OD- 5 IA No.GA/8/2025 In TS/12/2023 IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA Testamentary and Intestate Jurisdiction ORIGINAL SIDE In the Goods of:

DR. APARNA CHATTOPADHYAY (DEC)

-AND-

RAM EKBAL DUBEY -VERSUS-

MAYA CHATTERJEE AND ORS.

BEFORE:

The Hon'ble JUSTICE APURBA SINHA RAY Date : 9th January, 2026.

Appearance:

Mr. Swernendu Ghosh, Adv.

Mr. Ankur Jain, Adv.

Ms. Sweta Ganghi, Adv.

...for the petitioner.

The Court: Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that although the petitioner was granted letters of administration in respect of the asset of Dr. Aparna Chattopadhyay (Deceased) in favour of the petitioner subject to compliance of all legal formalities, the department in compliance of one of the legal formalities asked Ram Ekbal Dubey, being the applicant herein, to submit a personal bond for a sum of Rs.13,94,000/- with surety.

Learned counsel for the petitioner has also submitted that when sole beneficiary is there, the law does not require the petitioner to submit personal bond with surety. However, his client is ready to submit personal bond but law requires that there is no need to furnish surety in support of such personal bond. In this regard, learned counsel has referred to a judgment of an Hon’ble Co-ordinate Bench of this Court reported in 2023 SCC OnLine Cal 1137.

I have gone through the said decision wherein the Hon’ble Coordinate Bench has been pleased to observe as follows:

“12. On a conspectus of the above legal position on the requirement of furnishing a surety and administration bond, it maybe noted that in a majority of decisions, it has been held that where a sole beneficiary/legatee is involved, the requirement of offering an indemnity bond/surety bond is dispensable for the simple reason that it would be an exercise in futility to call upon a sole beneficiary/legatee under a will that has been duly proved, to furnish an administration bond/surety bond when the estate of the deceased has been bequeathed in favour of the very same person. Even when it comes to cases where petitions are filed for grant of letters of administration under a will, on account of the bar imposed under Section 222 of the Act that stipulates that probate can be granted only to an executor appointed by the will, the courts have ordinarily adopted a liberal approach and have taken a pragmatic view by holding that judgments pronounced in exercise of testamentary and intestate succession are in the nature of proceedings in rem and the statutory provisions and rules are framed to realize the ultimate objective of succession.”

The said decision has also taken into consideration Section 291 of the Indian Succession Act and all other judgments mentioned in the said decision.

As the petitioner is willing to give personal bond, I think that the judicial decision rendered by the Hon’ble Co-ordinate Bench of this Court reported in 2023 SCC OnLine Cal 1137 is applicable in this matter.

The department is directed to accept personal bond of Rs.13,94,000/-

without any surety from the petitioner in compliance with all legal formalities as indicated in the relevant judgment.

Mr. Nirmalya Dasgupta is given liberty to withdraw his affidavit-in-

justification affirmed on December 20, 2024. Accordingly, A No.GA/8/2025 is disposed of.

(APURBA SINHA RAY, J.)

A/s.