Succession certificates may be granted for portions of debts under Section 372(3) of the Indian Succession Act.

The applicants—applicant No. 1, the widow of the deceased son, and applicant No. 2, her minor son—sought a succession certificate in respect of deposits belonging to the deceased parents-in-law of applicant No. 1, who were the grandparents of applicant No. 2. The deceased mother-in-law, father-in-law, and their son died during the COVID-19 pandemic on 20.04.2021, 25.04.2021, and 29.04.2021 respectively. The only surviving family members were the applicants and respondent No. 1, the daughter of the deceased depositors

The succession application concerned fixed deposits and savings accounts aggregating approximately Rs. 52 lakhs. Some deposits nominated the deceased son, while respondent No. 1 was nominee in respect of other deposits and had allegedly withdrawn approximately Rs. 30.7 lakhs from those accounts

The Succession Court granted the applicants a certificate for half of the deposits in which the deceased son was nominee, but the applicants could not produce details of the amounts already received by respondent No. 1

In appeal, the applicants filed account statements under Order XLI Rule 27 CPC showing respondent No. 1’s receipt of certain deposits. The Appellate Court rejected the application, holding that such documents could not be considered because succession proceedings were not a suit for declaration of title

1. Whether the Appellate Court erred in rejecting the applicants’ application under Order XLI Rule 27 CPC for production of bank-account statements relevant to the deposits of the deceased

2. Whether, under Section 372(3) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, a succession certificate may be granted in respect of portions of debts or deposits due to the deceased, requiring consideration of the respective deposits in which different heirs or nominees were involved

3. Whether the matter required remand to the Appellate Court for reconsideration of the additional documents and a proper determination of the succession claim

The Court applied Section 384(3) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, governing revisions arising from succession-certificate proceedings, and Section 372(3), which permits an application for a succession certificate in respect of any debt or debts due to the deceased creditor, or portions thereof

The Court also applied Order XLI Rule 27 CPC, under which relevant additional evidence may be admitted at the appellate stage when necessary for adjudicating the dispute and securing complete justice

The Court held that succession proceedings are not limited in a manner that prevents consideration of relevant documentary evidence merely because they do not constitute suits for declaration of title

The Appellate Court incorrectly treated the nature of succession proceedings as a bar to considering the bank statements. Section 372(3) expressly permits a certificate concerning portions of debts, making it necessary to distinguish between deposits in which the deceased son was nominee and deposits in which respondent No. 1 was nominee

The additional account statements were directly relevant to determining which deposits had already been received by respondent No. 1 and what amount, if any, remained subject to the applicants’ succession claim. Since those documents could assist in doing complete justice between the parties, the Appellate Court ought to have considered the Order XLI Rule 27 CPC application rather than rejecting it on the ground that the proceeding was not a title suit

The matter was remanded to the Appellate Court to reconsider the appeal after taking into account the documents filed with the application under Order XLI Rule 27 CPC. The Appellate Court was directed to endeavour to decide the appeal finally within four months of receiving a copy of the High Court’s order. The revision was accordingly disposed of