KAMALA RAMAKRISHNAN Vs. R.NIRANJAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein is the wife of late Ramakrishnan. This petition is filed seeking Probate in the matter of last Will of R.Ramakrishnan dtd. 7/10/2018. Ramakrishnan died on 7/7/2019 leaving behind his wife Kamala Ramakrishnan (Petitioner), the son, Niranjan Ramakrishnan (the first respondent) and the daughter, Swetha Ramakrishnan (the second respondent). Under the Will, the testator has mentioned four immovable properties more fully described in the schedule "A to D ". Apart from those schedule mentioned properties, he had referred about bank deposits and other investments in the form of shares and debentures and his investments in the running business. He has bequeathed his movable and immovable properties to his wife KamalaRamakrishnan, the petitioner herein, after distributing cash and some of the properties by way of settlement to his son and daughter. Under the Will, KamalaRamakrishnan been appointed as Executor.

(2.) It is an unregistered Will executed in the presence of two witnesses by name Rahul Balaji and V.Krishnan. After the death of Ramakrishnan, the petitioner has moved the High Court for Probate of the original Will of Ramakrishnan in O.P.Sr.No.5600 of 2020. The papers were returned along with the original Will for rectification of the defects and the return papers along with the Original Will were handed to the petitioner by the counsel. The petitioner was in possession and custody of the returned papers including the original Will. During the Flood in the month of November, 2021, the house of the petitioner was inundated water and the documents viz., the petition papers including the original Will washed away by the floods leaving no trace of the papers. At that time, the petitioner was travelling Abroad. Therefore, she could not save the petition papers and the original Will. With this explanation, the petition has been filed with the photocopy of the Will executed by Ramakrishnan.

(3.) Apart from the petitioner KamalaRamakrishnan, one of the attesting witness by name V.Krishnan (PW-3), examined to speak about the execution of the Will by Ramakrishnan and his sound disposition of mind. The son and daughter of Ramakrishnan had filed affidavit giving their consent for grant of Probate in favour of KamalaRamakrishnan. KamalaRamakrishnan has also filed an affidavit explaining how she lost the original Will of her husband Ramakrishnan and to accept the photocopy of the Will and grant probate invoking Ss. 237 of the Indian Succession Act.