Delhi District Court
Ritu And Others vs State And Others on 3 March, 2025
IN THE COURT OF MS. SWAYAM SIDDHA TRIPATHY,
ADMINISTRATIVE CIVIL JUDGE-CUM-COMMERCIAL
CASES JUDGE-CUM-ADDITIONAL RENT CONTROLLER,
SOUTH WEST DISTRICT, DWARKA COURTS,
NEW DELHI
CNR No. DLSW030033702022
RITU & ORS V. STATE & ORS.
a) Succession Court Case No. : 01/2023
b) Name & address of the : 1. Smt. Ritu
petitioners D/o Late Sh. Suresh Kumar
W/o Vikash Kumar
2. Ms. Ashu Kumari
D/o Late Sh. Suresh Kumar
3. Ms. Deepika
D/o Late Sh. Suresh Kumar
All R/o: H.No. 89, Pratap
Enclave, Mohan Garden,
D.K. Mohan Garden, West
Delhi-110059.
4. Banarsi Devi
W/o Sultan Donkhera (253)
R/o Mahendragarh,
Haryana-123023.
c) Name & address of the : 1. State Digitally
signed by
respondents
SWAYAM
SWAYAM SIDDHA
SIDDHA TRIPATHY
TRIPATHY Date:
2025.03.03
17:37:44
+0530
Succ. Court 01/2023
Ritu & Ors. v. State & Ors.
Judgment dated 03.03.2025 Page 1/14
2. B.L. Kashyap & Sons Ltd.
Office at: 409, 4th Floor,
DLF Tower, New Delhi-110025.
3. Life Insurance Corporation of
India,
Branch Unit-08,
6/32-33, First Floor,
Gurudwara Road,
Karol Bagh, New Delhi.
4. ICICI Bank Ltd.,
Branch at: Gurudwara Road,
Near Kamal Model Senior
Secondary School, Mohan
Garden, Uttam Nagar,
Delhi-110059.
5. Teena Rani
6. Ishika (minor)
7. Naksh (minor)
Respondent no. 5 to 7 are r/o:
House no. 32-K, Ward No. 21,
Near Prabhat Place,
Bheem Colony, Sirsa,
Haryana-125055.
Date of Institution of petition : 02.01.2023
Date of pronouncement of judgment : 03.03.2025
Petition under section 372 of The Indian Succession Act, 1925
for grant of succession certificate in respect of the debts & Digitally
signed by
SWAYAM
SWAYAM SIDDHA
securities of deceased, Late Shri Suresh Kumar. SIDDHA TRIPATHY
TRIPATHY Date:
2025.03.03
******** 17:37:54
+0530
Succ. Court 01/2023
Ritu & Ors. v. State & Ors.
Judgment dated 03.03.2025 Page 2/14
JUDGMENT
1. The Case 1.1 . The present petition has been filed by the petitioners for grant of Succession Certificate under Section 372 of The Indian Succession Act, 1925 (Hereinafter, referred to as the "Act"), in respect of debts and securities of the deceased namely Late Shri Suresh Kumar.
2. Petitioner's case:
2.1 . The case of the petitioners is that deceased expired intestate on 20.11.2022 and was the resident of H. No. 89, Pratap Enclave, Mohan Garden, D.K. Mohan Garden, Delhi-110059. It is stated that three daughters were born out of the wedlock of the deceased and his first wife. It is further stated that first wife of the deceased expired and thereafter, deceased married Ms. Teena Rani. Two children were born out of the wedlock of deceased with his second wife Ms. Teena Rani. Thus, the deceased is survived by seven Class-I legal heirs i.e., petitioner no. 1, 2 & 3 who are stated to be the daughters of deceased from first wife, petitioner no. 4 who is stated to be the mother of the deceased, respondent no. 5 who is stated to be the second wife of the deceased and respondent no. 6 and 7 who are stated to be the minor children of deceased from the second wife.
