NEW DELHI: Sometimes, loyalty can reap rich rewards. Or so it seemed in the case of Sarita (name changed), a maid who was apparently bequeathed two plots in Haryana worth almost Rs 1 crore by her employer, a childless widow whom she claims to have served faithfully for over two decades.
After her employer's death, Sarita moved a trial court seeking "grant of probate of will". In her petition, she stated that she had been made absolute owner of two plots located in Faridabad "duly alloted by Urban Estate Faridabad (Haryana)". She also produced a will made by her employer, duly signed by two independent witnesses.
However, the remarkable rags-to-riches story has now soured somewhat, with Sarita finding herself in the midst of a legal dispute with the deceased's relatives. Even as her plea for probating the will was pending, the deceased's brother-in-laws moved the court, alleging that the will was "forged and fabricated".
According to Sarita, she started working as a domestic help in 1985 in the house of a childless widow, who had nobody to take care of her. The woman was staying alone in the capital while all her relatives from her husband's family had distanced themselves from her. As years passed by, Sarita became her employer's confidante and her best friend. What was earlier a temporary job turned into a full-fledged responsibility for Sarita, who decided to stay with her mistress when her husband and her two kids moved to Kolkata.
After serving as a maid for almost two decades, Sarita got a gift from her employer that changed her life forever. With words like "life is short. Nobody knows when it may come to an end", the widow executed a will giving everything she owned to Sarita. "I, the executer have no legal heir as I have no child. My husband has already expired. Sarita has been looking after me. To avoid any dispute in future regarding the plot, I hereby bequeath my plots in her favour," the will stated.
It also stated that in case Sarita died before her, then the property would go to the maid's legal heirs. Interestingly, the two independent witnesses who signed the will were the deceased's hair dresser and her tailor. The will was executed in 2003 and the woman died in 2005.
However, the deceased's brother-in-laws claim to be the "legal heirs" of the property as they were the real brothers of her husband, "having their share in the properties left by the deceased". In their objections filed before the court, the two men alleged that their sister-in-law lived alone in the capital and had no domestic help -- "male or female" -- till her death. Even the last rites of the woman were performed by these men, the petition stated. Admitting their plea, the court is now recording the evidence of the maid and a trial has started.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Widow-leaves-Rs-1cr-to-maid-kin-sue/articleshow/6562571.cms#ixzz0zfcHR5uo
After her employer's death, Sarita moved a trial court seeking "grant of probate of will". In her petition, she stated that she had been made absolute owner of two plots located in Faridabad "duly alloted by Urban Estate Faridabad (Haryana)". She also produced a will made by her employer, duly signed by two independent witnesses.
However, the remarkable rags-to-riches story has now soured somewhat, with Sarita finding herself in the midst of a legal dispute with the deceased's relatives. Even as her plea for probating the will was pending, the deceased's brother-in-laws moved the court, alleging that the will was "forged and fabricated".
According to Sarita, she started working as a domestic help in 1985 in the house of a childless widow, who had nobody to take care of her. The woman was staying alone in the capital while all her relatives from her husband's family had distanced themselves from her. As years passed by, Sarita became her employer's confidante and her best friend. What was earlier a temporary job turned into a full-fledged responsibility for Sarita, who decided to stay with her mistress when her husband and her two kids moved to Kolkata.
After serving as a maid for almost two decades, Sarita got a gift from her employer that changed her life forever. With words like "life is short. Nobody knows when it may come to an end", the widow executed a will giving everything she owned to Sarita. "I, the executer have no legal heir as I have no child. My husband has already expired. Sarita has been looking after me. To avoid any dispute in future regarding the plot, I hereby bequeath my plots in her favour," the will stated.
It also stated that in case Sarita died before her, then the property would go to the maid's legal heirs. Interestingly, the two independent witnesses who signed the will were the deceased's hair dresser and her tailor. The will was executed in 2003 and the woman died in 2005.
However, the deceased's brother-in-laws claim to be the "legal heirs" of the property as they were the real brothers of her husband, "having their share in the properties left by the deceased". In their objections filed before the court, the two men alleged that their sister-in-law lived alone in the capital and had no domestic help -- "male or female" -- till her death. Even the last rites of the woman were performed by these men, the petition stated. Admitting their plea, the court is now recording the evidence of the maid and a trial has started.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Widow-leaves-Rs-1cr-to-maid-kin-sue/articleshow/6562571.cms#ixzz0zfcHR5uo
