MANMIT KAUR GANDHI Vs. BUDH SINGH ANAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order passed by the learned Single Judge dated 13th June, 2002 in Misc. Petition No. 75 of 1999. The said petition was preferred by the present appellants for revocation of letters of administration of the last Will of late Sardar Harbhajan Singh granted to one Mrs. Veeranwali Budhsingh Anand dated 6th November, 1989. The appellants herein preferred the said application on the ground that they are the daughters of deceased Sardar Harbhajan Singh and under the Will of their father, they have not received any benefit. It is their case that the said Will is made under suspicious circumstances and that the letter of administration obtained by their grandmother is void, illegal and deserves to be set aside.

(2.) The said application was resisted by the respondents on various grounds. The respondents took out a Notice of Motion being Notice of Motion No. 1383 of 2000 on the ground that the appellants herein have no right to move the Court and as such the application was not maintainable. So far as the factual aspect of the matter is concerned, one Veeranwali Budhsingh Anand filed Probate Petition No. 298 of 1990. In the said probate petition, a caveat was filed by the maternal grandfather of the appellants. The learned Single Judge dismissed the said caveat by a speaking order on 22nd November, 1995. On the basis of the affidavit on record, it was found by the Court at the time of decision of the caveat that both the appellants herein are the adopted children of one Taranjit Singh Sahani and they have been adopted by him in view of the re-marriage of the mother of the present appellants. The father of the present appellants divorced the mother of the appellants and the mother of the present appellants thereafter went to England and remarried there. In view of the affidavit filed by the maternal grandfather of the appellants, caveat was dismissed and the proceedings taken out by the said Veeranwali were processed further and ultimately the letters of administration was granted in her favour.

(3.) It is not in dispute that the appellants did not move the Court by filing any application for revocation of letters of administration granted to the original applicant. After considerable time, in the year 1999, the present appellants moved the petition before the learned Single Judge for revocation of letters of administration on the ground that they are the daughters of late Sardar Harbhajan Singh and, therefore, their rights cannot be denied in their father's estate. In order to substantiate their say, they relied on the provisions of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956. The reference was made to the said provisions on the ground that their deceased father Sardar Harbhajan Singh did not consent to the children having been given in adoption and, therefore, deceased Sardar Harbhajan Singh continued to be their natural father and their rights cannot be denied on the basis of the so-called adoption. It is their case that in view of the fact that they are entitled to inherit the estate of the deceased father and since there is no valid adoption, the appellants cannot be disqualified from inheriting their father's estate. A reference is also made to the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. The said application was resisted by the respondents on the ground that the appellants having been adopted by Taranjit Singh Sahani, who married the mother of the appellants, after the dissolution of her first marriage, the appellants have no right to succeed to the estate of their natural father and, therefore, they have no right to lodge any claim or challenge the Will of deceased Sardar Harbhajan Singh. It was also contended that the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act does not have extra territorial jurisdiction and that the application submitted by the appellants for revocation of letters of administration deserves to be dismissed.