Delhi District Court
Amit Aggarwal vs State on 1 September, 2023
IN THE COURT OF MS. AKRITI MAHENDRU
ACJ-cum-CCJ-cum-ARC, SHAHDARA
KARKARDOOMA COURTS, DELHI.
SC No. 163/2021
1. Amit Aggarwal
S/o Sh. Anil Aggarwal
R/o X/2762, Street No. 6C,
Raghubar Pura-2
Gandhi Nagar, Delhi-110031.
2. Baby Divyanshi (aged about 14 years)
D/O Sh. Amit Aggarwal
R/o X/2762, Street No. 6C,
Raghubar Pura-2
Gandhi Nagar, Delhi-110031.
Through her Natural Guardian
Sh. Amit Aggarwal
.............Petitioners
Versus
1. State (Govt. of NCT) Delhi
Through SDM, Vivek Vihar
G-Block, 1st Floor, DC Office Complex,
Nand Nagri, Delhi-110093
2. Director of Education (East District)
Through Deputy Director
Govt. Co-ED School, D-Block, Anand Vihar,
Delhi-110092.
3. Oriental Bank of Commerce
Through Bank Manager/Authorized Representative
Branch at 7- Mahila Colony Gandhi Nagar
Delhi-110031
4. Bank of India
Through Bank Manager/Authorized Representative
Branch At X/918, Chand Mohalla Near Jheel Bus Stop,
Gandhi Nagar, Delhi-110031.
......Respondents
SC No. 163/2021 Amit Aggarwal 7 Anr. Vs. State & ors. 1 of 7
PETITION FOR GRANT OF SUCCESSION CERTIFICATE UNDER
SECTION 372 OF THE INDIAN SUCCESSION ACT, 1925
1. Date of Institution of Petition : 03.01.2022
2. Date of Judgment : 01.09.2023.
3. Decision : Petition Allowed
JUDGMENT
1. Vide this judgment, this Court shall dispose of the petition filed by petitioner for grant of succession certificate in favour of the petitioner in respect of the Saving bank account no. 00852010102260 in Oriental Bank of Commerce, Mahila Colony Branch, Gandhi Nagar, Saving account no. 606010110001419 in Bank of India, Gandhi Nagar Branch and PPF account no. 31612066820 in State Bank of India, Gandhi Nagar Branch, Delhi, all of which existed in the name of deceased Late Smt. Nishi Jain.
2. In the petition, it is inter-alia pleaded that petitioner No.1 is the husband and petitioner No. 2 is the daughter of the deceased Late Smt. Nishi Jain who passed away intestate on 04.09.2020; apart from the petitioner No.1 and 2, there is no other surviving legal heir of the deceased; the deceased was ordinarily residing within the territorial jurisdiction of this Court; and there is no legal impediment in the grant of succession certificate in favour of the petitioners.
3. Perusal of the record reveals that the notice of this petition was given to the general public by way of publication in the newspaper 'Veer Arjun' on 25.03.2022. In response to the notice, no person from the general public SC No. 163/2021 Amit Aggarwal 7 Anr. Vs. State & ors. 2 of 7 came forward to raise any objection to grant of succession certificate in favour of the petitioner.
4. During the summary proceedings conducted as per Section 373 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, 06 persons were examined as witnesses i.e. PW-1 Sh. Amit Aggarwal, RW-1 Sh. Satyapal, Kanungo, SDM office, Vivek Vihar, RW-2 Sh. Girish Kumar Sharma, OSD, Litigation, Director of Education, RW4 Sh. Sanjay Sehgal, Manager, Bank of India, RW5 Sh. Rajender Kumar, Senior Head Messenger, SBI Branch, Gandhi Nagar and Sh. RW6, Sh. Pinaki Misra, Senior Branch Manager, Punjab National Bank (erstwhile OBC) Gandhi Nagar Branch, Delhi.
