$~20 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + TEST.CAS. 64/1996 KAMLA JAIN ..... Petitioner Through: None. Versus STATE & ORS ..... Respondents Through: Ms. Mamta Mehra & Ms. Mukta Kapur, Advs. for D-5&6. Mr. A.K. Jain, Adv. for LR A.K. Singh. Mr. Parag Chawla, Adv. for the applicant in IA No.9230/2010. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJIV SAHAI ENDLAW O R D E R % 29.11.2016 IA No.9230/2010 (of Sh. Chander Kumar under Order XXII Rule 12 CPC) 1. Vide judgment dated 4th January, 2005, this petition was allowed and the document Exhibit PW2/1 was held to be the validly executed last Will of Late Jang Bahadur Singh and his widow i.e. the petitioner herein Smt. Kamla Jain granted letters of administration of the estate with copy of the Will annexed. 2. Inspite of the petition being allowed, the petitioner did not comply with the formalities for issuance of letters of administration till her demise on 9th April, 2008. TEST.CAS. 64/1996 Page 1 of 4 3. Now the applicant Chander Kumar being one of the sons of the said Late Sh. Jang Bahadur Singh and Late Smt. Kamla Jain has applied for the letters of administration to be issued to him in place of his mother Late Smt. Kamla Jain. 4. Notice of the application was issued and the counsel for the other two sons and two daughters of Late Sh. Jang Bahadur Singh oppose the application. They state that though they had given their no objection to the grant of letters of administration to the mother Smt. Kamla Jain but are not willing for the letters of administration to be issued to the applicant Chander Kumar. It is stated that applicant Chander Kumar is settled in UK for the last several decades and has already sold his share of the estate under the Will and is now seeking to be appointed as the administrator to usurp the share of other heirs under the Will. 5. Needless to state the counsel for the applicant controverts. He states that since the letters of administration inspite of being ordered to be issued has not been issued till now, for this reason only, the applicant is willing to pay the court fees for issuance thereof and to take the letters of administration with copy of the Will annexed. 6. I had on 16th November, 2016, owing to reasons given by me in detail in Raj Rani Bhasin Vs. State MANU/DE/0540/2009, raised doubts as to the very maintainability of this application. 7. However the counsel for the applicant states that the applicant had filed Test Case No.41/2010 in this Court seeking letters of administration with copy of the Will annexed but which was dismissed in limine for the reason of the present proceedings and as barred by res judicata and with TEST.CAS. 64/1996 Page 2 of 4 liberty to the applicant to apply for substitution in place of the mother in this case. 8. Though I respectfully disagree with the view taken in the order dated 21st May, 2010 but in light thereof the application cannot be dismissed as not maintainable. 9. A perusal of the Will shows that the same is with respect to three immovable properties which have been bequeathed either in separate shares or jointly. In my view once the said document has been held to be the validly executed last Will of the deceased Late Sh. Jang Bahadur Singh, the title to the properties vests in the legal heirs as per the Will and the legal heirs are entitled to exercise rights with respect to the said properties as owners thereof without any letters of administration. 10. The principle governing grant of letters of administration is the suitability of the person to administer the estate. Under the Will, the eldest son Major B.K. Singh was appointed as the executor but since he did not exercise rights as executor, letters of administration were granted to the mother to whom none of the other natural heirs had objection. 11. The applicant Chander Kumar who is a resident of London and qua whom it is stated that he has already sold his shares in the properties is not found to be a suitable person to administer the estate. 12. However if the parties are having any difficulty in claiming or asserting title to the properties owing to the letters of administration on the requisite stamp duty having not been issued, it is deemed appropriate to make a provision therefor open to any of the beneficiaries to deposit the TEST.CAS. 64/1996 Page 3 of 4 requisite stamp duty for preparation of probate and upon which being done, a formal probate with copy of the document provided as the Will of the deceased Sh. Jang Bahadur Singh be issued in favour of all the beneficiaries thereof. 13. On consideration, I am of the view that the purpose of the parties will be best served if, instead of a letters of administration with copy of the Will annexed, a probate of the document held to be the validly executed last Will of the deceased is ordered to be issued in favour of all the beneficiaries of the Will. 14. It is accordingly directed that it will be. 15. With the aforesaid, the application is disposed of. RAJIV SAHAI ENDLAW, J NOVEMBER 29, 2016 ‘gsr’.. TEST.CAS. 64/1996 Page 4 of 4