TESTAMENTARY CASE No.3 OF 2009 In the goods of late Dr. Arun Kumar Sinha, son of late Pashupati Kumar Sinha, resident of Makhaniya Kuan Road, P.S. Pirbahore, town and district Patna ------------- (In the matter of an application under Sections 273 and 276 of the Indian Succession Act for grant of Probate of the Will dated 30.5.2006). ------------- Prof. Dr. Miss. Lakshmi Sinha, daughter of late Pashupati Kumar Sinha, resident of Makhaniya Kuan Road, P.S. Pirbahore, town and district- Patna …… Applicant. ------------- For The Petitioner : Mr. Laxmi Narayan Das, Advocate For the Near Relatives: Mrs. Renu Jha, Advocate. : P R E S E N T THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAMESH KUMAR DATTA R.K.Datta,J. This is an application for grant of Probate of the Will dated 30.5.2006 of Late Dr. Arun Kumar Sinha. The said Will is stated to be the last Will and testament of the testator who is stated to have executed the Will on 30.5.2006 in the presence of two attesting witnesses. The said testator is stated to have died on 3.6.2007 at 7.30 A.M. at Ruben Memorial Hospital, Gandhi Maidan, Patna. The applicant, Prof. Dr. (Miss) Lakshmi Sinha is the sister of the testator. She has been named as the sole executor of the Will apart from the principal legatee therein and has filed the present application claiming to be entitled to obtain probate of the same. The testator, Dr. Arun Kumar Sinha was a retired Principal of B.N.College, Patna University aged about 75 years when he executed the Will and was a resident of Mohalla Makhania Kuan 2 Road, formerly Bihari Lal Bhattacharya Road, under Pirbahore Police Station, town and district- Patna. In the said Will he has revoked all former Wills and codicils and other testamentary dispositions by him previously and declared the Will dated 30.5.2006 as his last Will. He has stated that he was a bachelor and he had five sisters who are all named in the Will, out of whom three of the sisters had died by that time and only two of his sisters, namely, Miss Abha Sinha and retired Professor Dr. (Miss) Laksmi Sinha, the applicant, were alive. In the application for probate it is stated that the other sister, Miss. Abha Sinha died prior to the death of the testator. It is further stated in the Will that the eldest sister, Mrs. Sudha Bose (nee’ Sinha) had four daughters who were all alive then and her youngest daughter, Prof. (Miss) Arpita Bose had been brought up by the testator since her childhood and has stayed/staying with him and his sisters in the said house at Makhaniya Kuan Road. It was further stated that the applicant and Miss (Prof.) Arpita Bose had been looking after the testator since he had fallen sick and they were also looking after his other alive sister Miss. Abha Sinha who had also become very old. After mentioning his said house property situated on land measuring 3 katha 14 dhurs purchased by him by the sale deeds dated 13.9.1978 and 24.9.1979 respectively and further that he owned a Maruti Alto Car purchased on 18.2.2005, the testator bequeathed the entire property – movable and immovable- to the youngest sister, the applicant, with the condition that the other sister and niece will continue to stay in the house and other terms and 3 conditions with respect to the sale of the house property and in the eventuality of the death of the applicant, etc. It is stated that after the death of the applicant, the entire movable and immovable property shall go to his said niece. In the application it is stated that the testator was a Hindu governed by the Dayabhaga School of Hindu Law. Four near relatives were also mentioned in the application. All the four near relatives are daughters of the testator’s sister Late Sudha Bose. General citation was published in two daily newspapers, namely, Hindustan Times in English and Hindustan in Hindi published from Patna on 30.3.2009 and special citation was also issued to the four near relatives mentioned in the application. All the four near relatives have appeared by filing Vakalatnama and they have not opposed the application by filing any caveat/ objection petition. Learned counsel for the said near relatives, as a matter of fact, has submitted that they are supporting the case of the applicant. One of the four near relatives, namely, Arpita Bose is also a legatee under the Will. The applicant has sought to prove the Will by producing both the attesting witnesses, namely, Sudipto Adhikari who has been examined as A.W.1 and Dr. Ashesh Das Gupta as A.W.2. The applicant has examined herself as A.W.3. A.W.1 has stated that he was working as Head of the Department of Geography when the testator was the Principal of B.N.College. He has further stated that the Will was executed in his presence by the testator, Dr. Arun Kumar Sinha as also in the 4 presence of the other attesting witness, Dr. Ashesh Dasgupta. He has proved the signature of the testator on all the four pages of the Will which has been marked as Ext. 2 to 2/c. He has also proved his signature on the last page of the Will which has been marked as Ext. 3. He has further proved the signature of the other attesting witness, Dr. Ashesh Dasgupta whose signature is marked as Ext. 4. The entire Will has been marked as Ext. 1. He has further stated that the testator had read out the Will in his presence before signing the same and thereafter requested him to sign as a witness which he did in the presence of the testator as also the other attesting witness. He has further stated that at the time of execution of the Will the testator was perfectly healthy both physically and mentally. A.W. 2, Dr.Ashesh Dasgupta is the other attesting witness. He has stated that the testator was a family friend and a colleague of his maternal uncle who was a professor of English in B.N.College, Patna. He has further stated that all three, the testator and the attesting witnesses signed the Will in the presence of each other and that the testator had signed the Will after understanding the same. He has also asserted that at the time of execution of the Will the testator was perfectly healthy both physically and mentally. The applicant has examined herself as A.W.3. She has stated that her elder brother, the testator was unmarried and had executed the Will which he has signed on every page in presence of the two attesting witnesses. It is further stated that she has been appointed as executor in the Will and filed the application giving the 5 names of all the near relatives, none of whom has any objection. This is an uncontested case since none of the near relatives or any other relation has come forward by filing a caveat and objection to the grant of the probate. The applicant has produced two attesting witnesses to prove the Will and both the attesting witnesses are persons who would be naturally known to the testator and they have proved the Will in the manner required by law. They have also stated that the testator was mentally and physically in sound state of health and had read out and understood the contents of the Will and signed the same in presence of the two attesting witnesses who had also signed in his presence and that of each other. The submission of learned counsel for the applicant that it is a most natural Will duly proved and the sound mental condition of the testator having also been proved, is fit to be accepted. The further submission of learned counsel that the applicant being an unmarried sister staying with the testator in his house and looking after him as also the other legatee, namely, Miss. Arpita Bose who is the niece being daughter of a deceased sister and had been brought up by the testator in his own house, would be the natural legatees under the Will, also appears to be quite acceptable. On the basis of the evidence on the record, in my opinion the Will dated 30.5.2006 is a genuine Will and it is a fit case for the grant of probate of the said Will in favour of the executor-applicant. The application is accordingly allowed. Let the probate of the Will dated 30.5.2006 be granted in favour of the applicant, Prof. 6 Dr. (Miss) Lakshmi Sinha as the executor. In view of the fact that no one has come forward to contest the application, there shall be no order as to costs. Patna High Court Dated 8.1.2010 NAFR/S. Pandey ( Ramesh Kumar Datta, J.)