Mr. Bhupinder Singh &Ors vs State & Others - (High Court of Delhi) (17 Nov 2023)

Will can be suspected only if substantial changes introduced to it by the cuttings and overwriting present on it

MANU/DE/7719/2023

Property

The present petition has been filed under Section 276 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 seeking grant of probate of the Will dated 27th September, 2012 executed by late Ms. Kanval Dhillon.

To ascertain whether the authenticity, legality and validity of the subject Will, it is important to consider whether the evidence presented by petitioners proved the existence of the Will in accordance with the provisions of Section 63 of the Succession Act. As per Section 63 of the Succession Act, a Will can be admitted to probate, when it is established that the testator has executed it by signing his name or affixing his mark thereto in a manner that clearly indicates an intention to render the document a valid Will, and he/she did so in the presence of the attesting witness, who also affixed their signatures in the presence of the testator.The record shows that the handwriting and signatures of the testatrix on the Will have been identified and admitted by all parties.

The respondents are justified in urging that in case there are cuttings and overwriting in a Will, the Court will have to examine the effect thereof regardless of whether they have been carried out as per Section 71 of the Succession Act. The effect of such unsigned cuttings and overwriting would always depend on the facts and circumstances of each case. Only if it is found that there are substantial changes sought to be introduced to a Will by the cuttings and overwriting present on it, can it be open for the Court to conclude that the Will is suspect and has to be rejected.

In the present case, while the testatrix was desirous of incorporating changes to it, these corrections were not sweeping changes that materially affected the bequeathals made therein. The cuttings and overwriting seem to be made to delete properties which had been sold after the execution of the subject Will, or readjust amounts/movables bequeathed, or record her musings as a side note.

Present Court, therefore, do not find that these side notes, cuttings and overwriting in the subject Will are as substantial to discredit the original Will which contains an expression of the testatrix's final wish regarding the distribution of her assets. Rather, the nature of these cuttings and overwriting do not depart from the essence of the testatrix's wishes, who clearly did not want to bequeath any portion of her estate to her sisters.

There is no basis for rejecting the validity of the subject Will in its original form as it existed at the time of its execution on 27.09.2012. The present petitioners are granted Letters of Administration with respect to the Will annexed dated 27.09.2012 of late Ms. Kanval Dhillon on filing the necessary Administration Bond and Surety Bond. Petition allowed.

Tags : WILL EXECUTION GRANT