JOTINDRA NATH ROY CHOWDHURY Vs. RAJ LAKSHMI DEBI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal against the judgment and decree of the learned Subordinate Judge, Third Court, 24-Pargannas, dated 30 August 1930, by which he granted probate of the will of one Jogendra Nath Roy Chowdhury of Behala. The will is dated 23 April 1910. The testator died on 17 August 1928. The application for probate was filed by his widow Sm. Rajlakshmi Devi in Court on 22 April, 1929. The will in question is a registered will and it appears from the Sub-Registrar's endorsement that it was registered on the day of its execution. It appears that the testator had been married four times and the present applicant Sm. Rajlakshmi Debi was his fourth wife. The other wives of the testator had all died before the testator's marriage with Rajlakshmi. But there was a son by the third wife, named Jatindra Nath Roy Chowdhury. This last named person is the present objector in these proceedings.

(2.) In the said will the testator stated that Jatindra had been residing as a member of the family of his younger brother Rajendra Nath Roy Chowdhury and had throughout been disobedient and had not given him any satisfaction whatsoever by his conduct. The testator however thought it proper to bequeath to Jatindra one-half of his share in the ancestral ejmali dwelling house including tanks, etc., as also the entirety of his interest in a joint garden known as Ranir Bagan and all his interest and share in all other ancestral immovable property except Mouzah Kandberiah being Touzi No, 347 in the Collectorate of 24-Pargannas. As regards his wife, Sm. Rajlakshmi Devi, the testator stated that she had been living with him and had been nursing him and that she was the proper person to be appointed executrix under his will and to be allowed to remain in charge after his death of all his properties except those given to the son and the sister's sons mentioned in para. 2 of his will. The executrix was empowered to sell a portion of the self-acquired properties of the deceased for the purposes of paying off certain debts if the amount of the debts could not be paid off from the income of the self-acquired properties and was further empowered to redeem certain pledged ornaments by paying off the amount of money raised on pledge. Various other directions were given such as that the debt to the mother-in-law of the deceased should be paid off, that there should be a payment of a sum of Rs. 100 to the paternal Guru or spiritual guide and a sum of Rs. 50 to the priest and so on. The executrix was also to pay a sum of Rs. 10 a year for the worship of the family idol during the turns of worship of the deceased and the said sum was to be made over to the sister's sons Brojendra Nath Mukhopadhaya and Narendra Nath Mukhopadhaya for the worship of the idols, and if the latter failed to worship then the money was to be utilized in the best way possible by the executrix.

(3.) It appeared further from the terms of the will that the testator had been helped considerably in his family affairs by his brother-in-law Haridas Bandopadhaya. Haridas had died leaving an unmarried daughter who was placed in charge of the testator and the testator thought it proper to make provision for the marriage of the girl by allotting a sum of Rs. 1,000 for the expenses of her marriage. It also appeared that the testator wanted to establish the idol Siva in a temple and directions were given to the executrix in that behalf, the temple to be created in a house purchased by him and all expenses of the worship were to be defrayed from the income of the properties that would remain after defraying the expenses mentioned in the earlier portion of the will. He further gave directions that the said income was to be treated as debutter and was to be spent for the worship of the idol Siva, the executrix being the first shebait. The executrix was given power as shebait to nominate her successor from his sister's sons or sapindas or from his descendants provided that the successors was considered to be a religious person.