PHULAN WANTI Vs. VIJAY LAXMI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Civil Revision has been filed by Smt. Phulan Wanti. This revision is being shown in the list for the last several days. Nobody is coming forward to render assistance to this Court. Hence, I am disposing of this revision after going through the impugned order and the record of the lower Court.

(2.) This revision has been directed against the judgment dated 10.3.1983, passed by the Addl. District Judge, Jalandhar, who allowed the appeal of Smt. Vijay Laxmi and Neelam Kumari, However, the appeal of Ms. Shelly was dismissed, Through this impugned judgment the cross-objections of Smt. Phulan Wanti were also dismissed.

(3.) The brief facts of the case can be noticed in the following manner. Vijay Laxmi and her minor daughters Neelam Kumari and Shelly filed a petition under Section 372 of the Indian Succession Act for the grant of succession certificate in their favour on the allegations that Shri Devi Dass husband of petitioner No. 1 and father of petitioner Nos.2 and 3, died on 19.6.1980 in Civil Hospital, Jalandhar. An amount of Rs. 10.017/- was sanctioned as ex-gratia grant by the Secretary Punjab State Electricity Board vide order No. 207 dated 8.8.1980. A sum of Rs. 107/- was also lying deposited in A/c No. 3333 in New Bank of India, Railway Road, Jalandhar. It was stated by the petitioners that as per Rule 2.17 of Civil Services Rules, Volume 1, they are entitled to the said amount because they were dependents and as such the ex-gratia grant has to go to them in preference to Smt. Phulan Wanti, who was the mother of Shri Devi Dass. Under the rules, mother does not fall within the definition of family.