerned and after enquiring into the claims through the village officers concerned; that other formalities like publication in gazette, calling for objections, enquiry into objections etc are to be completed before issuance; that the said Government Order also aut