Delhi District Court
Harish Kumar vs State on 30 April, 2024
IN THE COURT OF SH. GAURAV SHARMA
ACJ-cum-CCJ-cum-ARC, SHAHDARA
KARKARDOOMA COURTS, DELHI
CNR No. DLSH030016112020
Succession Court 71/2020
Mr. Harish Kumar
S/o Late Sh. Gyan Chand
R/o: A-7/20, Gali No. 1, A-7 Block Kabir Nagar,
Babarpur, North East,
Shahdara, Delhi-110094.
..........Petitioner
Versus
1. The State
Through SDM Shahdara,
Mr. Debasis Biswal,
A-Block, 1st Floor, DC office complex,
Nand Nagri, Delhi-110093.
2. Meera Devi
D/o Late Sh. Gyan Chand
W/o Vinod Kumar
R/o: 472/B, Main Road, Azad Chowk, Kardampuri,
North East, Shahdara, New Delhi-110094.
3. Mahesh Kumar
S/o Late Sh. Gyan Chand
R/o: A-7/20, Gali No. 1,
A-7 Block, Kabir Nagar, Babarpur, North East,
Shahdara, Delhi-110094.
SC No. 71/2020 Harish Kumar Vs. State pg. no. 1/7
4. Krishan Kumar
S/o Late Sh. Gyan Chand
R/o: A-7/20, Gali No. 1, A-7 Block, Kabir Nagar,
Babarpur, North East, Shahdara, Delhi-110094.
5. Kamal Kishor
S/o Late Sh. Gyan Chand
R/o: A-7/20, Gali No. 1, A-7 Block, Kabir Nagar,
Babarpur, North East,
Shahdara, Delhi-110094.
6. Bharat Singh
S/o Late Sh. Gyan Chand
R/o: A-7/20, Gali No. 1,
A-7 Block, Kabir Nagar, Babarpur, North East,
Shahdara, Delhi-110094.
7. National Building Constructions Corporation (India) Ltd.
NBCC Place, Pragati Vihar,
Bhishma Pitama Road, New Delhi-110003.
..........Respondents
PETITION FOR GRANT OF SUCCESSION
CERTIFICATE UNDER SECTION 372 OF THE INDIAN
SUCCESSION ACT, 1925
Date of Institution : 29.10.2020
Judgment reserved on : 15.04.2024
Judgment pronounced on : 30.04.2024
JUDGMENT
30.04.2024
1. Petition Allowed.
SC No. 71/2020 Harish Kumar Vs. State pg. no. 2/7
2. Vide the present petition, succession certificate is sought by the petitioner in respect of debts and securities in the name of deceased Sh. Gyan Chand, father of petitioner.
3. In the petition, it is inter alia pleaded that the petitioner is one of the legal heirs of the deceased Sh. Gyan Chand and the deceased was ordinarily residing at H.No. A-7/20, Gali No. 1, A-7 Block, Kabir Nagar, Babarpur, North East, Delhi-110094, within the territorial jurisdiction of this Court and there is no legal impediment in the grant of succession certificate in favour of the petitioner.
4. 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 06.08.2021. In response to the notice, no person from the general public came forward to raise any objection for grant of succession certificate in favour of the petitioner.
5. During the summary proceedings conducted as per Section 373 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, 08 persons were examined as witnesses.
6. PW-1 Sh. Harish Kumar filed his evidence by way of affidavit Ex. PW1/1 wherein he reiterated the contents of the petition and relied upon the following documents being:-
i) Photocopy of Aadhar Card : Ex. PW-1/A (OSR)
ii) Copy of death certificate of Late Sh. Gyan Chand : Ex. PW-1/B SC No. 71/2020 Harish Kumar Vs. State pg. no. 3/7
iii) Copy of death certificate of Late Smt. Rajbala : Ex. PW-1/C
iv) Photocopy of salary slip and identity card issued by NBCC (R7) : Mark A & Mark B
7. RW-1 Sh. Azhar Ahmed, Kanungo, SDM Office, Shahdara, Delhi, appeared on behalf of respondent no. 1 and filed a report regarding the legal heirs of deceased Sh. Gyan Chand, who expired on 16.08.2020. As per his report, deceased Sh. Gyan Chand has left behind after death 06 legal heirs namely Sh. Harish Kumar (son) / petitioner, Sh. Mahesh Kumar (son), Sh. Krishan Kumar (son), Sh. Kamal Kishore (son), Sh. Bharat Singh (son), Smt. Meera Devi (daughter). Report of Tehsildar, Shahdara, Delhi Ex. RW1/1 (Colly.), application form / verification form alongwith copies of IDs of witnesses Ex. RW1/2 (Colly.) and his ID proof Ex. RW1/3 (OSR).
