The Revenue Court has no jurisdiction to decide the genuineness of a Will, and only the Civil Court can determine the genuineness of a Will.

JUDGMENT :

Vishal Mishra, J.

With the consent of the learned counsel for the parties, the matter is finally heard.

1. The present petition is being filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India being aggrieved by the order dated 29.10.2020 passed by the Additional Commissioner, Bhopal Division, Bhopal, whereby the appeal filed by the respondent against the order dated 7.2.2020 has been allowed.

2. It is alleged that with respect to the property in question as mentioned in para 5.1 of the petition the respondent has filed an application under sections 109 and 110 of M.P. Land Revenue Code before the Tahsildar seeking mutation of his name in the revenue records in place of her father Late Dharma on the basis of registered Will dated 3.10.2016 executed in her favour. Reply to the application was filed by the petitioner and there is a specific denial with respect to factum of execution of Will and specific objection was taken that the petitioners are daughters of Late Dharma, therefore, are having right and title over the property in question. They are entitled for equal share in the property and has opposed the mutation on the basis of so called Will.

3. The learned Tahsildar after recording the statements of the parties has passed the order dated 2.1.2020 in favour of the respondent. The petitioners have challenged the order passed by the Tahsildar by filing an appeal before the S.D.O.. The learned S.D.O. has allowed the appeal and set aside the order passed by the Tahsildar vide its order dated 7.2.2020 holding that the Will which have been produced by the respondent is doubtful because when there are four daughter of Dharma then why Dharma has executed a Will in favour of the respondent only. The Will was treated as a suspicious document. The second appeal was preferred before the Additional Commissioner, Bhopal Division Bhopal by the respondent challenging the order passed by the Sub Divisional Officer on the ground that there is no right of the petitioners on the land which belongs to Dharma because he willingly executed the Will in her favour and given the land to her through registered Will. It is argued that once the 'Will' on the basis of which mutation is sought is being put to challenge and denied by the other party then the Revenue Authority are having no jurisdiction to consider the genuineness of the Will. The jurisdiction rise with the civil court. He has relied upon the judgment passed in the case of Avnish Kumar Vs. Satyaprakash, 2020 MPJR (1) SN 9 and has argued that in view of the law laid down in the aforesaid case and once the Will is being put to challenge the only recourse available to the respondent is to file a civil suit and get the Will decided by the Civil Courts. He has prayed for quashment of the order passed by the Additional Commissioner.

4. Per Contra counsel appearing for the respondent has supported the impugned judgment and stated that the Will in question is registered Will and the learned Tahsildar has recorded the statements of either parties as well as witness to the Will and thereafter he has arrived to the conclusion that the Will in question is genuine Will and accordingly he has directed for mutation of the name. So far as legal issues raised by the petitioner that the genuineness of the Will can only be decided by the Civil Court is concerned, it is argued that the aforesaid analogy has been followed by this Court in large number of cases following the judgment passed by the Punjab & Haryana High Court in the case of Rajinder Singh and another Vs. Financial Commissioner decided on 21st March, 2013 in Civil Writ Petition No. 3821/2011. It is alleged that the aforesaid order was passed by the Punjab & Harayan High Court on the ground that there was no provision in the Land Revenue Code of Punjab & Haryana to get the Will tested by the Revenue Authorities whereas the M.P. Land Revenue Code applicable in Madhya Pradesh, the Tahsildar is having an authority to check the genuineness of all