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2010 Supreme(Ori) 26

2010 (II) OLR — 70
M.M. DAS, J.
Smt. Subasini Choudhury... Appellant
Versus
Smt. Bisakha Kar and others... Respondents
F.A.O. No.251 of 2004
Decided on 13th January, 2010.

Advocates:
For Appellant:M/s. S. P. Mishra, S. Mishra, S. Dash, S. Nanda and S. Mishra
For Respondents:Mr. Ashok Mohanty, Advocate General &
Addl. Standing Counsel (For respondent Nos. 2 & 3)
Mr. Chittaranjan Pattnaik (For respondent No.1).
Mr. Damodar Sahoo, (For intervenor)

Headnote:INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT, 1925 - Sec. 276 - Will - Probate of - Dismissed by Trial Court - Appeal - Mode of proving the will does not ordinarily differ from that of proving any other document except as to the special requirement of attestation prescribed in the case of a will in Section 63 of the Act - The onus of proving the will is on the propounder and in the absence of suspicious circumstances, surrounding the execution of the Will, proof of testamentary capacity and the signature of the testator as required by law is sufficient to discharge the onus - In the present case held, the will is a genuine one, there is no suspicious circumstance concerning the execution of the will; the testator executed the will while in sound health and mind and the will is the last will of the testator - Direction to probate the will and required letter of administration to be issued in favour of the appellant.

       (Paras - 5 to 7)

JUDGMENT

M.M. DAS, J. — This appeal has been filed challenging the order dated 15.5.2004 passed in Probate Misc. Case No.5 of 2003 by the learned Civil Judge (Senior Division), Bhubaneswar.

2. The petitioner in the said Probate Misc. Case is the appellant before this Court. She filed the said case for probate of a Will under Section 276 of the Indian Succession Act. The case of the petitioner was that the residential house site over plot No.3 in Unit-III, Bhubaneswar City having an area of Ac.0.500 decimals belongs to late Rama Chandra Kar, S/O. Late Banchhanidhi Kar of Dargha Bazar, Cuttack. The said Rama Chandra Kar died on 5.3.1996 at S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack. Before his death, he executed his last Will and testa¬ment in favour of the petitioner on 14.11.1995 in presence of the witnesses. Initially, no opp.parties were impleaded in the said Probate Misc. Case. But subsequently, by an order passed by the learned District Judge, Khurda at Bhubaneswar on 5.7.1999, one Smt. Bisakha Kar, the State of Orissa through the Secretary, G.A. Department and the Director of Estates, Government of Orissa, G.A. Department were added as opp.parties in the said Probate Misc. Case. When the matter was pending before the Court below, a finding has been recorded in the impugned order that in spite of sufficiency of service of notice, the opp.parties, who were arrayed as parties, did not appear in the said case, except the State of Orissa. The learned Court below, while ultimately dismissing the Probate Misc. Case, in the impugned order has made certain observations and arrived at certain findings, as stated herein below :-

(i) The Will is an unregistered Will even though the testator beneficiary and the witnesses went to the Sub-Registrar Office for the execution of the Will on 11.11.1995, no explanation is given as to why the Will was not registered.

(ii) In the initial stage of the case, the application for pro¬bate was filed without impleading Bisakha Kar and the State Gov¬ernment as parties.

(iii) That the beneficiary and the attesting witnesses who are examined as P.W.1, P.W.2 and P.W.3 respectively, could not say the name of the typist who typed the Will and they also could not say who filled up the blank space in page 3 of the Will.

(iv) All the P.Ws. admitted that the testator has one daughter, namely, Bisakha Kar as the only legal heir to succeed to the property of the testator, and the consent of Bisakha Kar has not been obtained in the Will.

(v) The intention of the testator is not explained for executing the Will in favour of a complete outsider while there is a legal heir to succeed to the whole property of the testator. Such a situation is highly suspicious.

(vi) No relations or any independent advisor of the testator were present at the time of execution of the Will.

(vii) The witnesses to the Will are not related to the testa¬tor and they have no previous acquaintance with the testator. The witnesses are picked up.

(viii) While the P.W. No.2 in the cross-examination by the State stated that he came to the residence of P.W.1 where he found the testator, the P.W.3 and the Doctor were there and they all came to Okil Khana, the P.W.3 stated in the cross-examination by the State that he came directly to Okil Khana.

(ix) P.W.2 has stated in the cross-examination by the State that the Doctor- D.C. Panda examined the testator and found him in good health and in sound mind and gave a certificate. The said certificate was not produced in the Court nor was the doctor examined.

(x) In the Court of the Civil Judge (Sr. Division), Cuttack, a Civil Suit bearing T.S. No.32 of 1978 involving the suit property is pending.

(xi) Though the witnesses for the plaintiff have stated that the testator was in sound health and sound mind, he died after four months of the execution of the Will.

Each of the above observations and findings have been chal¬lenged in the appeal.

3. During the course of hearing of the appeal, learned counsel for the Sta








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