'Legal Heir' Certificate Issued By Tahsildar Only Reflects Relationship With Deceased, Does Not Affect Status Of Heir Under Personal Law: Madras High Court FB

A three-judge bench of the Madras High Court recently decided upon the powers of a Tahsildar to issue a Legal Heirship Certificate in matters of intestate-succession for Class-II heirs. The bench of Justice PN Prakash, Justice R Hemalatha, and Justice AA Nakkiran opined that the concept of heirship is determined through the various personal laws. Thus, the Legal Heirship Certificate issued by the Tahsildar has no effect on the legal right of any party which was conferred to him/her under the personal laws. It observed,"Tahsildar and the Revenue Inspector cannot be expected to go on a wild goose chase hunting for the heirs of the deceased armed with the table of sharers from Mulla on Mohammedan Law or a manual prescribing the mode of distribution contemplated under Parts II and III of Chapter V of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. We cannot expand the functions of the Tahsildar from those of a purely administrative to a quasi-judicial character, as that would lead to total chaos and proliferate litigation."Thus, the Court was of the opinion that the prefix "legal heir" used in the certificates issued by the Tahsildar is clearly a misnomer and that these are merely "relationship certificates" reflecting the opinion of the Tahsildar on the relationship of the applicant and the persons named therein with the deceased; They cannot alter the status of a legal heir which is conferred on an individual under his/her personal law. "The "legal heir" certificate issued by the Tahsildar does not determine the status of any party as an heir of the deceased. This status is conferred on an individual under his/her personal law, and cannot be altered by mere executive instructions such as a circular," it said.In view of the anomalies existing in the present Circular followed by the executive, the court also directed the Government to issue fresh Government Orders rectifying these anomalies. BACKGROUND In Tamil Nadu, the Revenue authorities like Tahsildars were issuing legal heirship certificates on the basis of inquiries conducted by Revenue Inspectors, Village Administrative officers, etc. The Board of Revenue, through their proceedings dated 27.04.1979 had prescribed the issuance of a legal heirship certificate as one of the duties of Tahsildars. In 1991, the Special Commissioner for Revenue Administration issued a letter prescribing guidelines for the issuance of certificates. In 2017, the Principal Secretary, Commissioner of Revenue Administration also issued circular prescribing detailed guidelines for the issuance of legal heirship certificates. This circular prohibited the Tahsildar from issuing certificates in respect of certain categories. These guidelines were revised vide circular in 2019 which created a dichotomy between Class-I and Class-II legal heirs. The circular prohibited issuance of certificates to Class-II legal heirs. The power of the Tahsildar to issue legal heirship certificates to Class-II legal heirs was challenged before various courts of the country. When a batch of such decisions came up before the single judge, it opined that there existed an apparent conflict as the decision in E. Thirumurthy v Collector of Chennai and others [1998 Writ L.R 347] held that the Tahsildar had no power whereas in J. Babu v The Tahsildar [W.P.No. 5940 of 2017, decided on 27.07.2020] the court had issued a mandamus directing the Tahsildar to issue Class-II legal heirship certificate diluting the effects of the circular issued by the Revenue Department. Finding the conflicting views to be irreconcilable, the matter was referred to a larger bench for an authoritative pronouncement. PETITIONER'S CONTENTIONS The petitioners, represented by Mr. Naresh Vassudhev and Mr. P.V Balasubramaniam among others argued that it was incorrect to say that the Revenue Department did not have powers to issue legal heirship certificates. The power was backed by G.O. Ms. No.2906 dated 04.11.1981. It was submitted that these circulars were backed by sanctions and that flouting them would attract disciplinary proceedings. Reliance was also placed on a judgment in W.P (MD). 22184 of 2021,dated 12.01.2022 wherein the Tahsildar was directed to issue a certificate to Class-II legal heirs if there was no contest. The petitioners also submitted that a legal heirship certificate was only a recognition of a pre-existing right and did not create any new right. Thus, the issue did not require adjudication. There was no legislation in the state to issue legal heirship certificates, and hence, it was only traceable to executive orders. RESPONDENT'S CONTENTIONS The Additional Advocate General Mr. Neelakandan submitted on behalf of the state that a legal heirship certificate could be issued only upon completion of inquiry and after perusing the report of the Revenue inspector. There also existed practical difficulties in identifying Class-II legal heirs. It was only on this basis that the...

'Legal Heir' Certificate Issued By Tahsildar Only Reflects Relationship With Deceased, Does Not Affect Status Of Heir Under Personal Law: Madras High Court FB

Upasana Sajeev

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