VIDYA LACHHMANDAS KHANCHANDANI Vs. VISHIN N KHANCHANDANI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE short question which arises in this appeal is, whether a nominee of a National Saving Certificate is entitled for beneficial interest in the amount due thereon on the death of the holder of the certificate or said amount would ensure for the benefit of the heirs of the deceased-owner.

(2.) THE facts leading to the present controversy, briefly stated, are as follow: The appellants are the mother and daughter, who are respectively the widow and the daughter of the deceased Lachhmandas Khanchandani. Appellant No. 1 filed Misc. Civil Application in the Court of the Civil Judge, Senior Division, Thane on 18th January 1980 for grant of succession certificate in respect of the securities left by the deceased. The said securities in respect of which the succession certificate was claimed were listed in Annexure "a" and Annexure "b" of Exhibit "a" to the application. The said application was later on converted into Special Civil Suit No. 72 of 1980 in which appellant No. 2, the daughter of the deceased and of the plaintiff was arraigned as defendant No. 1. The defendant Nos. 2 and 3 are the real and step brothers respectively of the deceased Lachhamandas Khanchandani. There are 26 National Saving Certificates of value of different amounts which are listed in Annexure "a" to the plaint and 6 National Saving Certificates and other Government securities are listed in Annexure "b" to the plaint. The trial Court decreed the suit and directed the issue of succession certificate in favour of the appellant No. 1-original plaintiff in respect of the Government securities, excluding the securities mentioned at Serial Nos. 17 to 26 in Annexure "a" of the plaint and the Government securities other than those mentioned at Serial Nos. 1 and 4 in Annexure "b" of the plaint. The National Saving Certificates at Sr. Nos. 17 to 26 in Annexure "a" and Sr. Nos. 1 and 4 in Annexure "b" were nominated in favour of either respondent Nos. 1 or 2 i. e. Original Defendant Nos. 2 and 3 who are the brothers of the deceased. While disallowing the plaintiffs claim with regard to the aforesaid National Saving Certificates in respect of which the nomination was issued by the deceased in favour of his brothers respondent Nos. 1 and 2, the trial Court by its Judgment and Order dated 29th June 1982, held that the plaintiff was not entitled for the amounts under those National Saving Certificates by virtue of section 6 of the Government Saving Certificate Act, 1959. The said order has been challenged by the appellants in this Appeal.

(3.) MR. Thorat the learned advocate appearing on behalf of the appellants contended that the respondents, though were the nominees in respect of the National Saving Certificates at Sr. Nos. 17 to 26 in "annexure "a" and at Sr. Nos. 1 and 4 in Annexure "b", yet they are not entitled to beneficial interest in the amount due on those Certificates as they are not the heirs of the deceased. According to him when the holder of the National Saving Certificates died, the said amount became part of the estate of the deceased to which his heirs alone are entitled. According to him the respondents, as nominees, are entitled only to receive the amount but ultimately the said amount has to be paid to the heirs of the deceased. Mr. Thorat placed reliance on the Judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of (Smt. Sarbati Devi and another v. Smt. Usha Devi), reported in 1984 (1) S. C. C. 424 in which it was held that the nominee of L. I. C. Policy is not entitled to the beneficial interest in the amount of the Policy.