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3. The respondent no.1/defendant no.1contested the suit on two basic grounds. The first was that the suit was barred by limitation and the second was that the respondent no.1/defendant no.1 became the owner of the suit property by virtue of a registered Will dated 20.9.1986 executed by the father, and which was registered with the sub-Registrar at Sonepat, Haryana on 29.9.1986.

4. After completion of pleadings, the Trial Court framed the following issues:

"1. Whether the suit has not been valued for the purpose of court fees and pecuniary jurisdiction? (OPD)
6. Relief."

5. The Trial Court held the suit to be within limitation, however, dismissed the suit by holding that the father-late Sh. Bhagwan Singh had executed a Will dated 29.9.1986, Ex.PW2/1, bequeathing the suit property in favour of the respondent no.1/defendant no1. The reasoning of the Trial Court to uphold the Will dated 29.9.1986 is on the basis of following observations:-

"I have given my careful consideration to the aspects raised before me. Firstly the Will in dispute dated 29.9.1986 which is Ex.PW2/1 is a registered document and proved by PW2 is admissible in evidence. Secondly it is not disputed that late Sh. Bhagwan Singh who had executed the Will, was highly qualified having studied in London and was a retired Class-I Gazetted Officer from the Indian Railway Services. Thirdly it has been duly proved by the defendant that both the attesting witnesses namely Mahender Singh S/o Late Sh. Swaroop Singh and Sh. Sukhbir Singh S/o Late Sh. Kali Ram have expired whose death certificate are Ex.DW3/A & Ex.DW3/B have been duly proved by the witness from the Sub Registrar Office (Death & Birth) Sonepat, Haryana. Both the said witnesses were from the same village as that of the testator, the witness Mahender Singh being the close relative of the deceased testator being the first cousin. Fourthly the plaintiff has not denied the signatures of her father on the Will rather she has admitted the same. The relevant portion of her cross-examination is as under:
"...... My mother had studied till fifth standard. My father used to normally converse in Hindi. My father knew Hindi language. He knew both Hindi and English languages well......"

This being so, the apprehension of the plaintiff that her father would not have written the Will in Hindi and the Will could not have been written by some other person, does not hold any merit, more so the plaintiff has failed to lead any evidence in this regard. Seventhly it had also been stated that the signatures of the attesting witnesses had not been proved. As observed herein above the factum of death of both the attesting witness has been duly proved. Both the attesting witnesses belong to the same village and Mahender Singh was a close relative to the testator being his cousin and his signatures have been duly identified by DW1. However, in so far as DW2 is concerned she has identified the signatures of Mahender Singh only on the basis of what has been written on the Will whereas she has never seen him writing and signing. Therefore, her testimony in so far as the identification of Mahender Singh cannot be taken as authentic in view of the fact that there is no dispute in so far as the signatures of the testator are concerned. The apprehensions of the plaintiff that the Will might be bearing the signatures and thumb impression of some other person, or that some other person might have been presented before the Sub Registrar before, is unfounded since the only evidence on record is the oral testimony of PW1 which does not find any corroboration or support from any other independent/ circumstantial evidence. Eighthly it is also alleged by the plaintiff that the property in question has been purchased from the common funds of his father and his three brothers and he did not have right to execute the said Will. The same also does not seem to be very convincing since she has not examined any of the brothers of late Sh. Bhagwan Singh to prove and substantiate the aforesaid allegations nor any other close relative has been examined. Lastly it is argued that the Will in question has not been got probated by the defendant no.1 and therefore, no mutation could have been effected. The legal position in this regard is very clear. The provisions of Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act requiring probate do not apply to the Wills made outside Bengal and the local limits of the ordinary jurisdiction of the High Courts of Madras and Bombay except where such Wills relate to property situated in the territories of Bengal or within the aforesaid local limits. This view has also been reiterated in the case of Murlidhar Dua & Ors. Vs. Shashi Mohan reported in 68 (1997) DLT 284 and Santosh Kakkar vs. Ram Prasad & Ors. reported in 71 (1998) DLT 147. The Will in the present case dated 29.9.1986 was executed at Sonepat Haryana and therefore, the defendant no.1 does not require any probate in respect of the same.

15. At the first blush, it appeared out of place as to why the father, who was highly educated and held a senior position in the Railways, would make a Will in Hindi. However, the answer is not far to seek. The deceased father-Bhagwan Singh, at the time when the Will was made, was living at Sonepat in Haryana along with the defendant no.1/respondent no.1. In Sonepat, Haryana the local language prevalent is Hindi. I must also take judicial notice of the fact that pleadings in Courts in Haryana are contained in Hindi language, and the usual language with respect to legal documents including Wills which are executed at Sonepat, Haryana is Hindi. The deceased therefore living at Sonepat would only have an assistance of a deed writer who would have made the Will in Hindi and therefore, there is nothing strange that the Will was made in Hindi. After all, it is not the case of the appellant/plaintiff that the deceased father did not know Hindi. In fact the father used to converse with his wife (mother of parties) in Hindi as she was educated only upto Class IV. I therefore hold that there is nothing unnatural in the Will having been drafted in Hindi.