TMI Blog2004 (3) TMI 815X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r securing a loan. 3. The case of the respondent is that she is the widow of one late Varanasi Venugopal Reddy, resident of Nellore. The appellants herein are the brother's children of said Venugopal Reddy. The respondent married the said Venugopal Reddy on 23.3.1972. While so, the said Venugopal Reddy pledged certain gold ornaments with Punjab National Bank, Nellore and State Bank of India for obtaining certain loans, the details of which are not necessary for the purpose of this order. The said Venugopal Reddy died on 11.5.1991 issueless. It is also averred in the petition that the respondent herein paid an amount of ₹ 9,115-30 on 7.8.1991 to the Punjab National Bank, Nellore and an amount of ₹ 20,697/- to the State Ban ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , a succession certificate should not have been granted in favour of the respondent herein. 7. Heard the learned Counsel for the respondent. 8. The Indian Succession Act deals with the rules of succession either in testate or testamentary. Various provisions of the Act declare that certain parts of the Act, are applicable to certain categories of subjects, which are governed by the Succession Act and the other categories are excluded. For example. Part II, which deals with the rules of domicile, is not applicable in case of the deceased who happened to be a Hindu, Mohammadan, Sikh, Buddhist or Jain. Similarly, Part IV which deals with consanguinity, has no application to any Hindu, Mohammadan, Budhist, Sikh, Jaina or Parsi are concern ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ner to disclose the right under which he/she claims the succession certificate. Section 374 deals with the contents of certificate and it reads as follows: When the District Judge grants a certificate, he shall therein specify the debts and securities set forth in the application for the certificate, and may thereby empower the person to whom the certificate is granted-- (a) to receive interest or dividends on, or (b) to negotiate or transfer, or (c) both to receive interest or dividends on, and to negotiate or transfer, the securities or any of them. 12. Section 370 of the Act imposes a restriction on the grant of succession certificate with respect to any debt or security to which a right is required by Section 212 or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y or are there any limitations in this regard under the Act on the basis of nature of the property. 18. The provisions of Part X are not very categoric regarding the various categories of property, with reference to which a succession certificate could be granted. 19. On a combined reading of Sections 374 and 372(f) of the Act, it follows logically that a succession certificate could be obtained only with reference to the debts and securities due to the deceased person. 20. This inference becomes inevitable in view of the embargo contained under Section 214 of the Act. Section 214 reads as follows: Proof of representative title a condition precedent to recovery through the Courts of debts from debtors of deceased persons:--(1) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tion of a decree obtained by the deceased person if a decree is sought to be executed by a person claiming to be entitled on succession except when such claimant produces a probate or letter of administration or succession certificate granted under Part IX of the Act, as the case may be. Therefore, they need to obtain either a probate or letter of administration or succession certificate. 22. However, in the present case, the certificate is not sought for with reference to a debt or security due to the deceased person, but the moveable property i.e., gold pledged with the various Banks mentioned earlier, by the deceased Venugopal Reddy. Those gold ornaments are neither debts nor security due to the deceased as defined under Section 372 o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... consideration of the Supreme Court in the decision reported in [1966]59ITR767(SC) (Kesoram Industries and Cotton Milk Ltd. v. Commr. of Wealth Tax (Central), Calcutta). In Para 22 at Page 1377 it has been summarized thus: We have briefly noticed the judgments cited at the Bar. There is no conflict on the definition of the word debt . All the decisions agree that the meaning of the expression debt may take colour from the provisions of the concerned Act: it may have different shades of meaning. But the following definition is unanimously accepted; a debt is a sum of money which is now payable or will become payable in future by reason of a present obligation; debitum in praesenti, solvendum in futuro . The said decisions also accept ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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