Letter of administration to be granted for an immovable property if all other legal heirs served through publication and have not contested the petition

In a recent judgment, the Delhi High Court, held that when two Class II legal heirs have filed their no-objection to the petition for grant of letter of administration and other Class II heirs have been served through publication, the letter of administration is to be granted to the Petitioner.

The said ruling was delivered in the matter of Mandeep Singh vs. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi), TEST. CAS. No. 31 of 2016 decided on 05.09.2018.

Challenge:

Petition filed under Section 278 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 by Petitioner for grant of letter of administration in respect of an immovable property in GK-I, New Delhi by the sole surviving legal heir of the deceased owner, Sh. Swaran Jit Singh who had purchased the subject property vide conveyance deed dated 05.10.1995. Petitioner claims to be the adopted son of late Sh. Swaran Jit Singh and Smt. Balbir Kaur vide adoption order dated 03.09.1973 of the District Judge, Delhi under Section 9(4) of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956. Sh. Singh had a fixed place of abode and died on 01.02.2009 and was survived by the Petitioner and his mother, Smt. Balbir Kaur who also died intestate on 09.03.2016, making the Petitioner the only Class I surviving heir of the deceased owner of Subject Property.

Held:

Once the present petition was filed, the Hon’ble Court issued citations to Class II relatives of the Petitioner. As a result, two relatives filed their no-objection affidavit to grant the letter of administration in favour of subject property. Other relatives were duly served through publication in ‘Stateman’ on 07.12.2016 and in ‘Jansatta’ on 13.01.2017. The valuation report of subject property was filed by the SDM and the death certificate of both parents of the Petitioner was also on record. It was, therefore, held that where the Petitioner is the only Class I heir of the deceased and where two Class II relatives have filed their no objection affidavits and other Class II relatives have chosen not to appear or content the claim of the Petitioner despite service through publication, there exists no impediment in grant of letter of administration in favour of the Petitioner qua the subject property. Hence, the letter of administration of subject property of deceased was granted in favour of the Petitioner.