Surety For Succession Certificate Not Required Where There Is Sole Heir And No Competing Claims: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that condition of surety for grant of succession certificate under section 375 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 cannot be imposed mechanically in all cases. It held that in cases where their is a sole heir or no objection is being raised regarding grant of certificate to one heir, such conditions must not be imposed. Section 372 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 provides for applications which can be made for obtaining succession certificate before the District Judge. Section 373 provides the procedure for such applications and Section 374 provides the contents for the application. Section 375 of the Act empowers the District Judge to impose conditions regarding security in the form of bonds upon the person obtaining such certificate in cases he thinks fit. Referring to Section 375 of the Act, Justice Manish Kumar Nigam held,“A condition is imposed where the Court comes to the conclusion that it is necessary for any purpose, including any debt to be satisfied, any other claimants, any dues to statutory authorities etc. However, the imposition of a condition is to be considered in the facts of each case. A condition cannot be mechanically insisted upon, especially in situations wherein the beneficiary is the sole beneficiary or in other suitable cases, if the beneficiary is a natural heir of the deceased and there are no objections by the other claimants.”Petitioner and respondent are real sisters and legal heirs of their mother. Plaintiff-petitioner filed a case under Section 372 of Indian Succession Act with a prayer to issue succession certificate in her favour. The respondent appeared and gave consent in favour of the petitioner. Accordingly, the Civil Judge allowed the application and directed grant of succession certificate if the petitioner furnished a security bond and a personal bond for the amount for which succession certificate was being granted.This condition was challenged before the High Court. The Court observed, “A perusal of Section 375 of the ISA clearly shows that the imposition of a condition of security/surety/indemnity bond is in order to indemnify person(s) or safeguard the interests of such persons who may be entitled to the whole or any part of the debt and security.” Holding that the condition cannot be mechanically applied in all cases, the Court held that since there was only one heir obtaining the certificate and the other daughter had given her consent in favour of the petitioner, there was no justification for imposing condition of the bond. Directing issuance of the succession certificate to the petitioner without surety, the Court allowed the writ petition. Case Title: Smt. Alka Singhania Versus Smt. Shilpi Agarwal 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 120Case citation: 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 120Click Here To Read/Download Order

Surety For Succession Certificate Not Required Where There Is Sole Heir And No Competing Claims: Allahabad High Court

Upasna Agrawal

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