Bombay High Court
Hoshang Pesi Hodiwala vs Bonny Behramshah Bhathena & Ors on 16 September, 2014
Equivalent citations: AIR 2015 (NOC) 473 (BOM.), 2015 (1) ABR 75
Author: Roshan Dalvi
Bench: Roshan Dalvi
jsn 1 TS No.22_1991
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION
TESTAMENTARY SUIT NO.22 OF 1991
IN
TESTAMENTARY PETITION NO.121 OF 1990
Hoshang Pesi Hodiwala ... Plaintiff
Vs.
Bonny Behramshah Bhathena & Ors. ... Defendants
Mr. C.G. Gavnskar, Adv. a/w. Mr. G.S. Hiranandani, Adv. for plaintiff.
Mr. Sean Wassoodew, Adv. a/w. Mr. Rupesh Mandhare, Adv. for
Defendant No.1(a) to 1(c).
Mr. Suhas Deokar, Adv. for defendant Nos.2 and 3.
CORAM : MRS. ROSHAN DALVI, J.
DATE OF RESERVING THE JUDGMENT : 11th September, 2014. DATE OF PRONOUNCING THE JUDGMENT : 16th September, 2014 J U D G M E N T
1. The plaintiff is the grand son of the deceased, one B. M. Bhathena who executed a will dated 27 th November, 1985 and who expired on 25th May, 1989. The plaintiff has sought to probate the will. The deceased left behind one son and two daughters as his only heirs. They would be entitled to an equal 1/3 rd share in the estate of the deceased on intestacy. The plaintiff is the son of one of the daughters. The son of the deceased challenged the will of the deceased sought to be probated by the plaintiff. He is survived by the ::: Downloaded on - 24/09/2014 23:16:28 ::: jsn 2 TS No.22_1991 defendants. The estate of the deceased consists essentially of one bungalow at 4-bungalows, Andheri, Versova, Mumbai. The defendant / caveator was residing in the said bungalow. The deceased was also earlier residing in the said bungalow. After 1970 it is disputed whether the deceased lived in the said bungalow. The deceased lived in Pune. One of his daughters also lived in Pune.
2. The defendant has contended that the signatures of the deceased on pages 1 and 2 are forged. He has shown some inaccuracies in the will. He claims that the will is not genuine will of the deceased and is forged. The main contention of the defendant is that pages 1 and 2 of the will do not bear signatures of the testator.
The affidavit in support of the caveat does not show the specific case of the defendant that the signature in the execution clause of the will is not the signature of the deceased as has been his case with regard to the two other signatures on pages 1 and 2 of the will. The defendant would contend that the signature in the execution clause was obtained on a blank paper and the document was thereafter prepared. Upon such pleadings the following issues have been framed which are answered as follows :
I S S U E S 1 Does the plaintiff prove the will dated 27th Yes November, 1985 is last will and Testament of late B M Bhatena.
2 Do the defendants prove that the will dated 27 th No November, 1985 purported to have been executed by late B M Bhatena is forged.
3 What order? As per final
order
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3. The plaintiff has examined himself and one attesting witness. The defendant has examined himself and one handwriting expert. The defendant has relied upon several admitted signatures of the plaintiff and sought to compare the signatures on pages 1 and 2 of the will. Upon aforesaid oral and documentary the above issues have to be decided.
Re-execution of the will ISSUE NO.1
4. The will of the deceased is typewritten. It runs in three pages. It is prepared in the lawyers office. It is signed by one lawyer and the managing clerk of the lawyer who prepared it. It is deposited with the sub registrar of assurances. The deceased is stated to have been gone with the plaintiff to the office of the senior advocate Mr. P L Nain who drafted the will. The will has been attested by his colleague advocate Ms. K C Nichani and his managing clerk Ms. N S Mistry.