5. PW-1 Sh. Amit Aggarwal filed his evidence by way of affidavit in the form of Ex.PW1/A wherein he reiterated the contents of the petition and relied upon documents i.e. the copy of his Aadhar card Ex. PW1/1 (OSR), copy of Aadhar card of petitioner No.2 Ex. PW1/2 (OSR), copy of passbook of account of deceased in Oriental Bank of Commerce Ex. PW1/3 (OSR), copy of passbook of account of deceased in Bank of India Ex. PW1/4 (OSR), copy of passbook of account of deceased in State Bank of India Ex. PW1/5 (OSR), copy of ID card of deceased pertaining to Govt of NCT of Delhi Ex PW1/6 (OSR) and copy of death certificate of deceased, Ex. PW1/7 (OSR).
6. RW-1 Sh. Satyapal, Kanungo, SDM Office, Vivek Vihar, Delhi appeared on behalf of Respondent no.1 (inadvertently due to typographical error, it was mentioned that he was appearing on behalf of Respondent No.2) i.e. SDM office, Vivek Vihar and filed a report regarding the legal heirs of deceased namely, Late Smt. Nishi Jain, W/o Sh. Amit Aggarwal who passed away on 04.09.2020. As per the report, the deceased had left behind 02 legal heirs namely, Sh. Amit Aggarwal (husband) and Ms. Divyanshi (daughter). The report SC No. 163/2021 Amit Aggarwal 7 Anr. Vs. State & ors. 3 of 7 of Executive Magistrate, Vivek Vihar was exhibited as Ex.RW1/1, application form/verification form along with copies of IDs of witnesses was Ex.RW1/2 (colly) and his ID proof was Ex.RW1/3 (OSR).
7. RW-2 Sh. Girish Kumar Sharma, OSD, Litigation, Directorate of Education appeared on behalf of Respondent No.2. He deposed that Ms. Nishi Jain was working as Assistant Teacher at GSKV, Krishna Nagar, Delhi and after receipt of information regarding her death on 04.09.2020, notification regarding her death was released vide order No. GSKV/KN/2020/432-437 dated 21.10.2020. He stated that there was no nomination filled by Ms. Nishi Jain during her service and as per her service record. Mr. Amit Kumar (Husband), Mr. Rajender Kumar (Father), Smt. Uma Jain (Mother) and Ms. Divyanshi (Daughter) were declared as family members. He further stated that Several reminders were sent to the husband of the deceased for furnishing requisite documents for disbursement of death benefits. The record/documents in that regard were Ex. RW2/A (colly) and copy of his ID proof was Ex. RW2/B (OSR).
08. RW-4 Sh. Sanjay Sehgal, Manager, Bank of India, Gandhi Nagar Branch, appeared on behalf of Respondent No.5 and produced the statement of saving account bearing no. 606010110001419, having balance amount of Rs. 1050.76/- (Rupees One Thousand Fifty and Seventy Six Paise), in the name of Late Smt. Nishi Jain. The statement of account was Ex. RW4/A (colly) and copy of his ID proof was Ex. RW4/B (OSR).
09. RW-5 Sh. Rajender Kumar, Senior Head Messenger, SBI, Branch- Gandhi Nagar, Delhi appeared on behalf of Respondent No.5 and produced the statement of saving account bearing no. 31612066820, having balance amount of Rs. 6,15,719.00/- (Rupees Six Lacs Fifteen Thousand Seven Hundred Nineteen) SC No. 163/2021 Amit Aggarwal 7 Anr. Vs. State & ors. 4 of 7 as on 15.11.2022, in the name of Late Smt. Nishi Jain. The statement of account was Ex. RW5/A (colly) and copy of his ID proof was Ex. RW5/B (OSR).
10. RW-6 Sh. Pinaki Misra, Senior Branch Manager, Punjab National Bank (erstwhile OBC), Branch- Gandhi Nagar, Delhi appeared on behalf of Respondent No.3 and stated that Oriental Bank of Commerce has merged with Punjab National Bank. He produced the statement of saving account bearing no. 00852010102260, having balance amount of Rs. 44,825.07/- (Rupees Forty Four Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty Five and Seven Paise) as on 11.11.2022, in the name of Late Smt. Nishi Jain. The statement of account was Ex. RW6/A (colly) and copy of his ID proof was Ex. RW6/B (OSR).
