SHAKUNTALA BAI AND ORS. Vs. MAHAVEER PRASAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeals, mount an assailment against the judgment and order dated 25.9.2003 rendered by a Single Bench of the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan, allowing SB Civil Misc. Appeal No. 414/1997, preferred before it, by the Respondent No. 1, Mahaveer Prasad against the verdict of the learned District Judge, Udaipur dated 24.5.1997, in Original Civil Case No. 32/1992, instituted by him under Section 372 of the Indian Succession Act 1925 for issuance of succession certificate in his favour, as well as the judgment and order dated 23.08.2007 passed in Division Bench Civil Special Appeal No.187/2003 rendered by a Division Bench of the High Court sustaining the decision dated 25.09.2003 above referred to. Aggrieved on both the counts, the non-applicants in the succession certificate proceedings are in appeal. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties.

(2.) The facts in bare minimum as offered by the rival pleadings, are that the predecessor-in-interest of the Respondent No.1, Velchand had two sons, Amba Lal and Kanhaiya Lal. Respondent No. 1, Mahaveer Prasad was the son of Amba Lal who died in 1956. The other siblings of Respondent No. 1 were Shanti Lal, Chhabi Lal and Shakuntala Bai, the Appellant No. 1 herein. Chhabi Lal died leaving behind Shakuntala Jain, the Appellant No. 2, his widow and daughter Vishakha Jain, Appellant No. 3. The Respondent No. 1 was taken in adoption by Kanhaiya Lal, who had no son, in the year 1962, and a registered deed of adoption was executed on 30.10.1962. Kanhaiya Lal died on 06.01.1992 leaving besides his adopted son, Respondent No. 1, Mahaveer Prasad, his wife Sohanbai and his daughter Kantabai. Sohanbai died on 01.03.2001 and Kantabai on 25.11.2007 leaving behind two daughters, named Vijay Lakshmi and Kanchan Devi, Appellant No. 4 and 5 respectively. In due course, the name of Kantabai who had died during the pendency of the instant appeals, was deleted from the array of the parties.

(3.) The respondent No. 1, Mahaveer Prasad, filed an application before the learned Trial Court under Section 372 of the Indian Succession Act 1925 (for short hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') for issuance of succession certificate, to enable him to collect the rent from the tenants of the ground floor and basement thereunder of the property of Kanhaiya Lal (who was by then dead) situated at Plot No. 2, Bapu Bazar, Udaipur and the deposits in the bank account of the deceased. This was preceded by a Will dated 15.11.1978, which the Respondent No. 1 claimed to have been executed by Kanhaiya Lal, bequeathing property mentioned therein to him. As the records would reveal, this Will was in supersession of earlier Wills dated 01.11.1962 and 23.12.1974. The Respondent No. 1 founded his application for succession of certificate on the Will dated 15.11.1978, which according to him was the last in the line, validly executed by the testator Kanhaiya Lal. While non- applicant No. 1 and 2, Sohanbai (wife of Kanhaiya Lal) and Kantabai (daughter of Kanhaiya Lal) in their written-statement supported the application of the Respondent No.1 and pleaded that the succession certificate may be issued him as prayed for, the non-applicant No. 3 and 4 Chhabi Lal and Shakuntla alleged that the Will dated 15.11.1978 was a fictitious one and asserted that the one dated 23.12.1974, was the last valid Will of Kanhaiya Lal. Non-applicant No. 5 and 6 Vijay Lakshmi and Kanchan Devi, both daughters of Kantabai, did also avowed that the Will dated 15.11.1978 was a fake document and the one dated 23.12.1974 was the last valid Will for the testator above named.