A CHANDRASEKHARAN NAIR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) An Original Petition had been filed, under Section 372 of the Indian Succession Act, before the subordinate Judge's Court, Ottapalam, by four persons, who are brothers and sisters of Sri.A.Narayanakutty. That gentleman had expired on 07-08-1997 while at Sanjeevani Hospital, Kulappully. Sri.Narayankutty was unmarried and his parents had pre-deceased him. Petitioners claimed that they were the only legal heirs of the deceased person, and required the certificates for claiming assets locked in by way of securities in banking Institutions at Ottapalam.

(2.) Assets described were (1) a Fixed Deposit for Rs. one lakh in the State Bank of India, Ottapalam, (2) a Fixed Deposit for Rs. 80,000/- in the Nedugadi Bank, Ottapalam and (3) funds remaining in Savings Bank Account [S.B.A/c.No. 3403] in the same Bank. In respect of the Fixed Deposit Account with the State Bank of India, Naryanankutty had presented Ext.B2 nomination, wherein the name of the nominee had been shown as Prima Minister's National relief Fund. Likewise, in respect of the accounts in the Nedugadi Bnak, he had addressed a letter (Ext.B1) dated 04-07-1996 to the Manager of the bank, requesting that in the event of his death, he desired that the proceeds are to be transferred to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, Trivandrum, Kerala State.

(3.) Sri.Naryanakutty had died intestate. The submission made before the Court was that the nominations, if any, were not valid or legally enforceable and the legal heirs alone are entitled to the estate and not the nominees. Further contention raised was that the right of the nominees necessarily was confined to a duty of accepting the amounts, in due course, for distributing it as among the legal heirs. A certificate would have therefore avoided a circuitous course.