Mechanical Compliance Of Stipulations U/Sec 63 Indian Succession Act Does Not Prove Execution Of Will: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court observed that mechanical compliance of stipulations under Section 63 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, does not prove the execution of a Will.

Evidence of meeting the requirement of the said provision must be reliable, the bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose said.

In this case, the person claiming to be scribe of the Will as well as the two attesting witnesses deposed to support the case of the original plaintiff, but both the Trial Court and the First Appellate Court disbelieved their testimony. It was further found that thumb impression of the propounder was not matched and that there was contradiction in the evidences of attesting witnesses as regards the place of execution. However, the High Court allowed the appeal on the basis that the Will was proved in terms of Section 63 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.

"The requirement of Section 63 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 cannot be said to have been fulfilled by mechanical compliance of the stipulations therein. Evidence of meeting the requirement of the said provision must be reliable.", the Apex Court bench observed while disagreeing with the High Court view.

The court also said that a detailed enquiry of the nature conducted by the High Court was impermissible while hearing an appeal under Section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Allowing the appeal, the court said:

"Thus, the High Court erred in formulating the question of law on the basis that the Will was proved in terms of Section 63 9 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. In fact, both the fact-finding Courts-the Trial Court and the First Appellate Court, had found that the Will was not proved. The evidences of the witnesses were disbelieved as they failed to inspire the confidence of fact finding Courts. The High Court, however, went into a detailed factual enquiry to come to its finding. We are of the opinion that an enquiry of such nature was impermissible while hearing an appeal under Section 100 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908."

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