Digitally 2.2 . The petitioners have approached this Court with the instant signed by SWAYAM SWAYAM SIDDHA SIDDHA TRIPATHY petition seeking grant of Succession Certificate in respect TRIPATHY Date:
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of the debts and securities of the deceased i.e. amount lying in the bank account bearing no. 66320144315 maintained with ICICI Bank Ltd., amount payable under LIC policy held with Life Insurance Corporation of India and Service benefits/terminal benefits held with M/s B.K. Kashyap & Sons Ltd.
3. Summoning of the Respondents:
3.1 . Notice of the petition was ordered to be published in newspaper and accordingly, publication was effected through newspaper titled as "Veer Arjun" dated 18.02.2023.
4. Respondent's Case:
4.1 . Pursuant to the notice, official appeared on behalf of respondent no. 2 and filed reply wherein it is mentioned that deceased had joined their company on 27.04.2022 as foreman and he was getting a salary of Rs.30,843/- per month. It is further submitted that deceased worked only six months and on 22.11.2022 he expired. It is stated that no dues lie with them as complete salary has been duly paid to him. However, a sum of Rs. 6,878/- is outstanding upon them towards bonus.
4.2 . It is further submitted that before joining the respondent no. 2, deceased was working with BLK Lifestyle Ltd. i.e. SWAYAM the sister company of the respondent no. 2. The deceased SIDDHA TRIPATHY worked with above mentioned sister company of Digitally signed by SWAYAM SIDDHA TRIPATHY Date: 2025.03.03 17:38:12 +0530 Succ. Court 01/2023 Ritu & Ors. v. State & Ors.Judgment dated 03.03.2025 Page 4/14
respondent no. 2 as a foreman for a total period of 18 years and 7 months i.e. from 01.03.2001 till 31.03.2020 and thereafter, he resigned willfully. It is stated that deceased was entitled to a total sum of Rs.1,45,075/- which includes gratuity amount of Rs.1,33,731/- and bonus amount of Rs. 11,344/- for the period of 2019-2020. This amount was never collected by the deceased, however, he had borrowed a sum of Rs. 50,000/- via cheque from his previous employer.
4.3 . Written statement was also filed on behalf respondent no. 3 wherein it is mentioned that the policy bearing no. 116037940 was issued in the name of the deceased. As per record, Smt. Tina being the wife of the deceased is the nominee in the policy and as per rules of the LIC, the death claim amount of Rs. 1,74,893/- is payable to the nominee. 4.4 . Official appeared on behalf of respondent no. 4 and filed statement of account of savings bank account no. 663201441315 in the name of the deceased maintained with them showing balance of Rs. 52,816.37/- as on 17.09.2024.
4.5 . Notices were also sent to respondent no. 5 to 7, however the same were received back unserved with the report 'no such person'. Counsel for the petitioners filed an application under Order V Rule 20 CPC seeking service of respondent no. 5 to 7 by way of publication in newspaper "Rashtriya Sahara" circulated in Sirsa, Digitally signed by SWAYAM SWAYAM SIDDHA Haryana. The said application was allowed vide order SIDDHA TRIPATHY TRIPATHY Date:
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dated 23.04.2024 and publication was effected on 13.06.2024. Despite service, respondent no. 5 to 7 neither appeared before the court nor filed reply. Consequently, respondent no. 5 to 7 were proceeded exparte vide order dated 17.09.2024. However, their rights in the debts and securities of the deceased were reserved and liberty was granted to them to file separate petition for claiming their shares.
5. Petitioners' Evidence:
5.1 . To prove their case, the petitioner no. 2 examined herself as PW-1 and tendered her evidence by way of affidavit vide Ex. PW-1/A bearing her signatures at points A & B respectively. PW-1 relied upon the following documents:
i. Copy of her Aadhar Card as well as Aadhar Cards of remaining petitioners is Ex. PW-1/1 (colly.) (OSR). ii. Copy of death certificate of deceased Late Suresh Kumar is Ex. PW-1/2 (OSR).
iii. Original LIC policy/bond no. 116037940 in the name of the deceased is Ex. PW-1/3. iv. Copy of front page of passbook issued by ICICI Bank showing savings bank account no. 66320144315 in the name of the deceased is Ex. PW-1/4 (OSR).