8. RW-2 Smt. Meera Devi, RW-3 Sh. Mahesh Kumar, RW-4 Sh. Krishan Kumar, RW-5 Kamal Kishor & RW-6 Sh. Bharat Singh deposed that they are daughter & sons of deceased Sh. Gyan Chand respectively and they have no objection if succession certificate is issued by this Court in favour of petitioner qua debts and securities in the name of the deceased Sh. Gyan Chand. Copies of their ID proofs Ex. RW2/A (OSR), Ex. RW3/A (OSR), Ex. RW4/A (OSR), Ex. RW5/A (OSR) & Ex. RW6/A (OSR) respectively.
SC No. 71/2020 Harish Kumar Vs. State pg. no. 4/7
9. RW-7 Sh. Manish Kumar Jaiswal, Dy. Manager, NBCC (India) Ltd., NBCC Place, Pragati Vihar, Bhishma Pitama Road, New Delhi-110003, appeared on behalf of respondent no. 7. As per the WS / reply of respondent no. 7, deceased Sh. Gyan Chand, Ex-Sr. Barbender (SG) was its employee who expired during service on 15.08.2020 and he was entitled for the gratuity of Rs. 11,35,848/-, leave encashment upto 300 days, group savings linked insurance Rs. 78,145/- as on 10.12.2021, benevolent fund Rs. 10,00,000/- and corpus under NBCC employee defined contribution superannuation trust pension (Rs. 5,19,267/- as on 10.12.2021). Copy of his ID proof Ex. RW7/A (OSR).
10. During the course of final arguments, Ld. Counsel for the petitioner referred to the testimonies of the witnesses examined and submitted that the material on record was sufficient to conclude that the petitioner is one of the surviving legal heirs of the deceased and that there is no impediment in grant of succession certificate in favour of petitioner.
11. Heard. Record perused.
12. The testimonies of the witnesses examined prove that Sh. Gyan Chand passed away on 16.08.2020. On such date, as per Section 8 of Hindu Succession Act, 1956 ('Act'), petitioner (being son of the deceased) and respondent no.
SC No. 71/2020 Harish Kumar Vs. State pg. no. 5/7 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 (being daughter & son of the deceased respectively) are all Class I legal heirs as per the Schedule of the Act. The daughter & all the remaining sons of the deceased have already given their NOCs in favor of the petitioner. Apart from that, no one else also has come forward to oppose this succession petition despite publication in newspaper. In view of the same, this Court finds no impediment in granting the succession certificate as sought.
13. 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 the present petition is liable to be favourably considered. Thus, the present petition qua the grant of succession certificate in respect of gratuity of Rs. 11,35,848/-, leave encashment upto 300 days, group savings linked insurance Rs. 78,145/- as on 10.12.2021, benevolent fund Rs. 10,00,000/- in the name of Sh. Gyan Chand, is hereby allowed.
14. As far as accumulated balance of Rs. 5,19,267/- as on 10.12.2021 is concerned - being the corpus under NBCC Employees Defined Contribution Trust, from which pension payable would be calculated by SBI after receiving the requisite forms from the nominees - it is to be noted that such a pension to be paid is not a property of the deceased employee/pensioner and therefore, the entitlement for family pension cannot be decided by SC No. 71/2020 Harish Kumar Vs. State pg. no. 6/7 succession certificate, i.e. to say, a Succession Certificate is not necessary in this regard as pension is neither a debt nor security. It would suffice if a legal heir certificate is obtained to receive family pension in the absence of any nomination.
15. Total value of above securities held by deceased turns out to be Rs. 22,13,993/-. Accordingly, succession certificate be issued in favour of the petitioner. Succession certificate be drawn on deposit of combined court fees of Rs. 55,350/- in terms of Article 12 Schedule 1 of Court Fees Act, 1870 as applicable in Delhi & on furnishing an Indemnity Bond with one surety each within 30 days from today. Further, it be noted that though the Succession Certificate as aforesaid is not being issued qua the pensionary benefits for the deceased, the authorities concerned may take into account nevertheless as per relevant rules in that regard, whilst adjudicating and awarding such a claim qua the legal heirs/nominees of the deceased.
16. File be consigned to Record Room after due compliance.
Digitally
signed by
GAURAV
Announced in the open Court GAURAV
SHARMA
SHARMA
Date:
on 30.04.2024 2024.04.30
15:53:52
+0530
(Gaurav Sharma)
ACJ/CCJ/ARC/Shahdara
KKD Courts/Delhi
30.04.2024
SC No. 71/2020 Harish Kumar Vs. State pg. no. 7/7