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Gajanand (SA)     29 September 2013

Challenging a will mentioning only 4 son, though there are 5

Warm Wishes to all dear Experts, 

I am coming up with a very unique but real case, and I am eagerly looking for proper resolution. I hope my problem will be solved here. Below is the case:

My father (Ramesh Chandra Prajapat) has four brothers (Bhagirath, Gangaram, Amarsing and Murli) and 5 sisters (Kamla, Babli, Meera, Rukma, Savitri) and one late sister Sarasvati. So they were total 11 real brothers and sisters. And 10 are alive. 

My grandfather (Mangilaal) written a Will in 1998. He passed away in 2000. Later my Grand Mother also passed away in 2001. Grand Father wrote a Will in which he mentioned following (I am mentioning only the main points of will below):

"I have Four son - Bhagirath, Gangaram, Amarsingh and Murali and five Daughters (names as given above)..... "

It is clear from the above point the will that he clearly stated that He has only four son, though he has 5 legitimate son and he did not mention name of my father Mr. Ramesh chandra who is the eldest son. Youngest son Amarsingh and Murali were living with my Grand father and remaining were separated by him long ago. 

My grand father had a house in Ujjain, one house in Shajapur, and a land (apx 50 Beegha) in Ujjain. In the will he has given his Ujjain House and Land in Ujjain to Amarsingh and Murali. House in Shajapur to Gangaram and Bhagirath. All the liquid property like cash and jwelarry to Murali. Gave nothing to any of daughters although their names are mentioned in the will. He gave nothing to my father, he did not mentioned my father's name in the will indeed. 

Another point in the will to be noticed is he mentioned incorrect address for the house which is in Shajapur. 

Apart from that he was owing some portion of the land which was sealed by Government and therefore was not mentioned in the will. 

Another point to be noted is the witnesses who signed the will were knowing that my grandfather has 5 legitimate son and not four, but still they signed on such false will. 

Despite of this the will was registered by officers.

Now after his death, my uncles Murali and Amarsingh submitted the will in court, so court ordered for the validity check of the will, to which court ordered for Panchnama (a verification by Patwari) and affidavit by my uncles. In panchnama 5 witnesses (who are actually close relatives of my uncles) signed on the false fact that my grandfather has only four son and the information in the will is correct. In the affidavit also my uncles mentioned the same thing. 

Apart from all these my uncles Murali and Amarsing transferred that land also in their name which was not mentioned in the will i.e. the one which was sealed by Govt. Which is clearly a 420. 

My question here comes is that ... Can my father challenge the will on the following grounds now:

1. That will is not valid because my grand father declared in will that he has only four son and my father;s name is not mentioned in the will

2. That, even though my grand father did not mention my father's name due to some personal conflicts with him, but at the time of probate of the will my uncles should have given the correct information to court, but they have not, they did not mention name of my father as one of their brother in affidavit and panchnama, though they mentioned names of all other brothers and sisters.

3. That my uncles Murali and Amarshigh, sold out all of the property without sending notice to my father

4. That my uncles Murali and Amarshigh also sold out the land which was not mentioned in the will and was in sealing

5. That if my grandfather mentioned names of all his daughters even if he was not willing to give anything to them, then he should also have mentioned name of my father 

Kindly advice what we can do here ? Can we proceed on the above grounds? Can we still file a case against my uncles if they have already taken the order from court for transferring property in their names, though by providing the false information ? 

My father has the legal proofs that he is the legitimate son of my grandfather, and offcourse the entire society members are the witness of their parent child relationship. 

Kindly advice .... Many Thanks in Advance !



Learning

 3 Replies

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate)     29 September 2013

Mr. Gajanand,

If the properties disbursed through  WILL were self acquired properties of your grandfather, then you cannot dispute the same and also that your father cannot claim his share in the said properties and as it is the WILL has been probated and acted upon now, so the chapter is finished, however, your father can claim his legitimate share out of the property which was not disbursed through WILL and remained intestate property after your grandfather's death.  There is no ground for your father to claim a mention about his name in the WILL and the same cannot be treated as invalid  due to the said omission.

Sudhir Kumar, Advocate (Advocate)     29 September 2013

No time to read so log narrative but view of expert above are agreeable.

Gajanand (SA)     02 October 2013

Thank you very much Vellore and Sudhir Sir for the prompt reply !!

Well, I agree with the fact that once the will has been executed ,it can not be challenged on the ground of no mention of my father's name in the will. However I am  still thinking of the following facts:

1. That my uncles who are the beneficiary of the will, at the time of execution, hide from the court the truth that they are actually 5 brothers and not 4. 

2. That the witnesses who signed the panchnama before the Patwari, also gave the wrong information to Patwari that my grandfather has only four son. 

3. That the will is erroneous because address of one of the property in the will is incorrect, (a completely different address which doesn't exist indeed). A will with errors either should not have been registered or should not have been executed atleast. 

Dear Sir, I am still looking for the answer on following questions:

1. Can my father still challenge the will based on the above facts?

2. Does execution of the will requires agreement of all of the beneficiaries in the Will OR can any beneficiary execute the Will himself for his share only, without consent of the remaining beneficiaries ? Because at present only two of my uncles executed the entire will, and remaining were not yet involved, however they are still left with their share in property.

3. And the most important question is - How much court fees we need to pay If my father challenges the WILL ?

Looking forward for your advice on the above. 

Many Thanks to you in advance !

 


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