Section 276 Indian Succession Act - Letters Of Administration Can Be Revoked If all Legal Heirs Were Not Made Parties: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that  Letters of Administration can be revoked on the ground that all the legal heirs were not impleaded in the petition under Section 276 of the Indian Succession Act for the grant of Letters of Administration with Will annexed.

In this case, the High Court allowed an application for revocation of the Letters of Administration on the ground that all the legal heirs were not impleaded in the proceedings for the grant of Letters of Administration. 

Before the Apex Court, the appellant contended that the requirement to make a mention about the details of the family and other relatives of the deceased, contained in Section 278(1) cannot be imported into Section 276 under which he had filed an application for grant of  Letters of administration with the Will annexed.

The bench comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and V. Ramasubramanian, however, noticed Section 263, and observed:

"But unfortunately for the appellants, the catch is not to be found in the distinction between Section 276 and Section 278. It is to be found in Section 263..... 
....As per Section 263, the grant of Letters of Administration may be revoked for "just cause". Explanation (a) under Section 263 states that just cause shall be deemed to exist where the proceedings were defective in substance. Illustration (ii) under Section 263 deals with a case where "the grant was made without citing parties who ought to have been cited". It may be of interest to note that some of the colonial statutes contain Illustrations which form part of the statutes themselves. The Indian Succession Act, 1925 is one such enactment."

Dismissing the appeal, the bench held that High Court was right in holding that a just cause existed for revoking the grant.

Headnotes

Indian Succession Act, 1925 ; Sections 299, 279,276, 263 - Revocation of Letters of Administration -  Appeal against High Court judgment which allowed application for revocation of the Letters of Administration on the ground that all the legal heirs were not impleaded in the proceedings for the grant of Letters of Administration - Dismissed - The catch is not to be found in the distinction between Section 276 and Section 278. It is to be found in Section 263 - Illustration (ii) under Section 263 deals with a case where "the grant was made without citing parties who ought to have been cited".

Case details

Case name | Citation: Swaminathan vs Alankamony (D) | 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 276 

Case no.| date: CA 798-799/2013 | 9 March 2022

Coram: Justices Hemant Gupta and V. Ramasubramanian