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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
ASHIM KUMAR BANERJEE
ADMINISTRATOR GENERAL, UTTAR PRADESH, ALLAHABAD - Appellant
Versus
DHARAMVIR ALIAS MOHD.HAROON - Respondents
Testamentary Case 13 Of 1995
Decided On : 04/18/1996
ADMINISTRATORS GENERAL ACT - LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION - SUCCESSION CERTIFICATE - JURISDICTION - APPLICABILITY OF SECTIONS 7, 8, 9, 212, 213, 370, 372 OF THE INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT - INTERPRETATION - COURT'S DECISION INFLUENCED BY THE STATUS OF THE APPLICANTS AS UNIVERSAL LEGATEES AND THE APPLICABILITY OF SECTION 213(2) OF THE INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT.
Fact of the Case:
The Administrator General of Uttar Pradesh sought Letters of Administration for the estate of Dharambir alias Mohd. Haroon, who died without leaving any next of kin. Certain persons claiming to be beneficiaries under a Will executed by the deceased filed a case for grant of Succession Certificate. The Administrator General challenged the maintainability of the Succession Certificate application, arguing that it had exclusive jurisdiction under Section 7 of the Administrators General Act.
Finding of the Court:
The Court held that the Administrator General's petition under Section 9 of the Administrators General Act was not maintainable. It found that the applicants for the Succession Certificate were universal legatees under the Will and, therefore, had a right to apply for the certificate. The Court also held that the provisions of Section 213(2) of the Indian Succession Act did not apply to the case, as the Will in question did not fall under clauses (a) and (b) of Section 57 of the Act.
Issues: 1. Whether the Administrator General had exclusive jurisdiction to apply for Letters of Administration under Section 7 of the Administrators General Act, despite the existence of universal legatees under a Will. 2. Whether the provisions of Section 213(2) of the Indian Succession Act barred the grant of Succession Certificate to the applicants, who were not next of kin.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The Court interpreted Section 7 of the Administrators General Act to mean that the Administrator General's right to apply for Letters of Administration was not exclusive and did not preclude universal legatees from applying for probate, Letters of Administration with Will annexed, or Succession Certificate. 2. The Court interpreted Section 213(2) of the Indian Succession Act to mean that it did not apply to the case, as the Will in question did not fall under clauses (a) and (b) of Section 57 of the Act. Therefore, the bar contained in Section 370 of the Act, which prohibits the grant of Succession Certificate in cases where probate or Letters of Administration are required under Sections 212 and 213, was not attracted.
Final Decision: The Court dismissed the Administrator General's petition under Section 9 of the Administrators General Act, holding that it was not maintainable.
( 1 ) BY means of this petition filed under Section 9 of the Administrator General Act, the Administrators General, Uttar Pradesh has sought Letters of Administration in respect to the estate of one late Dharambir alias Mohd. Haroon.
( 2 ) IT has been stated in the petition that Dharambir alias Mohd. Haroon died at Mainpuri on 27-9-1994. The deceased who was a bachelor and did not leave him surviving any son, daughter or any other next of kin to succeed his estate. However, certain persons mentioned in paragraph No. 5 of the petition have filed Case No. 107 of 1994 in the Court of the District Judge, Mainpuri for grant of Succession Certificate claiming rights on the basis of a Will allegedly executed by late Dharambir in their favour. As the said persons were not the next of kins, under Section 7 of the Administrators General Act it is the Administrator General alone who is entitled to grant of Letters of Administration. It wasconsequently prayed that the Letters of Administration be granted to the Administrator General with regard to the estate left by the deceased.
( 3 ) ON notice being issued, a counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the opposite parties inter alia stating that the deceased had got himself converted into Hindu in the year 1947. He had executed a registered Will in favour of the said opposite parties bequeathing all his properties to them who have already filed a Misc. Case no. 107 of 1994 for the grant of Succession Certificate in their names regarding the debts and securities left by the deceased. In the said case, the Administrator General has been impleaded as opposite party No. 1 who instead of filing in a written statement and contesting the proceedings before the Court of the District Judge, has filed the present Testamentary Case No. 13 of 1995 before this Court in respect of the same properties left by the deceased. The present Testamentary Case No. 13 of 1995 is, therefore, not maintainable and has been filed only to harass the said parties. It is noteworthy that during the pendency of the present case before this Court, the Misc. Case No. 107 of 1994, filed before the District Judge, Mainpuri, has been allowed and the Succession Certificate has been ordered to be granted in favour of the applicants of the said case.
( 4 ) IN view of the stand taken by the parties, this Court directed that the question whether this petition under Section 9 of the Administrators General Act is maintainable should be heard first before the proceedings are convened as a suit. Consequently, I have heard Sri. J. Nagar, learned counsel appearing for the Administrator General and Sri. S. S. Pandey, learned counsel appearing for the opposite parties on this preliminary question.
( 5 ) SRI Nagar has mainly contended that under Section 7 of the Administrators General Act, when the deceased did not leave any next of kin, and the opposite parties were not residuary legatees it was the Administrator General alone who could file an application for grant of Letters of Administration, therefore, the Court below had no jurisdiction to grant Succession Certificate to the applicants. He has further contended that the applicants were claiming to be beneficiaries under the Will, therefore, also no Succession Certificate could be granted to them under Section 370 of the Indian Succession Act (the Act in short) and the order granting Succession Certificate, therefore, was nullity. Consequently, the present petition before this Court was maintainable and the order passed by the Court below in Misc. Case No. 107 of 1994 cannot stand in the way of the Administrator General. Learned counsel has further, contended that the provisions of Section 372 (e) of the Act lends support to his submissions. He has further invited the attention of the Court to model forms set out in the Appendix to the Act which requires to be specified that the deceased had not made any Will regarding his estate. The learned counsel for
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