2014 (3) TMI 1182 - HC - Indian Laws

Grant of letters of administration issued by this Court - title in respect of the property of a deceased - section 263 of the Indian Succession Act 1925 - HELD THAT - In catena of decisions of the Supreme Court and this Court it is held that a party who has no caveatable interest or even a slightest interest in the property of the deceased and a party who claims interest adverse to the interest of the deceased testator cannot maintain a caveat. The Testamentary Court does not decide the title in respect of the property of a deceased. But insofar as the claim of the petitioners that they have interest in some of the properties which were the subject-matter of the petition for letters of administration and those letters of administration could not have been granted is concerned in my view this Court cannot decide such an issue of title in this petition for revocation nor has decided the issue of title in the petition filed for letters of administration by the respondent. Such issues can be adjudicated by a Civil Court. On a conjoint reading of just cause described in Clauses (b) and (c) of section 263 of the Act it is clear that if a grant is obtained fraudulently by making a false suggestion or by concealing from this Court something material to the case or the grant is obtained by means of an untrue allegation of fact essential in point of law to justify the grant though such allegation was made in ignorance or inadvertently such grant can be revoked on such just cause described in the explanation to section 263. The whole premise of obtaining the letters of administration was that the deceased died intestate and had not left any Will and on that ground the petition for letters of administration came to be filed - letters of administration granted by this Court in favour of the respondent in Testamentary Petition is revoked - respondent is directed to surrender the original of such letters of administration in the office of the Prothonotary and Senior Master of this Court within two weeks from today - petitions are disposed of with costs quantified at Rs. 25, 000/-.

Summary

Issues:
Revocation of grant of letters of administration under section 263 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 based on allegations of fraud, fabrication, and concealment of material facts.

Analysis:
1. The petitions sought to set aside the grant of letters of administration issued by the court in favor of the respondent. The petitioners claimed rights in properties of the deceased based on the existence of a Will dated 1966, which the respondent allegedly concealed.

2. The petitioners argued that the respondent obtained the grant by making false statements and suppressing the existence of the Will, which was a registered document. The respondent, in the petition for letters of administration, had stated that the deceased died intestate, leading to the grant being issued in their favor.

3. The respondent, on the other hand, challenged the maintainability of the petitions, contending that the petitioners lacked caveatable interest and were claiming titles adverse to the deceased's alleged title. The respondent also argued that the properties claimed by the petitioners were not part of the bequest in the Will.

4. The court considered the issue of locus standi for the petitioners and the respondent's knowledge of the Will at the time of filing the petition for letters of administration. The court acknowledged that the deceased had indeed left a Will in 1966, which was not disputed by the respondent during the proceedings.

5. Despite the lack of specific bequests in the Will for certain properties, the court held that the petitioners could still raise allegations of fraud, fabrication, or concealment. The court emphasized that even parties with a slight interest in the deceased's property could bring such allegations to the court's attention.

6. The court concluded that the grant of letters of administration was obtained under the false premise that the deceased died intestate, whereas a Will existed. The court found that the respondent suppressed the Will's existence and made false statements, leading to the revocation of the grant under section 263 of the Act.

7. In the final order, the court revoked the letters of administration granted to the respondent, directing them to surrender the original documents to the court. The petitions were disposed of with costs imposed on the respondent.

This detailed analysis highlights the legal arguments, evidence presented, and the court's reasoning leading to the revocation of the grant of letters of administration based on the allegations of fraud and concealment by the respondent.