JOSEPH LOURENCO Vs. FR ROSARINHO E LOURENCO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) INVENTORY proceedings were initiated on the death of Edward Lourenco, Maria Pia Lourenco and Agapito Lourenco and in the said Inventory proceedings Fr. Rosario was appointed as Cabeca de Casal, being the eldest male member of the family. Applicant Joseph, who is brother of Fr. Rosario, filed objection to the appointment of Fr. Rosario and claimed that he should have been appointed as Cabeca de Casal. An application to that effect was filed by the applicant Joseph. Applicant Joseph produced three documents, namely, a copy of declaration of Electoral Roll dated 12-5-1983, three medical certificates of Doctors relating to the said three deceased and a certificate from the Chief Officer. In addition the applicant relied upon an affidavit of Robert DSouza.

(2.) AFTER hearing the parties, the Civil Judge, Senior Division, Margao, dismissed the application filed by the said applicant Joseph and it is this order which is challenged in this Revision.

(3.) COUNSEL the parties were heard. Senior Advocate, Shri Coelho Pereira urged before me that it was incumbent upon the Lower Court to have conducted an inquiry into the matter as contemplated by law and the Lower Court could not decide the issue merely on the basis of affidavits. It was next contended by him that it is now well settled that provisions of Civil Procedure Code do not apply to Inventory proceedings and in this connection reliance has been placed on the decision in Zacarias Durate Domingos Pereira v. Camilo Inacio Evaristo Pereira A. I. R. 1984 Bom. 295. Shri Coelho Pereira has placed reliance upon paras 25 and 27 of the said Judgment. He, therefore, contends that no proper inquiry was conducted by the Lower Court. Alternatively he also contends that the Lower Court erred in rejecting the documentary evidence produced by the Applicant and upon placing reliance on a certificate of the Parish priest which had been filed by the respondents.