5. The plaintiff evidence shows that the will has been duly executed. The plaintiff's cross examination would show that the plaintiff knew advocate Ms. K C Nichani, who is one of the attesting witnesses. The plaintiff has been extensively cross examined upon his acquaintance with the said advocate. His cross examination shows that he did not remember when he met Ms. Nichani for the first time but that she was junior of Mr. P L Nain. She had filed company petition on his behalf. He did not know about separate litigations of his grandfather, the deceased. His grandfather, the deceased had ::: Downloaded on - 24/09/2014 23:16:28 ::: jsn 4 TS No.22_1991 been to his advocat's office on several occasions including when the deceased executed his will.
6. The attesting witness has deposed about the specific attestation of the will in the presence of the deceased. She had typed the document upon the draft being prepared. She was known to the draftsman of the will as also the other attesting witnesses. They all worked in the same office. She identified the signatures of the deceased, other advocate as also her signature in due execution and attestation of the will.
7. She has been cross examined upon her acquaintance with the plaintiff. She did not remember when she first met the plaintiff but it was prior 1980. She has deposed that the plaintiff used to visit her office. She had initially met plaintiff and thereafter the deceased.
She had met deceased in 1982 or 1983. That would be two or three years prior to execution of the will. On 27 th November, 1985 she met him in advocate P L Nain's office. The deceased was accompanied by the plaintiff. She did not recollect that the deceased came to his office without the plaintiff. She called the deceased Mr. Bhathena The deceased had come with the plaintiff to her office. She did not recollect issuing any receipt for the fees paid by the deceased.
8. She did not know on whose instructions the will was prepared by Mr. Nain but she has deposed that final will was typed by her upon his instructions after it was dictated to his steno who had prepared the draft.
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9. Such evidence would show that the deceased had visited the office of the advocate who prepared his will for some years prior to the preparation. The deceased being the grandfather of the plaintiff would have visited the office only with the plaintiff. Even if the deceased attended office on the date of the execution of the will also with the plaintiff, there is nothing further to show as to how the plaintiff may have played a larger role in the execution of the will. The evidence of the attesting witness shows how the will was executed and attested in the lawyer's office. Such evidence would show the due and valid execution of the will of the deceased which is sought to be probated.
10. The defendants have shown several suspicious circumstances in certain errors in the typewriting of the will. The name of the deceased is not correctly shown on page one of the will as also in the execution clause. There is an error in the name of the father of the deceased which forms a part of full name of the deceased. In line two the full name of the deceased only shows two blanks in his father's name. The remainder of the name is correctly shown.
11. The name of the of the deceased B. M. Bathena in execution clause shows only M. Bathena. These mistakes may creep into any document. A party reading the will may or may not notice such error. The will is not on a computer printout. It is typewritten. The draft was made earlier by the steno of the advocate. The final will was typed by attesting witness who was his managing clerk. There can be a mistake in the final draft even if there was no mistake ::: Downloaded on - 24/09/2014 23:16:28 ::: jsn 6 TS No.22_1991 in the first draft. If the deceased had read the first draft and approved it, he may not meticulously go through the final draft before its execution. He may execute the will upon cursorily going through the will which he had seen earlier. Hence the errors of such kind which are shown are neither germane nor can raise any suspicion.
12. It is contended that the date of the will has been put later on another typewriter. The original will does show some difference in the typewriting font of the date. The date is put on the first page at the top of the will before clause 1. When the draft of the will is prepared, followed by the final draft, the month and the year of the document may be typewritten and the date would not be typewritten at that time. It may be put later as is in the most of the cases. In this case the date is typewritten. P W 2 has deposed that there were two typewriters in her office. It could have been typewritten on another typewriter. However, evidence shows her recollection that it was typed at the same time by her on the same typewriter. It does not matter whether the date was typewritten on the same typewriter or later on the another typewriter. Such date cannot raise any suspicion about the will.