v. List of legal heirs of the deceased as mentioned in Digitally signed by SWAYAM Annexure A is Ex. PW-1/5. SWAYAM SIDDHA SIDDHA TRIPATHY TRIPATHY Date:
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vi. Details of the securities of the deceased as mentioned in Annexure B is Ex. PW-1/6. 5.2 . The details of the debts and securities mentioned in the testimony of PW-1 is as under:
(a) Rs. 52,816.37/- lying in the savings bank account no. 663201441315 maintained with ICICI Bank having branch at Gurudwara Road, Near Kamal Model Senior Secondary School, Mohan Garden, Uttam Nagar, New Delhi-110059.
(b) Rs. 1,74,893/- payable under LIC policy no.
116037940 held with Life Corporation of India having office at Branch Unit-08, 6/32-33, First Floor, Gurudwara Road, Karol Bagh, New Delhi. (c ) Rs. 1,51,953/- held with M/s B.L. Kashyap & Sons Ltd. having office at 409, 4 th Floor, DLF Tower-A, Jasola, New Delhi-110025.
5.3 . PW-1 deposed that she seeks succession certificate in respect of her one-seventh share i.e. Rs. 54,237.48/- in the securities of the deceased out of the total amount of Rs. 3,79,662.37/-.
5.4 . In her cross-examination by Counsel for respondent no. 2, PW-1 deposed that the deceased lastly resided at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh. PW-1 admitted that the deceased joined B.L. Kashyap & Sons on 27.04.2022 and prior to that he was working in B.L.K. Lifestyle Ltd. which was the sister Digitally concerned of B.L. Kashyap & Sons. She also admitted that signed by SWAYAM SWAYAM SIDDHA SIDDHA TRIPATHY the deceased left the job at B.L.K. Lifestyle Ltd. on TRIPATHY Date:
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31.03.2020 and he was entitled to gratuity of Rs. 1,33,731/- and bonus of Rs. 11,344/-. 5.5 . PW-2 Ms. Deepika, PW-3 Smt. Banarsi Devi and PW-4 Smt. Ritu also tendered their evidence by way of affidavits Ex. PW-2/A, Ex. PW-3/A and Ex. PW-4/A respectively.
They relied upon the documents already exhibited by PW-1.
5.6 . PW-2 to PW-4 also sought succession certificate in respect of their one-seventh shares each in the securities of the deceased for a total amount of Rs. 3,79,662.37/- lying in the savings bank account, amount payable under LIC policy and gratuity & bonus held with M/s B.L. Kashyap & Sons Ltd. PW-2 to PW-4 were not cross-examined by the respondents.
5.7 . Thereafter, petitioners' evidence was closed vide separate statement recorded on 20.12.2024.
6. Respondent's Evidence:
6.1 . No evidence was led by respondents. Accordingly, RE was closed vide order dated 14.02.2025.
7. Final Arguments:
7.1 . Heard the final arguments advanced by Counsel for the petitioners and Counsel for respondent no. 2. This Court has carefully perused the evidence on record in light of the contents of the petition and the replies thereto. This Court Digitally signed by SWAYAM SWAYAM SIDDHA SIDDHA TRIPATHY TRIPATHY Date:
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has also considered the oral submissions advanced by Counsel for both parties.
8. Appreciation and Findings:
8.1 . The deceased died intestate qua debts and securities which are mentioned in the petition as well as in the testimony of PW-1 to PW-4. The said securities of the deceased are lying in the savings bank account, amount payable under LIC policy and death benefits held with respondent no.
