We have obtained a LoA in January 2023 from Bombay High Court. It's issued by Prothonotary And Senior Master Sachin B Bhansali. Due to slip on our part we didn't include shares of certain cos lying with BSE as security necessitating to amend the LoA.
Can Administrators write to issuing authority to ammend it ?
Also we couldn't distribute the assets so far amongst the legal heirs. Can we also request for extension of date for another 12 months.
TIA.
Dear Siddhi,
I understand that you are facing some issues regarding the LoA (Letter of Administration) obtained by the Bombay High Court here is a bit of advice, that I think will help you out:
According to Section 376 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, if you feel that there are any assets that have been omitted from the original LoA, by mistake then you can apply for the amendment by approaching the authorities which have issued the same.
In your case, you must approach the Prothonotary and Senior Master of the Bombay High Court by sending a formal well structured request for the amendment in the LoA, to include the shares held with BSE as security. If the assets were unintentionally omitted, most of the courts agree to the amendment.
You can also file an application regarding the amendment under the Order XX of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), 1908 as it tends to deal with the rectification of the errors in the orders or the decrees. You may refer to the case of Harish Chandra v. Man Singh (2001), as in this case, the concerned court has held that you can get the rectification in the LoA or any probate done by submitting a proper application.
Next, if the legal heirs haven’t received their shares yet, then you can request the court to extend the validity of the LoA for another 12 months, to get the distribution of the assets done.
The concerned court has the discretion regarding the allowance of the extension of the time for the distribution of assets only upon reasonable grounds. To get the work done, you can consider sending an application to the Prothonotary and Senior Master, justifying the need for the extension.
Rest, the administrators can write to the issuing authorities regarding the amendment of the LoA and request an extension.
I hope I was able to get your issues solved but still, if you need further clarifications, then please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn. (www.linkedin.com/in/pankhuri-rastogi-9221b2289)
Thank You.
