IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 27TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2019 BEFORE THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SREENIVAS HARISH KUMAR MISCELLANEOUS FIRST APPEAL No.4624 OF 2019 (ISA) BETWEEN 1. Mr. K.S.Raju S/o. Late K.S.S.Rao, Aged 85 years, R/o. No.17-1-383/115/A, 5th Cross, Near Ganesh Temple, Vinay Nagar Colony, Saidabad, Hyderabad-500059.
Today camp at Bengaluru.
2. Smt. Sridevi D/o. Late K.S.S.Rao, Aged 70 years, 3. Mr. K.S.Mahesh S/o. Late K.S.S.Rao, Aged 63 years, 4. Mr. Kolar Srinivasa Satish S/o. late K.S.S.Rao, Aged 61 years, 5. K.S.Rakesh S/o. Late K.S.S.Rao, Aged 59 years, 6. Dr. Suma S., D/o. Late Sudha K.S., and Late K.V.Srinivasan, Aged 41 years, A2 to A6 are all R/o. No.51, 4th Main Road, Chamarajpet, Bengaluru-18.
(By Sri. V.Rangaramu, Advocate) AND …Appellants Nil …Respondent This MFA is filed under Section 384 of Indian Succession Act, 1925 against the order dated 11.04.2019 passed in P & SC No.512/2018 on the file of the XXXIX Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru, dismissing the petition filed under Section 372 of the Indian Succession Act.
This MFA coming on for admission, this day, the Court delivered the following :
JUDGMENT The petitioners in P & SC.No.512/2018 have filed this appeal under Section 384 of Indian Succession Act. It is stated by the appellants that one K.S.Mohan, the brother of appellants 1 to 5 and uncle of appellant no.6 was working in Indian Army as a Major and he retired on 31.03.1993. After his retirement, he was getting pension and the pension amount was being credited to his bank account No.1090283164-1 at State Bank of India, Lady Curzon Road, Bengaluru. K.S.Mohan died on 4.9.2015 leaving behind the appellants as legal representatives. An amount of Rs.2,89,721.39 was the balance in his bank account as on 18.06.2018. It is also stated that Major K.S.Mohan was also eligible to get life time arrears (LTA) of pension from 1.1.2006 to 4.9.2015 amounting to Rs.4,42,521/-. After death of Major K.S.Mohan, appellant no.3 requested the office of the P.R. Controller of Defence Accounts (Pension), Drowpathy Ghat, Allahabad, to pay the amount lying to the credit of late Major K.S.Mohan. The said P.R. Controller of Defence Accounts (Pension) wrote two letters dated 9.3.2018 and 23.3.2018 to the Bank for paying the amount to the legal representatives as per procedure. The bank authorities informed the appellants to produce succession certificate issued by a competent court and therefore the appellants applied for succession certificate by filing the petition P & SC.No.512/2018 before the City Civil Court, Bengaluru.
2. The appellants were ordered to take out paper publication inviting objections by anybody who were interested to oppose the petition. But none appeared and contested. Later on, the 3rd appellant adduced evidence as PW-1 and got marked 16 documents. The trial court declined to issue succession certificate. It has recorded the reason that the appellants have failed to establish the relationship with the deceased Major K.S.Mohan and there are some discrepancies in mentioning the correct name of the father of the deceased. What is observed by the trial court is that in the death certificate of Major K.S.Mohan, his father’s name is shown as K.Srinivasa Rao and in the other documents, father’s name is shown as K.S.S.Rao. It is also observed that the appellants could have produced the service records of the deceased. The family tree Ex.P.6 contains the signature of appellant no.3 only and the other appellants have not signed on the genealogical tree and thus the relationship of the appellants with the deceased is not established.
3. The learned counsel for the appellants submits that the trial court has not at all applied its mind to the documents produced by the appellants. They are the Class-II heirs of the deceased and nobody contested the petition. The name of the father is Kolar Srinivas Rao which is shortly written as K.S.S.Rao. In the Aadhar card the father’s name is clearly written as Kolar Srinivas Rao Mohan. The appellants also produced bank pass book and the pension certificate. These documents were produced from the custody of the appellants and therefore the trial court should have come to conclusion that the appellants 1, 3, 4 and 5 are the brothers and appellant no.2 is the sister and appellant no.6 is the niece of the deceased. All the documents produced by the appellants before the trial court clearly establish the relationship. Therefore the impugned order needs to be set aside and succession certificate granted.
4. I have perused the impugned order. It is found that the trial court has declined to issue succession certificate finding some discrepancies in the name of the father of the deceased. In Ex.P.4, the father’s name is shows as K.Srinivas Rao and in the other documents the name is shown as K.S.S. Rao. I am of the opinion that the trial court has thoroughly failed to apply its mind to the documents. Ex.P.6 is the pedigree of the family. In this pedigree, the name of the father of the appellants 1 to 5 is shown as K.S.S.Rao. Smt. Puttamma @ Laxmidevi is shown as their mother. Ex.P.2 is the death certificate of Puttamma. In this death certificate, the husband name is shown as K.S.S.Rao. Ex.P.7 is the Aadhar Card of appellant no.2.
Here also the name of the father is shown as K.S.S.Rao. Ex.P.14 is the pension certificate of the deceased. Ex.P.15 is the bank pass book of the deceased. Ex.P.12 is an important document which the trial court has lost sight of. In Ex.P.12, i.e., Ex-serviceman identity card, the name of the father of the deceased is clearly shown as K.S.S.Rao. Therefore on the basis of all these documents the trial court could have come to conclusion that the father’s name of the deceased was being written as K.S.Rao and also as K.S.S.Rao. Moreover if the appellants could produce the original documents pertaining to the deceased, the trial court could have come to conclusion that the appellants are the legal representatives of the deceased who are entitled to claim succession certificate. There is no dispute that the deceased was a bachelor. The pedigree shows that all the sons of K.S.S.Rao are bachelors. The trial court refers to the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court to the effect that Class-II heirs can claim succession certificate. It this is the position of law, there is no impediment to issue succession certificate. The findings of the trial court are perverse. Hence the impugned order needs to be set aside.
5. The appellants 1,2,4,5 and 6 have said no objection for issuance of succession certificate in the name of 3rd appellant K.S.Mahesh. Hence the following order:
i. Appeal is allowed.
ii. The order of the trial court in P & SC.No.512/18 is set aside. The petition is allowed.
iii. It is ordered that the appellants are entitled to succession certificate to claim the amount lying in the bank account of the deceased.
iv. Succession certificate shall be issued in the name of III appellant K.S.Mahesh by obtaining from him an indemnity bond with one surety for a sum equal to the claim put forward by the appellants. In the indemnity bond, Sri. K.S.Mahesh shall under take on his behalf and on behalf of other appellants that he another appellants will satisfy the legitimate claim of a person or persons who may be entitled to the moneys left behind by the deceased.
SD/- JUDGE sd