2/M/s B.L. Kashyap & Sons Ltd. The total amount of the securities are of Rs. 3,79,662.37/-. The details of the securities of the deceased are as under:
S. Account No. Branch Amount (Rs) No.
1. Savings bank ICICI Bank Ltd. Rs. 52,816.37/-
account no. having branch
663201441315 at Gurudwara
Road, Near
Kamal Model
Senior
Secondary
School, Mohan
Garden, Uttam
Nagar, New
Delhi-110059
2. LIC policy no. Life Rs. 1,74,893/-
116037940 Corporation of
India having
office at Branch
Unit-08, 6/32-
33, First Floor,
Gurudwara
Digitally
signed by
SWAYAM
Road, Karol SWAYAM SIDDHA
SIDDHA TRIPATHY
TRIPATHY Date:
2025.03.03
17:39:42
+0530
Succ. Court 01/2023
Ritu & Ors. v. State & Ors.
Judgment dated 03.03.2025 Page 9/14
Bagh, New
Delhi.
3. (a) Gratuity Rs. 1,33,731/-
M/s B.L.K
Lifestyle Ltd.,
having office at
409, 4th Floor,
DLF Tower-A,
Jasola,
(b) Bonus Delhi-110025 Rs. 11,344/-
amount for the
period 2019-
2020.
4. Bonus amount M/s B.L. Rs. 6,878/-
Kashyap &
Sons Ltd.
having office at
409, 4th Floor,
DLF Tower-A,
Jasola, New
Delhi-110025
Total Rs.
3,79,662.37/-
8.2 . Therefore, the total value of the securities held by the deceased for which Succession Certificate has been applied for is Rs. 3,79,662.37/- and the one-seventh shares is Rs. 54,237.48/-.
8.3 . At this juncture, it is relevant to mention the case of Madhvi Amma Bhawani Amma & Ors. v. Kunjikutty Pillai Meenakshi, AIR 2000 SC 2301, 2000 (3) ALT 35 SC, 2001 (49) BLJR 813, wherein, it was held as under:
SWAYAM " The enquiry in proceedings for grant of SIDDHA succession certificate is to be summary, and TRIPATHY the Court, without determining questions of Digitally signed by SWAYAM SIDDHA TRIPATHY Date: 2025.03.03 17:39:50 +0530 Succ. Court 01/2023 Ritu & Ors. v. State & Ors.Judgment dated 03.03.2025 Page 10/14
law or fact, which seem to it to be too intricate and difficult for determination, should grant the certificate to the person who appears to have prima facie the best title thereto. In such cases the Court has not to determine definitely and finally as to who has the best right to the estate. All that it is required to do is to hold a summary enquiry into the right to the certificate, with a view, on the one hand, to facilitate the collection of debts due to the deceased and prevent their being time-barred, owing (for instance) to dispute between the heirs inter se as to their preferential right to succession, and, on the other hand, to afford protection to the debtors by appointing a representative of the deceased and authorising him to give a valid discharge for the debt. The grant of a certificate to a person does not give him an absolute right to the debt nor does it bar a regular suit for adjustment of the claims of the heirs inter se".
8.4 . From the oral and documentary evidence on record, prima facie it can be said that the deceased was the resident of Mohan Garden, Uttam Nagar, Delhi which is reflected in the death certificate Ex. PW-1/2. Although, PW-1 deposed in her cross-examination that deceased lastly resided at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, however, it does not establish that the death of the deceased did not take place at the aforesaid address situated at Uttam Nagar. Moreover, the branch office of respondent no. 4 also falls within the territorial jurisdiction of this Court. Therefore, this court has territorial jurisdiction to entertain and try the present petition. SWAYAM SIDDHA 8.5 . The deceased who expired on 20.11.2022 was survived by TRIPATHY Digitally signed by seven Class-I legal heirs i.e. petitioner no. 1, petitioner no. SWAYAM SIDDHA TRIPATHY Date: 2025.03.03 17:39:58 +0530 Succ. Court 01/2023 Ritu & Ors. v. State & Ors.Judgment dated 03.03.2025 Page 11/14
2, petitioner no. 3 (daughters from first wife), petitioner no. 4 (mother), respondent no. 5 (second wife), respondent no. 6 (minor daughter from second wife) and respondent no. 7 (minor son from second wife).
