VISHIN N KHANCHANDANI Vs. VIDYA LACHMANDAS KHANCHANDANI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) Whether the nominee specified in the National Savings Certificate, on the death of its holder, becomes entitled to the sum due under the certificate to the exclusion of all other persons , or whether the amount of the certificate can be retained by him for the benefit of the legal heirs of the deceased - is the sole question required to be adjudicated by us in this appeal by special leave.

(3.) The present dispute is with respect to the savings certificates, the holder of which was Lachmandas Naraindas Khanchandani. Appellant No. 1 is the brother, appellant No. 2 the step brother, the respondent No. 1 is the widow and respondent No. 2 is the daughter of the deceased-holder. The deceased was serving in the Income-tax Department and has left behind debts consisting of National Savings Certificates, amounts in Compulsory Deposit Schemes, Post Office Cumulative Time Deposit Scheme and Pass Book Post Office Savings Bank. The respondent No. 1 filed a petition under Section 370 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 for the grant of succession certificate in respect of debts and securities left by the aforesaid deceased in the Court of Civil Judge, Senior Division, Thane. The appellants contested the claim with respect to such National Savings Certificates in which they had been mentioned as nominees of the deceased. The Court of Civil Judge, Senior Division, Thane held that the respondents-plaintiffs were entitled to the grant of succession certificate in respect of the debts mentioned in Schedules A and B to the application excluding the National Savings Certificates enumerated at Sl. Nos. 17 to 21 in Schedule A and Compulsory Deposit Scheme mentioned at Sl. Nos. 1 to 4 in Schedule B. It was further held that the appellants herein were not entitled to the delivery from the respondents of the National Savings Certificates and Pass Book Post Office Savings Bank in respect of which they had been nominated by the deceased. The Civil Judge while issuing the succession certificate in favour of the respondents-plaintiffs to the extent indicated hereinabove held them entitled to get the amount of the said debts with accrued interest thereon subject to their furnishing necessary Court-fee stamp, Estate Duty Certificate and the security to the extent of the assets. Not satisfied with the orders of the Civil Judge, the respondents herein filed First Appeal No. 849 of 1982 in the High Court of Bombay praying for setting aside that portion of the order of the Civil Judge by which their claim with regard to the National Savings Certificates, in respect of which the appellants were the nominees, had been disallowed. The High Court allowed the appeal and directed the issuance of succession certificate in favour of the respondents in respect of debts not only mentioned in Sl. Nos. 1 to 16 in Annexure A and Sl. Nos. 2, 3, 5 and 6 in Annexure B but also in respect of the debts mentioned at Sl. Nos. 17 to 26 in Annexure A and Sl. Nos. 1 and 4 in Annexure B. It was further directed that the respondents shall be entitled to equal share in the amounts which were due on securities listed in Annexures A and B to the application/plaint on payment of necessary Court-fee stamps and furnishing estate duty certificate. As there was no other claimant, the Court held that there was no necessity to furnish any security.