The principle of universal succession necessitates the consolidated enumeration of an estate regardless of asset location. Summary proceedings permit stays only upon specific proof of pending conflict and preclude review of orders unless explicitly granted by statute, with judicial stays persisting irrespective of duration.

Headnote:(A) Succession Laws - Inventory Proceedings - Unity of Inheritance - Universal Succession. The principle of universal succession requires the entire estate, including domestic and foreign assets, to be accounted for in partition proceedings. (Paras 16-20)

(B) Civil Procedure - Stay of Proceedings - Prerequisites. An application for stay based on pending external litigation requires specific pleading and concrete documentation demonstrating that the outcome of such litigation directly impacts the partition inventory. (Paras 12, 22-23)

(C) Review Jurisdiction - Statutory Limitation. Within summary proceedings, the power of review exists only if expressly conferred by the governing statute; it cannot be invoked through general procedural rules unless specifically incorporated. (Paras 26-28)

(D) Judicial Stays - Automatic Expiry. Stay orders granted by superior forums do not suffer from automatic expiration due to the lapse of time; they remain in effect until expressly varied or vacated. (Paras 7-8)

Facts of the case:
Successors initiated proceedings for the distribution of an estate. A request was filed to stay these processes to allow for the identification of assets situated across different jurisdictions. The court of first instance declined the stay and subsequent review applications. Furthermore, a later order was issued assuming an automatic lapse of a previous stay order based on a superseded precedent.

Findings of Court:
The court found that the request for stay failed to disclose specific links between external, undisclosed litigation and the inventory proceeding. It further determined that the specialized court lacks the power to review its own non-final orders and clarified that judicial stays persist until formally disposed of.

Issues: The primary questions concerned the necessity of staying inventory proceedings due to external asset investigations, the authority of the specialized court to review its own findings, and the validity of a claim regarding the automatic termination of judicial stay orders.

Ratio Decidendi: The court affirmed that universal succession necessitates the inclusion of all global assets, but the burden of proof for staying proceedings lies in providing detailed evidence of conflict, which was not met. It additionally ruled that summary courts lack jurisdiction to review their own orders without explicit statutory grant and corrected the misapplication of a precedent regarding the automatic lapsing of judicial stays.

Result: The appeal concerning the automatic cessation of stay orders was allowed; the appeals challenging the denial of the stay application and the maintainability of the review application were dismissed.

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard learned counsel for the respective parties. By consent of all the parties to the above appeals/cross objections, all these appeals/cross objections are disposed of by this common judgment, at the stage of admission. The above appeals/cross objection arise from an Order dated 03.07.2018, Order dated 26.02.2019 and from an Order dated 03.02.2024 passed in Inventory Proceeding No.78/2016/B before the Court of the Civil Judge, Senior Division at Panaji.

2. The facts required to be considered to decide the present appeals/cross objection are as under:-

(a) The estate leaver Anil Vasudeva Salgaocar expired on 01.01.2016 in Singapore, leaving as his moiety holder, his widow Mrs Lakshmi Anil Salgaocar (appellant no.1 in Appeal From Order No.28/2019) and four children as heirs to the estate; the four children are Mr Sameer Anil Salgaocar (respondent no.2 in AO 28/2019), Ms Chandana Anil Salgaocar (respondent no.1 in AO 28/2019 and Cross-Objector in AO 28/2019), Ms Purnima Anil Salgaocar (respondent no.3 in AO 28/2019) and Mr Arjun Anil Salgaocar (originally respondent no.4, later transposed as appellant no.2 as attorney of appellant no.1, in AO 28/2019).

For brevity, the parties shall be referred to by their first name in this judgment.

It is not in dispute that Anil was married to Lakshmi at Goa, with their marriage being registered in accordance with the provisions of the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 (Code) and are governed inter se by the provisions of that Code. It is also not in dispute that Anil, by virtue of his birth in Goa, was governed by the Code, and his estate, which consists of properties/assets, in the State of Goa, in other States in India and overseas would be governed by the provisions of the Code.

(b) It is also not in dispute that Chandana filed on 30.06.2016 a Case seeking Letters Of Administration to distribute the estate of late Anil which was numbered as Case No.HCF/S1/2017 before the Family Justice Courts in the Republic of Singapore. Initially, Chandana sought to be appointed as Administratrix but subsequently withdrew her application, and in that proceeding, Anil’s wife Lakshmi was granted Letters of Administration and was appointed Administratrix by the Family Justice Courts in the Republic of Singapore on 03.07.2017.

(c) In the meanwhile, Chandana also filed on 28.07.2016 an Inventory Proceeding bearing No.78/2016/B before the Court of the Civil Judge, Senior Division at Panaji seeking distribution of the estate of late Anil Salgaocar. In the Inventory Proceeding, since Lakshmi, was the spouse and moiety holder of Anil, she was appointed as Head of the Family on 20.10.2016. On 06.05.2017, Lakshmi, as Head of the Family filed a Declaration on Oath before the Inventory Court. This was in compliance with the provisions of Section 376 of the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding Act, 2012 (Goa Succession Act). However, the Head of the Family has not filed any Initial List of Assets in terms of Section 399 of the Goa Succession Act till date.

(d) On 15.02.2018, the Head of Family, Lakshmi, filed an application to stay the inventory proceedings which is at Exh.D-33 of the file of the Inventory Court; this application claimed that the Singapore Court, by its order of 03.07.2017 had appointed Lakshmi as the Administratrix and granted her Letters of Administration of the estate of late Anil. The application further states that the Singapore Court had dismissed Chandana’s application for appointment as Administratrix after she withdrew the same and in September 2017, Lakshmi was granted the Letters of Administration, pursuant to which she initiated the process of ascertaining complete details of the estate of Anil situated outside India, which were under litigation. The application states that all these proceedings were within the knowledge of Chandana.

The application for stay of the inventory proceedings further states that Anil was governed by the Code of

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Cases Referred (3)