DEENAMMA Vs. LIZIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The unsuccessful plaintiffs before the Courts below have projected the instant Second Appeal.

(2.) The plaintiffs / appellants herein filed O.S. No. 6064 of 1991 for declaration that late K. Shantha Rao professed and belonged to Hindu Religion and succession to his estate is governed by the provisions of Hindu Succession Act, 1956 and as such, they are entitled to succeed to the estate of the deceased and for permanent injunction restraining the defendants and their men from collecting the amount due to the estate of the deceased.

(3.) The first plaintiff is the mother of the deceased Shantha Rao, who was employed as a Godown Clerk in the Government Central Press, Madras while the second plaintiff is the wife and the plaintiffs 3 to 6 are the children of late Shantha Rao.The second plaintiff claimed that she married late Shantha Rao according to the Hindu rites and customs in the year 1974 and begot the plaintiffs 3 to 6. While so, according to the plaintiffs, the first defendant, who professes Christianity, had relationship with the deceased and gave birth to defendants 2 and 3. According to the second plaintiff, the wedding was celebrated as per the Hindu rites and customs and he remained to be a Hindu till his death.While so, the first defendant filed M.C. No. 2254 of 1976 under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the deceased for maintenance of herself and her two children and an Award of Rs. 75/- per month was granted in 1977. After the death of Shantha Rao, on 23.10.1988, the plaintiffs claiming to be the heirs of the deceased, approached the Tahsildar, Fort Tondiarpet Taluk, for issuance of Legal Heirship Certificate and obtained the same on 03.02.1989.Based on the Legal Heirship Certificate, the plaintiffs applied to the employer of the deceased for disbursement of the amount due to the estate of the deceased. However, the authorities directed the plaintiffs and defendants to get the Legal Heirship Certificate from the Court to claim the amount. The plaintiffs further contended that the body of the deceased was buried in the Kasimedu Burial Ground according to the Hindu rites and customs as it was professed by Adi-Andras to which they belong and she also received the funeral expenses from the employer. In the meanwhile, the defendants filed O.P. No. 29 of 1990 on the file of this Court for issuance of Succession Certificate. The further case of the plaintiffs is that though in the said petition, the first defendant claimed to have married the deceased on 20.3.1964 in Telugu Baptist Chruch, Chennai, and the marriage is alleged to be registered in the Office of the Registrar of Births and Deaths, the certificate of marriage is not acceptable to them. However, the Certificate was issued on 28.3.1990 against which O.S.A. No. 74 of 1991 was preferred and the same came to be allowed on 09.7.1991.Thereafter, Application Number 3714 of 1990 was heard and dismissed on 20.8.1991. Hence, the suit has been filed.