13. The attesting witnesses have put their signatures. Below the signature of first attesting witness her designation as an advocate is mentioned. Below the signature of the second attesting witness her designation as managing clerk is mentioned. The second attesting witness has also put the date. It is contended that their names are not put against their signatures. Though the typewritten execution clause shows that they have subscribed their names to the will as attesting ::: Downloaded on - 24/09/2014 23:16:28 ::: jsn 7 TS No.22_1991 witnesses. Indeed that expression would show the signatures of the two witnesses, without more. The second attesting witness has also put the date. There appears to be a slight overwriting in the date.
That is in the year of the date. The figure '5' of the year 1985 may be overwritten on figure '6'. The will was executed in November, 1985.
It does not matter whether there was a slight overwriting in the year 1985 or 1986. It is contended that the date was 1981 corrected to read 1986 and thereafter 1985. Such a case is not reflected from the original will. The witness stood her ground in the cross examination that there has been no overwriting. Even if there is an overwriting it does not show a suspicious circumstance.
14. The will has been prepared and later deposited in the office of the sub registrar of the assurances. The stamp of such deposit is put by the sub registrar. It has been obtained by the Prothonotary and Senior Master of this Court after after the death of the deceased for being produced in this petition from the office of the sub registrar of Bombay. It is contended that the deposit is made under Section 42 of the Indian Registration Act not under Section 41 of the Act. Both the provisions made in the Act would itself show that the deceased had a choice to follow either of them.
15. The defendant has relied upon the case of Vattakam Purath Parambil Ananda Bhai & Anr. Vs. Kanaka Bhai & Ors., AIR 1995 Kerala 208, the mere registration does not give rise to the presumption of genuineness which burden has to be discharged separately. That the the plaintiff has done by the evidence of one of the attesting witness as required by the law.
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16. It is contended by the defendant that the narration under the will is incorrect and that would show the will was forged. It is contended that the deceased lived in Pune and not at Versova where he owned the bungalow which has been bequeathed under the will. The will shows that the deceased lived in bungalow and defendant lived along with him as member of his family and jointly used one room on the ground floor with his family. The deceased has set out where all the members of the family of the defendant lived including his married daughter. The defendant has produced two money orders to show that the deceased lived in Pune and had acknowledged money orders from Pune. Such acknowledgment would not show continuous residence of the deceased over a period of years only in Pune. The deceased may live in Pune as also in Mumbai. It is contended that a deceased has bank account as well as FDR in Pune. Hence his residence could only in Pune and hence narration in the will is false. Even that is incorrect; a bank account or FDR may at best show the residence in that town. It cannot show the residence only in that town.
17. It is contended that the deceased could not have executed such a will because the defendant alone lived in the bungalow with his family known to the deceased. In fact it is because of that the deceased would have to execute the will to show that though his son lived in his property his daughters would be equally entitled thereto.
18. It is seen that the will is most natural. The deceased has bequeathed a single immoveable property. He had three children. He has bequeathed it to all in equal shares. Even on intestacy they would ::: Downloaded on - 24/09/2014 23:16:28 ::: jsn 9 TS No.22_1991 be entitled to the same share. Of course, as on the date of the execution of the will the defendant would have been entitled to 50% share in the estate of the deceased and his two sisters would have been together entitled to 50% share of his estate. That was prior to the amendment to Chapter III of the Indian Succession Act, (ISA) 1991 . Be that as it may, upon intestacy half the property would devolve upon the son of the deceased, his residence with family therein notwithstanding. Consequently the making of the will for giving equal shares does not matter. It would show the impartial intention of the deceased.
