Madras HC Grants Widow Letters Of Administration For Husband’s Remaining Estate, Excluding Two Properties Sold By The Family

Dr. M.R. Sivakumar executed an unregistered Will dated 6 October 2014, bequeathing his movable and immovable property to his wife, Dr. Saroja Sivakumar, with a gift over to his two sons if she predeceased him.

The sole executor named in the Will died before the testator, who died on 10 November 2020.

Before the Will was discovered, the petitioner and her sons, believing the deceased had died intestate, jointly sold properties corresponding to Items 4 and 5 of the Will.

The sons consented to the petitioner’s application for Letters of Administration with the Will annexed.

The petitioner relied on her own evidence and that of an attesting witness to prove execution and attestation.

Section 232(b) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 permits Letters of Administration with the Will annexed to be granted to a person entitled to administer the estate where no executor is available to act.

Sections 255 and 257 support grants limited to part of an estate and provide for administration of the residue of an estate, respectively.

The Court also applied Section 63(c) of the Indian Succession Act, read with Section 67 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (identified in the judgment as corresponding to Section 68 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872), in assessing proof of execution and attestation of the Will.

The petition was brought under Sections 232 and 276 of the Indian Succession Act and Order XXV Rule 5 of the Original Side Rules.

The Court found that the petitioner and an attesting witness had given evidence sufficient to prove the Will’s due execution and attestation; the original Will and the testator’s death certificate were also produced.

Although Items 4 and 5 had been sold, the Court accepted that the family had dealt with the properties believing the testator had died intestate and before discovering the Will.

Their alienation did not defeat the application as a whole: the statutory provisions permitted a grant confined to the estate still available, while the petitioner could not receive a grant in respect of the two sold items.

The petitioner was directed to administer the remaining property and credits, execute a security bond for ₹25,000, file an inventory within six months of the grant, and render an account within one year.