In order to be entitled to a succession certificate, the claimant must prove that they are the legal heir of the deceased.

K.M. Agarwal, J.

1. This is objector's appeal under Section 384 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, (in short, the "Act"), against grant of succession certificate to the respondent in respect of certain amounts payable to the deceas-Budha Bahadur.

2. Budha Bahadur was working as Section Guard in Korea Colliery of the South Eastern Coal-fields Ltd. He died on 28-10-1988. After his death, his father Amar Sai and brother Pooran Sai applied for succession certificate under Section 372 of the Act in the Court of Additional District Judge, Manendragarh, Circuit Baikunthpur, District Sarguja. It was registered as Succession Case No. 2 of 1989. The father Amar Sai died during pendency of the proceedings and his name was struck out. The appellant came forward to object the grant of succession certificate to the respondent by claiming herself to be the widow of the deceased. Her claim was rejected and succession certificate was directed to be issued in favour of the respondent by the impugned order dated 29.8.1990. Being aggrieved, she has preferred this appeal.

3. It is necessary to mention here that the appellant had also applied for succession certificate by filing an application under Section 372 of the Act before the Additional District Judge, Manendrgarh, District Sarguja. It was registered as Succession Case No. 7 of 1989. No one appeared to raise objection and, therefore, by order dated 26.9,1989, succession certificate was directed to be issued to the appellant in respect of the amounts payable to the deceased. When the respondent came to know about this order, he filed an application for recalling the order in favour of the appellant on the ground that she was not the widow of the deceased Budha Bahadur. This application is said to be pending.

4. It is unfortunate that the appellant did not disclose in her evidence dt. 23.8.1990 as N.A.W. 1, or file a copy of the order dt. 26.9.1989 passed in her savour in Succession Case No. 7/1989, though she had disclosed in paragraph 5 of her objection dated 28 7.89 about filing of an application for succession certificate with incorrect description of the Court. It was all the more deplorable that Shri S.R. Dohare, the Additional District Judge, Baikunthpur, who heard and decided Succession Case No. 2 of 1989, over looked the possibility of conflicting orders even after noticing the fact that another case for similar relief in respect of the same amounts of the deceased Budha Bahadur was pending in another Court, as would be evident from paragraph 4 of his impugned order. In such a situation I would have ordinarily quashed both of orders passed by the Courts below in Succession Case Nos. 2/89 and 7/89 and remanded the cases with a direction for their simultaneous hearing by one and the same Court. However, I find that in Succession Case No. 7/89 decided on 26.9.89 there was no one to contest the application for succession certificate filed by the appellant, may be due to ignorance of the proceedings: It must not be forgotten that the respondent and his deceased father and brother were tribals, residing in a tribal area. They were illiterates and they might not have read the public notice of application for succession filed by the appellant, published in a daily newspaper. So far as Succession Case No. 2/89 filed by the respondent and his father was concerned, the appellant had derived knowledge of it and accordingly had raised objection. The application was contested and decided after affording the parties opportunity to adduce their evidence. It will be of no use in remanding the case or cases to decide them afresh with fresh evidence and exposing the parties to exploitation resulting from unnecessary delay in disposing of the case or cases for succession certificate in respect of the estate of Budha Bahadur, who died in October 1988. The proper course appears to be to set aside the order dated 26.9.1989 passed in uncontested Succession Case No. 7/89 by the Addl. District Judge, Mane