19. The defendant has relied upon the judgment in the cases of H. Venkatachala Iyengar Vs. B N Thimmajamma & Ors., Air 1959 SC 443, Bharpur Singh & Ors. Vs. Shamsher Singh, AIR 2009 Supreme Court 1766, K Laxmanan V. Thekkayil Padmini & Ors., Air 2009 Supreme Court 951 & Dilip V. Tawde Vs. Sanjay V. Tawade & Anr., AIR 1992 Bombay 50, which relates to suspicious circumstances. The Court has considered each of the circumstances contended to be suspicious. The conscience of the Court has to be satisfied that the will sought to be propounded is the will of the deceased. This would depend upon the facts of each case. Various facts shown by the defendants to create suspicions are mere stray contentions none of which is such as to raise suspicion of the Court. The deposit of a will in the office of the sub registrar after its preparation upon a draft by an advocate and its execution before another advocate in the same office and another witness bequeathing the estate of the testator in equal shares to his heirs would show the due execution of the will. Consequently it is seen that the will of the ::: Downloaded on - 24/09/2014 23:16:28 ::: jsn 10 TS No.22_1991 deceased B. M. Bhathena dated 27 th November, 1985 has been duly and validly executed. Hence issue no.1 is answered in the affirmative.
ISSUE NO.2.
20. The defendant contended that the pages 1 and 2 of the will do not bear signatures of the deceased. He has admitted in his evidence that the signature against execution clause is the signature of the deceased. He has however, contended that that signature was obtained on blank paper and the document was filled up later. A reading of the will, therefore, becomes material. Pages 1 and 2 are essentially declaration and narration of the deceased, the direction of sale of property and the appointment of executor. It is only on the third page that the bequest is made.
21. The defendant has produced before the handwriting expert photocopies of two money order receipts of 1982, 3 years prior to the execution of the will showing the signatures of the deceased. He has also produced one cheque signed by the deceased on 21 st July, 1997, 14 years prior to the execution of the will. He has also produced a driving license of the deceased dated 28 th February, 1956, about 30 years prior to the execution of the will showing his signature. The signatures at such distance in time are likely to be slightly different.
22. The handwriting expert D W 2 has given his opinion on the admitted signatures as also disputed signatures including signature against execution clause of the will as also on pages 1 and 2 of the will upon making enlargements thereof. His opinion is the ::: Downloaded on - 24/09/2014 23:16:28 ::: jsn 11 TS No.22_1991 defendants' case. He has been cross examined on what is called the common authorship in the disputed signatures. He has deposed that the two sets of signatures show significant and sufficient differences in writing individualities and unconscious habits. His cross examination shows dissimilar deposit of ink and characteristic furrow markings in the disputed signatures.
23. The handwriting expert's evidence would be required to be considered. (See Ajay Kumar Parmar Vs. State of Rajasthan, AIR 2013 SC 633) However, it is held in this case that the opinion of the handwriting expert is as fallible / liable to error as that of any other witness and hence the Court can compare the signatures as required under Section 73 of the Indian Evidence Act. Consequently in a case such as this the Court would see the opinion of the expert and apply its own observation by comparing the signatures or handwritings for providing a decisive weight or influence to its decision, as observed in paragraph 23 of this judgment. The Court would be required to see each of these signatures to compare them. The signatures of the deceased on the driving license which is 30 years prior to the disputed signature and the cheque which is 14 years prior to the disputed signatures also show similar slant of handwriting of the deceased. Minor differences therein would not matter. In fact such old documents require to be considered from such point of view.
24. The two signatures on money orders show similar emphasis as also slant of each of the letters therein. In all the signatures the letter B are distinctly the same. The slant of letter 'M' is also same. Each of the other letters is written in the same flow in ::: Downloaded on - 24/09/2014 23:16:28 ::: jsn 12 TS No.22_1991 each of those five signatures of 1982 and 1985. There is absolutely nothing to show that any of the signatures is a forgery.
25. Consequently despite the claim of the defendants and the evidence of the expert, the three signatures of the deceased on the will are not seen to be forged. Hence the issue no.2 is answered in negative.
I S S U E NO.3
26. Consequently the will of the deceased B. M. Bhatena dated 27th November, 1985 shall be probated. The Prothonotary and Senior Master of this Court shall issue probate of the said will. Drawn up decree is dispensed with.
( ROSHAN DALVI, J. ) ::: Downloaded on - 24/09/2014 23:16:28 :::