BHURI DEVI Vs. RAMBHAROSI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE present appeal filed under Sec. 384 of the Indian Succession Act 1925 is directed against the order dt. 27.07.2006 passed by the District Judge, Dholpur (hereinafter referred to as 'the Court below') in Civil Misc. Case No. 15/2004, whereby the Court below has dismissed the application of the appellants/applicants seeking Succession Certificate in respect of the amount of Life Insurance Policy of the deceased Rameshwar Dayal, and have declared the appellants as the successors of the deceased to receive the said amount of LIC. It has been submitted by the learned counsel Mr. B.L. Gupta for the appellants that the appellants are the legal heirs of the deceased Gangaram, who happened to be the brother of the deceased Rameshwar. According to him, the deceased Rameshwar had nominated his brother Gangaram to receive the amount of policy in question, however, said Gangaram having died, the present appellants were entitled to receive the amount of insurance policy after the death of Rameshwar.

(2.) THE Court does not find any substance in the submissions made by the learned counsel for the appellants. In the instant case, it appears that the deceased Rameshwar had three brothers, named, Gangaram, Rambharosi, and Ram Vilas. The said Gangaram, who was the husband of the appellant No. 1 and father of the appellant Nos. 2 to 6, had expired on 15.10.2000. His brother Rameshwar expired on 20.06.2003. The appellants, who were the legal heir of deceased Gangaram, had filed the application before the Court below for obtaining the Succession Certificate in respect of the amount of LIC of deceased Rameshwar. As rightly observed by the Court below, the respondent Nos. 1 and 2, who were the real brothers of the deceased Rameshwar, were the heirs falling under entry II of Clause II of the Schedule to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, whereas the appellants would fall in entry IV of the said Class II. As per Section 9 of the Hindu Succession Act, the heirs specified in first entry in Class II shall be preferred to those in the second entry and those in second entry shall be preferred to those in the third entry, and so on in succession. Hence, the Court below has rightly observed that the respondents being the preferred class of the heirs in order of succession, the appellants could not get the Succession Certificate, as prayed for. There being no illegality or infirmity in the impugned order passed by the Court below, the present appeal deserves to be dismissed, and is accordingly dismissed.