Legal heir certificates must include all admitted Class-I heirs despite prior civil suit dismissal on merits.

ORDER

The petitioner challenges the order dated

23.01.2017 issued by the third respondent, whereby the petitioner’s request to include his name in the legal heir certificate issued in respect of the deceased, Chinnathambi, was rejected.

2. The respondents 4 and 5 had submitted an application before the third respondent seeking issuance of a legal heir certificate certifying that they alone are the legal heirs of the deceased Chinnathambi. The said application was accepted and a legal heir certificate was issued accordingly. The petitioner, claiming to be the son of the deceased Chinnathambi, contends that respondents 4 and 5, by suppressing this fact, had fraudulently obtained the legal heir certificate. The petitioner’s request for inclusion of his name was, however, rejected by the impugned order.

3.Heard the learned counsel appearing on either side.

4.The respondents 4 and 5 have not disputed that the petitioner is also the son of the deceased Chinnathambi and a Class-I legal heir. In view of this admitted position, the impugned order passed by the third respondent rejecting the petitioner’s claim for inclusion in the legal heir certificate is not legally sustainable. It is also brought to the notice of this Court that the petitioner had filed a suit in O.S. No. 21 of 2019 on the file of the District Munsif, Devakkottai, for partition and separate possession, and the said suit has been dismissed on merits. However, the dismissal was not on the ground that the petitioner failed to establish his status as a legal heir of the deceased. The rights of the parties have thus been adjudicated in the said suit, and the petitioner cannot rely upon the legal heir certificate to reopen issues already decided in the partition suit.

5.In view of the above, the writ petition is allowed and the impugned order dated 23.01.2017 is set aside. The third respondent is directed to include the name of the petitioner along with respondents 4 and 5 in the legal heir certificate of the deceased Chinnathambi within a period of eight (8) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. No costs. Consequently, the connected miscellaneous petition is closed.