CHHANO DEVI Vs. DELHI MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been preferred by the petitioner seeking for a direction to the respondent authority to mutate Plot No. 39, Block-E, East of Kailash Residential Scheme, New Delhi in favour of the petitioner after the death of Sh. Muni Lal on the basis of the alleged will dated 12.3.1969 in accordance with the notice published by the authority in the newspaper on 22.10.1990 and its policy guidelines and Resolution No. 163/93.

(2.) It is stated in the writ petition that late Sh. Muni Lal was the owner of the plot of Land being No. E-39, East of Kailash, Residential Scheme, New Delhi. It is alleged that the petitioner was adopted by deceased Sh. Muni Lal vide deed of adoption dated 27.10.1969 which was duly registered in the Office of the Sub-Registrar. It was also alleged that the deceased Sh. Muni Lal left behind a registered will dated 12.3.1969 in favour of the petitioner. Sh. Muni Lal died on 29.5.1972 at Delhi, subsequent in which in the year 1973 the petitioner made an application to the DDA for mutation of the aforesaid plot in her favour on the basis of the registered will as also the registered adoption deed. Several communications thereafter were made by the petitioner for mutation of the said plot in her favour on the basis of the registered will as also the registered deed of adoption. In spite of the aforesaid requests, mutation has not been oone in favour of the petitioner and accordingly the

(3.) Counsel appearing for the petitioner, during the course of his arguments, relied upon the notice published by the respondent No. 1/DDA in the newspaper on 22.10.1990. In the said notice published the DDA had announced its decision to dispense with the requirement of obtaining "No Objection Certificates" from other legal heirs in case of mutation on the basis of the registered will. It was announced that such No Objection Certificates from other legal heirs would not be necessary in the cases where registered will has been executed in favour of family member of the testator. It was also announced that in case where the testator has not family of his own, the family member wilt mean his legal heirs as defined in the Law of Succession applicable to him and that in such cases mutation will be allowed only after expiry of three months from the date of death of the testator so that, if any legal heir has any objection that may be filed during that period. He also sought to rely upon Resolution No. 163/93 of the Delhi Development Authority wherein it was decided that in the case of devolution of the property on the basis of a will of family member furnishing of certain documents was only necessary. He submitted that the deceased Muni Lal was the uncle (mausa) of the petitioner and he had no daughter of his own and so he adopted the petitioner as a daughter. By virtue of adoption deed dated 27th October, 1969 she was adopted as the daughter and became a family member of the deceased under the law and, therefore, was covered by the definition of the family member in terms of the notice published in the Statesman dated 22.10.1990 and was entitled to get mutation of the above plot in her favour on the basis of the registered will dated 12.3.1969 after the death of her father late Sh. Muni Lal in accordance with the policy guidelines of the respondent/DDA.