8.6 . The claim of the petitioners by way of the present petition under Section 372 of the Act has gone unrebutted. The respondent no. 2 during cross-examination of PW-1 only confirmed the previous service of the deceased in the sister company of respondent no. 2 i.e. B.L.K. Lifestyle Ltd. No other question was asked to the witnesses regarding their veracity of claim towards their shares in the debts and securities of the deceased.
8.7 . Respondent no. 3 has also claimed that the death benefit of Rs. 1,74,893/- is only payable to the nominee i.e. the second wife of the deceased. However, respondent no. 3 has failed to state as to under which rule, the said policy has been made.
8.8 . Moreover, it is well settled that nomination is not in a nature of Will and does not provide the nominee with ownership rights and succession certificate shall prevail over the nomination. Reliance is placed upon the judgment passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sarbati Devi v. Usha Devi, 1984 SCR(1) 992 and Shakti Yezdani & Anr. v. Jayanand Jayant Salgaonkar & Ors. in Civil Appeal no. 7107 of 2017. Therefore, the nominee would not inherit SWAYAM SIDDHA the securities of the deceased to the exclusion of all the TRIPATHY Digitally signed by SWAYAM SIDDHA legal heirs on the basis of nomination. TRIPATHY Date: 2025.03.03 17:40:06 +0530 Succ. Court 01/2023 Ritu & Ors. v. State & Ors.
Judgment dated 03.03.2025 Page 12/148.9 . None of the other respondents nor anyone on behalf of the public contested the claim of the petitioners or cross- examined them. There is also no impediment under Section 370 of the Act for grant Succession Certificate with respect to debts and securities as mentioned in the petition. Furthermore, the deposition of PW-1 to PW-4 and the documents relied upon by the said witnesses stand unrebutted/uncontroverted/unchallanged. This Court does not find any reason to disbelieve the unrebutted testimony of PW-1 to PW-4 recorded on oath in the Court. 8.10 .As far as, the loan amount of Rs. 50,000/- borrowed by the deceased from B.L.K. Lifestyle Ltd. is concerned, the respondent no. 2 shall be at liberty to file a separate suit for recovery against the legal heirs of the deceased, as per law.
9. Relief:
9.1 . In view of the aforesaid reasons, this Court holds that petitioners no. 1 to 4 are entitled to grant of one-seventh share each i.e. Rs. 54,237.48/- (Rupees Fifty Four Thousand Two Hundred Thirty Seven and Forty Eight Paise Only) in respect of debts and securities of the deceased amounting to a sum of Rs. 3,79,662.37/-. (The details of the securities is mentioned in the table of para no. 8.1).
9.2 . So far as, one-seventh share of respondent no. 5 to 7 are SWAYAM concerned, the same may be reserved and separate SIDDHA TRIPATHY succession certificate be issued to them on filing of Digitally signed by SWAYAM SIDDHA TRIPATHY Date: 2025.03.03 17:41:59 +0530 Succ. Court 01/2023 Ritu & Ors. v. State & Ors.Judgment dated 03.03.2025 Page 13/14
corresponding court fees and indemnity-cum-surety bond as and when they appear before the court. 9.3 . Petitioners no. 1 to 4 as well as respondent no. 5 to 7 are also entitled to interest/dividend/bonus/consequential benefits, if any, accrued thereupon. 9.4 . Accordingly, separate succession certificates be issued to petitioner no. 1 to 4 and respondent no. 5 to 7 to the extent of their respective shares on filing of separate corresponding court fees in terms of Article 12 Schedule I of Court Fees Act, 1870 as applicable in Delhi and Indemnity-cum-surety bond, within 30 days from today.
SWAYAM 9.5 . Petition is accordingly, disposed of. SIDDHA TRIPATHY Digitally signed by SWAYAM SIDDHA TRIPATHY Date: 2025.03.03 17:42:07 +0530 Pronounced in the open Court (Swayam Siddha Tripathy) on 03.03.2025. ACJ-CCJ-ARC, South West District, Dwarka Courts, New Delhi Succ. Court 01/2023 Ritu & Ors. v. State & Ors.
Judgment dated 03.03.2025 Page 14/14