Parker H. Croft Jr vs State & Ors

Mukta Gupta, J

By the present petition filed under Section 276 of Indian Succession Act, 1925, the petitioner seeks grant of probate/Letter of Administration in

respect of the last Will of Late Shri Daljeet Singh Bawa executed on 12th December, 2005 in favour of the petitioner.

Briefly stated, the petitioner is the adopted son of the deceased Late Shri Daljeet Singh Bawa and is residing at 2895-H, Kamookoa Road, Kilauea,

Hawaii, 96754, USA. The petitioner has appointed Shri Mukhtyar Singh as his Special Attorney vide Special Power of Attorney dated 30th March,

2009 to sign, verify and file the present petition.

The deceased, Late Shri Daljeet Singh Bawa, passed away on 27th March, 2008 at Delhi after executing a Will dated 12th December, 2005

bequeathing and vesting all his movable and immovable properties unto a Trust named “Bawa Development Study†and appointed the petitioner

as the permanent Chairman and the sole trustee of the Trust. Shri Mukhtyar Singh was appointed as the Vice-Chairman of the Trust. The Will dated

12th December, 2005 was duly registered with Sub-Registrar-V, Delhi.

The details of all the movable and immovable properties bequeathed upon the trust is enumerated as under:

“IMMOVABLE PROPERTY

i. R-17, Hauz Khas Enclave, New Delhi- 110016 fully built-up.

ii. HIG9, Jakhoo Hill Housing Board Colony, Simla-171002, HP, India.

iii. Agricultural land of approximately one killa and a residential plot of approximately 1000 square meters in

i. The jewellry and ornaments of late wife of the deceased Sh. D.S. Bawa in Locker No.173, Punjab National Bank, Lodhi Colony, New Delhi

ii. Deposits lying in the following bank accounts:-

a) A/c No. 90492010015685 Syndicate Bank, Hauz Khas, New Delhi in the name of “Bawa Development Study†having credit balance of Rs.

3,27,974.00

b) A/c No. 90492010000679 Syndicate Bank, Hauz Khas, New Delhi in the name of Shri D.S. Bawa having credit balance of Rs. 14,86,906.00

c) A/c No. 01750020000246 with The Kotak Mahindra bank Ltd., Safdurjang Enclave, New Delhi in the name of “Bawa Development Studyâ€

having credit balance of Rs. 2,48,455.00

d) A/c No. 01750020000081 with The Kotak Mahindra bank Ltd., Safdurjang Enclave, New Delhi in the name of Shri D.S. Bawa having credit

balance of Rs. 5,02,095.00

e) FDR No. 01753630000072 in the sum of Rs. 25,000.00 with The Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., Safdurjang Enclave, New Delhi.

f) FDR No. 01753730000475 in the sum of Rs. 3,00,000.00 with The Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., Safdurjang Enclave, New Delhi.

g) FDR No. 01753730001035 in the sum of Rs. 15,00,000.00 with The Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., Safdurjang Enclave, New Delhi.â€​

At the time of the death of the deceased, he had no other legal heir except the petitioner, since the wife of the deceased namely Smt. Mohinder

Kaur had predeceased him and the two children born out of the wedlock died at a very early state i.e. the daughter soon after the birth and the son at

the age of 15 years. Thus, the deceased is not survived by any other class I legal heir except the petitioner. As per the Will, the petitioner is the sole

legatee and beneficiary in respect of the estate of the deceased and has also been named as the executor of the Will.

The petitioner had filed a schedule of relatives which was taken on record vide order dated 4th March, 2011. As per the schedule, Smt. Mahinder

Kaur, sister of the deceased, was the only relative of the deceased. During the pendency of the present petition, Smt. Mahinder Kaur passed away on

8th June, 2011 and her legal heirs were brought on record namely Mrs. Barinder Rekhi (respondent no. 2) [though wrongly named as Surinder Rekhi

in amended memo of parties, also noted vide order dated 30.4.2014], Mr. Harbhajan Uppal (respondent no.3), Ms. Dhiraj Bhalla (respondent no. 4)

and Mr. Prithpal Singh Bhalla (respondent no. 5). Since no objections were filed by the aforesaid legal heirs despite repeated opportunities, their right

to file objections was closed vide order dated 10th May, 2016.

Objections were filed on behalf of Mr. Inderjeet Singh, Mr. Amarjeet Singh Bawa, Mr. Sohinder Pal Singh and Mr. Jatinder Singh Sodhi, being

class II legal heirs of the deceased, however, the same were dismissed vide order dated 10th May, 2016 on the ground that the class II legal heirs had

no locus standi to file objections since class I legal heirs were in existence.

Vide order dated 10th May, 2016, the following issues were settled:

“i.Whether late Sh. Daljit Singh Bawa died leaving behind his last valid Will dated 12.12.2005? OPP

ii. Reliefâ€​

Mr. Mukhtyar Singh (PW-1) power of attorney of the petitioner tendered his affidavit vide Ex. PW-1/X, Mr. D.P. Sharma (PW-2) vide Ex. PW-

2/A, Mr. Hardayal Singh (PW-3) vide Ex. PW-3/A and Ms. Amrik Kaur (PW-4) vide Ex. PW-4/X.

Mr. Mukhtyar Singh (PW-1) proved the Special Power of Attorney dated 30th March, 2009 executed in his favour vide Ex. PW-1/1, death

certificate of the deceased Late Shri Daljeet Singh Bawa vide Ex. PW-1/2 (Ex.P-1). Registered Will of the deceased as Ex. PW-2/1.

Mr. D.P. Sharma (PW-2) stated that he was one of the attesting witness to the Will dated 12th December, 2005 and identified the signature of the

deceased on the aforesaid Will. He also identified the signature of the petitioner as Executant on Special Power of Attorney dated 30th March, 2009

exhibited as Ex. PW-1/1.

Mr. Hardayal Singh (PW-3), who was working as Priest/ Head Granthi at Gurudwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha, Begum Pur, Delhi, stated that the

deceased had adopted the petitioner as per Sikh rites and rituals. He also proved the photographs of the aforesaid adoption ceremony as Ex. PW-3/1

to 3/14.

Ms. Amrik Kaur (PW-4), wife of Mr. Hardayal Singh (PW-3), also deposed in sync with Mr. Hardayal Singh (PW-3) thereby proving the fact of

adoption of the petitioner by the deceased.

In view of the testimony of PW-1 to PW-4 and the documents placed on record, this Court is satisfied that the petitioner has proved the Will dated

12th December, 2005 duly executed by the deceased and the said Will was his last Will and testament.

Accordingly, letter of administration in respect of Will (Ex. PW-2/1) dated 12th December, 2005 of Late Shri Daljeet Singh Bawa, is granted in

favour of the petitioner for the property left behind by the deceased as mentioned above, subject to the requisite court fees/stamp duty being furnished

in accordance with the valuation report to the satisfaction of the Registrar General of this Court.

Petition is disposed of.

The matter shall be listed before the Registrar General for payment of requisite court fees on 25th October, 2017.