11. During the course of final arguments, Ld. Counsel for the petitioner referred to the testimonies of PW-1 and RW-1 to RW-6 and submitted that the material on record was sufficient to conclude that the Petitioner No.1 and Petitioner No.2 were the only surviving legal heirs of the deceased Late Smt. Nishi Jain; that the testimony of RW-4 Sh. Sanjay Sehgal, Manager, Bank of India proved that the bank account, existed in the name of Late Smt. Nishi Jain with Bank of India, Gandhi Nagar, Delhi. The testimony of RW-5 Sh. Rajender Kumar, Senior Head Manager, State Bank of India proved that the bank account existed in the name of Late Smt. Nishi Jain with State Bank of India, Gandhi Nagar, Delhi. The testimony of RW-6 Sh.Pinaki Misra, Senior Branch Manager, Punjab National Bank proved that the bank account existed in the name of Late Smt. Nishi Jain with Punjab National Bank (erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce), Gandhi Nagar, Delhi and there was no impediment in grant of succession certificate in favour of petitioner, and that on the basis of the aforesaid submissions, Petitioners are entitled to grant of succession certificate.
12. I have heard the submissions advanced by Ld. Counsel for the petitioner, perused the record and gone through the relevant provisions of law.
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13. The testimonies of PW-1 and RW-1 to RW-6 prove that the deceased Late Smt. Nishi Jain has already passed away and the Petitioner No.1 and 2 are the only known surviving legal heirs of the deceased. Perusal of the record reveals that vide order dated 23.01.2023, an application u/o XXXII Rule 2 and Section 151 CPC filed on behalf of the petitioner No.1 was allowed, appointing the Petitioner No.1 as next friend/guardian of minor petitioner No.2 Baby Divyanshi. The testimony of RW-4 proves that account no. 606010110001419, having balance amount of Rs. 1050.76/- (Rupees One Thousand Fifty rupees and Seventy Six Paise) existed in the name of Late Smt. Nishi Jain. The testimony of RW-5 proves that account no.31612066820, having balance amount of Rs. 6,15,719.00/- (Rupees Six Lacs Fifteen Thousand Seven Hundred Nineteen) as on 15.11.2022 existed in the name of Late Smt. Nishi Jain. The testimony of RW-6 proves that account no. 00852010102260, having balance amount of Rs. 44,825.07/- (Rupees Forty Four Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty Five rupees and Seven Paise) as on 11.11.2022, existed in the name of Late Smt. Nishi Jain. No one else has come forward to oppose this succession petition despite publication in newspaper.
14. In light of the aforesaid facts and circumstances and on the basis of the material placed on record, this court is of the view that Petitioner No.1 and 2 are entitled to succession certificate and there exists no impediment in grant of succession certificate to them. Thus, the present petition qua the grant of succession certificate in respect of the saving account bearing no. 606010110001419, having balance amount of Rs. 1050.76/- (Rupees One Thousand Fifty rupees and Seventy Six Paise) existing with Bank of India, Gandhi Nagar, Delhi, saving account No. 31612066820, having balance amount of Rs. 6,15,719.00/- (Rupees Six Lacs Fifteen Thousand Seven Hundred Nineteen), existing with State Bank of India, Gandhi Nagar, Delhi and saving SC No. 163/2021 Amit Aggarwal 7 Anr. Vs. State & ors. 6 of 7 account No. 00852010102260, having balance amount of Rs. 44,825.07/- as on 11.11.2022 (Rupees Forty Four Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty Five rupees and Seven Paise) existing with Punjab National Bank, Gandhi Nagar, Delhi is hereby allowed. Accordingly, succession certificate be issued in favour of the Petitioner No.1 and 2, upon filing of requisite court fees and indemnity bond by the petitioner, with one surety.
15. The succession certificate shall be considered only as an entitlement of the petitioners to receive the amount of aforesaid account. The succession certificate shall not be considered as a direction as such to Bank of India, Gandhi Nagar Branch, State Bank of India Gandhi Nagar Branch and Punjab National Bank, Gandhi Nagar Branch to release the amount of aforesaid account to the petitioners and they shall be competent to seek compliance of formalities, if any, by the petitioner for securing release of the aforesaid account, as per rules. File be consigned to record room after due compliance.
Announced in the open Court (AKRITI MAHENDRU)
on 01.09.2023 ACJ-CCJ-ARC/Shahdara,
KKD/Delhi
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