The Hindu : Front Page : Court dismisses Birlas’ appeals in will case

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Court dismisses Birlas’ appeals in will case

Legal Correspondent

Calcutta High Court should expedite probate proceedings, says Supreme Court Bench

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Birla family appeals challenging a Calcutta High Court order refusing to entertain the petitions opposing Rajendra Singh Lodha’s (RSL) application for probating the Rs. 5,000-crore will executed by Priyamvada Devi Birla (PDB), widow of Madhav Prasad Birla (MPB).

A Bench consisting of Justices B.P. Singh and H.S. Bedi dismissed the SLPs filed by Krishna Kumar Birla, Basant Kumar Birla and Yashovardhan Birla. It, however, allowed an appeal by Ganga Prasad Birla and the one filed by Mr. Lodha. The appellants contended that as trustees and potential beneficiaries under the mutual wills of 1982, they were duty-bound to contest the 1999 will and oppose the grant of probate so that they would not be accused of breach of trust. The High Court order that they had no caveatable interest could not be sustained.

The Bench said: “Keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case, the probate proceedings should be taken up for hearing by the High Court as expeditiously as possible. We would request the High Court to consider this aspect. Probate proceedings of RSL in respect of the will of PDB executed in 1999 should be taken up first. The hearing of the probate proceedings of the 1982 will of MPB may be taken up immediately thereafter. Judgments may be delivered, if possible, at the same time. The suit filed by the executors of the two 1982 wills may be taken up for hearing only after the disposal of the probate proceedings, if necessary.”

Writing the judgment, Justice Sinha said: “It is a fundamental nature of a probate proceeding that whatever the interest of the testator, the same must be accepted and the rules laid down therein must be followed. The logical corollary whereof would be that any person questioning the existence of a title in respect of the estate or capacity of the testator to dispose of the property by will on the ground that it is outside the law of succession would be a stranger to the probate proceeding inasmuch as none of such rights can effectively be adjudicated therein.”

The Bench said: “It was contended that having regard to the testate succession created by reason of the will and the matter remaining pending for last three years, the claim of the appellants and family members is required to be decided on the happening of certain contingencies in the intervening period between the death of PDB and the ultimate decision of the probate application, as one of the heirs of PDB has died. The submission, to say the least, is fallacious.”

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page