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2023 Supreme(SC) 985

ABHAY S. OKA, SANJAY KAROL
Meena Pradhan – Appellant
Versus
Kamla Pradhan – Respondent


Advocates appeared:
For the Appellant(s) : Dr. Ashutosh Garg, AOR
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Sumeer Sodhi, AOR Ms. Shreya Singh, Adv.

Judgement Key Points

Based on the provided legal document, the key points regarding the validity of a Will are as follows:

  1. A Will does not need to be proved with mathematical precision; instead, the court applies a test of the satisfaction of a prudent mind to determine its validity (!) .

  2. When there are suspicions regarding the execution of a Will, the Propounder bears the responsibility to dispel all legitimate suspicions before the Will can be accepted as the testator's last Will (!) (!) .

  3. Suspicious circumstances must be genuine, relevant, and valid, not merely based on doubt or suspicion without factual basis (!) .

  4. The statutory requirements for executing a Will must be strictly complied with, including the testator signing or affixing his mark, the Will being signed in a manner intended to give effect to it as a Will, and the Will being attested by at least two witnesses who have observed the signing in the presence of the testator (!) (!) .

  5. To prove the execution of a Will, at least one attesting witness who is alive, capable of giving evidence, and subject to court process must be examined (!) .

  6. The witnesses must testify that the Will was signed or acknowledged by the testator and that they signed the Will in the presence of the testator (!) .

  7. The presence of all witnesses at the same time is not necessary; it suffices that each witness saw the testator sign or acknowledge the Will in their presence and by his direction (!) (!) .

  8. If there are any suspicions surrounding the Will's execution, it is incumbent upon the Propounder to provide a clear and convincing explanation to dispel those suspicions (!) (!) .

  9. The core elements for validating a Will include that the testator signed it voluntarily, was of sound mind, was aware of its contents and effects, and that it was not executed under suspicious circumstances (!) .

  10. In the specific case, the evidence indicated that the Will was duly executed by the testator in a sound and disposing state of mind, voluntarily, and in compliance with legal requirements. The testimony of an attesting witness confirmed the proper execution, and there was no evidence suggesting the testator lacked mental capacity or that the Will was executed under undue influence or suspicious circumstances (!) (!) (!) .

  11. Allegations such as second marriage or bigamy are considered irrelevant to the main issue of the Will’s validity and are therefore not entertained in this context (!) .

  12. The courts below correctly upheld the validity of the Will, and the appeal was dismissed, affirming that the statutory and legal requirements for the Will’s validity had been satisfied (!) .

These points summarize the essential legal principles and the factual findings relevant to the validity of the Will as discussed in the document.


JUDGMENT :

SANJAY KAROL, J.

1. The facts, in brief, giving rise to the present appeal are as under: There was one Bahadur Pradhan who married Meena Pradhan (Defendant-2/Appellant No.1 herein) with whom he had two children namely, Ravi Kumar (Defendant-3/Appellant No.2 herein) and Ku. Sushma (Defendant-4/Appellant No.3 herein). Allegedly, he divorced his first wife and solemnised another marriage with Kamla Pradhan (Plaintiff-1/Respondent No.1 herein) who gave birth to a child namely Ku. Ritu (Plaintiff-2/Respondent No.2 herein). Bahadur Pradhan (hereinafter referred to as ‘testator’), seven days before his death (07.08.1992), executed a Will on 30.07.1992 in the presence of two witnesses namely Lok Bahadur Thapa (not examined) and Suraj Bahadur Limboo (PW2).

2. After the death of the testator, the Plaintiffs filed a case for receiving the testator’s dues wherein a succession certificate was issued in favour of Respondent No.1 by VI Additional District Judge, Jabalpur vide order dated 05.07.1995. Proceedings stood concluded with the reversal of such an order by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh in terms of order dated 17.11.1995, quashing the entire proceedings, observing the authentici


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