Exclusion Of Natural Heirs Without Reasons Raises Doubt About Genuineness Of Will : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court reiterated that exclusion of natural heirs from a Will can be a circumstance raising suspicion against its valid execution, though that factor alone will not invalidate it.The Court observed that the existence of such a suspicious circumstance would require a closer scrutiny of the execution of the Will."We are conscious that deprivation of a natural heir, by itself, may not amount to a suspicious circumstance because the whole idea behind the execution of the Will is to interfere with the normal line of succession," the Court observed.However, referring to the precedent in Ram Piari vs. Bhagwant & Ors (1993) 3 SCC 364, the Court stated that "prudence requires reason for denying the benefit of inheritance to natural heirs and an absence of it, though not invalidating the Will in all cases, shrouds the disposition with suspicion as it does not give inkling to the mind of the testator to enable the court to judge that the disposition was a voluntary act."A bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was deciding an appeal in which the Will executed by the deceased husband had excluded his wife and had not even mentioned her status as his wife. While the Trial Court had held the Will to be genuine, the High Court had reversed the finding.The case related to a Will alleged to have been executed by one Maya Singh. The appellant was the nephew of Maya Singh. He filed a suit against Maya Singh's wife Jagir Kaur, claiming that Singh had bequeathed the properties to him(appellant) by way of the Will. The appellant also denied that Jagir Kaur was Maya Singh's legally wedded wife. The Will had no reference to Jagir Kaur as Maya Singh's wife.The judgment authored by Justice Bagchi, relying on Leela Rajagopal vs. Kamala Menon Cocharan, observed that when unusual features appear in a Will or unnatural circumstances surround its execution, the Court must undertake a close scrutiny and make an overall assessment of the unusual circumstances before accepting the Will."What boils down from this discussion is that suspicious circumstance i.e. nonmention of the status of wife or the reason for her disinheritance in the Will ought not to be examined in insolation but in the light of all attending circumstances of the case," the Court observed. The Court added that mere registration of the Will by itself will not make it genuine.The Court noted that the Will is completely silent with regard to the existence of his own wife and natural heir, i.e. the 1st respondent, or the reason for her disinheritance. The husband and wife were residing together till the former's last days, and there was no evidence that their relationship was bitter. Also, she was nominated to accept his pension, which showed that he had regarded her as his legally wedded wife."Such erasure of marital status is the telltale insignia of the propounder and not the testator himself. A cumulative assessment of the attending circumstances including this unusual omission to mention the very existence of his wife in the Will, gives rise to serious doubt that the Will was executed as per the dictates of the appellant and is not the 'free will' of the testator," the Court observed.Regarding the trial court's opinion that the wife's absence during the funeral rites of the husband indicated a sour relationship, the Court stated that in a Sikh family, last rites are performed by the male relations. Hence, her absence did not indicate any strain in the relationship.Observing that the that nonmention of 1st respondent or the reasons for her disinheritance in the Will, is an eloquent reminder that the free disposition of the testator was vitiated by the undue influence of the appellant.Appearances - For appellant - Mr. Manoj Swarup, Sr. Adv. Ms. Jyoti Mendiratta, AOR; Ms. Ananya Basudha, Adv.For respondents: Mr. Arun Bhardwaj, Adv. Mr. Vishal Mahajan, Adv. Mr. Bhaskar Y. Kulkarni, AOR Ms. Divya Kumari Sharma, Adv.Case : Gurdial Singh v Jagir KaurCitation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 718Click here to read the judgment

Exclusion Of Natural Heirs Without Reasons Raises Doubt About Genuineness Of Will : Supreme Court

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