Legitimate wills are not required to obtain probate on the execution of a will

- Orientation: Guidance

- H.S. Patel IAS (Retd.)

- It is imperative to amend the law as per the judgment of the Supreme Court regarding non-farmers becoming farmers from wills.

Not every living person is Immortal, that is, property acquired during a lifetime or inherited property is managed or property of Intested persons is distributed according to the Devolution Hindu Heritage Act. The Indian Inheritance Act provides for a will, and as per the definition of a will, any adult can make a will for the arrangement of self-acquired property in a state of caution. The will has to be made in the presence of two witnesses and the will comes into force after the death of the testator. These are the basic elements of the will (Ingredient) There is no need for compulsory registration of the will. Can also be done on plain paper.

Recently, a lawyer from Ahmedabad, Jani, told me that even though there is a legal will, if the Mamlatdar wants probate to take note of it, he should give guidance on this. This question is an issue that touches many people who have given property from a will based on a will. Apart from this, disputes over wills have reached the Gujarat High Court or the Supreme Court and judgments have come. As far as the Record of Rights of the Revenue Record is concerned, the important principle is that the transaction is to be allowed to remain valid until the contradiction is proved and the Civil Court has the power to decide which party is in dispute over the right of ownership. So the presumptive value of the title deed notes is based on belief. These basic principles are central to this article.

Inheritance Act - 12 Part-III Testamentary Succession Chapter-3 contains provisions regarding wills and codices. Will is defined above. A codicil simply means a text detailing the property described in the will and explaining the arrangement made with the will as well as the modification and addition and it becomes part of the will. Probate is a certificate issued by a court (district court) with permission and authority to administer the estate of the testator. Analyzing the provisions of this Act, the provisions regarding probate are made in Chapter Four of the Inheritance Act. Thus both a will and a probate are different types of instruments. But even in a complementary will, if the conditions are met regarding the administration of the property as well as the definition of the will to whom the property is given, the will is to be enforced until the will is challenged, i.e. as long as probate is granted by a competent court. The will is considered valid until it is revoked.

Thus the probate court cannot examine the question of ownership of the property which is concerned only with the authenticity of the will. If there is a dispute over the ownership of the property during the probate proceedings, the probate / administrative proceedings are not affected. But if a person objects to a dispute over ownership over a probate or administrative action, he or she has to make a different claim. Thus probate is a kind of will to administer according to a will. Obtaining probate after a will is not mandatory. It is clear in the will who is to receive the property after death, so if there is no objection or dispute about the will, the administration of the property as well as the rights are obtained as per the will of the testator. The lawyer friend who recently inquired was about the matter to be registered in the title deed at the village office on agricultural land on the basis of a will. In this context too, if the facts are assessed, the power of attorney can be noted even without obtaining probate on the basis of will. The insistence on obtaining probate from the revenue officers is not to be kept as per the provisions of the Act. Unless someone has a legal objection to the will and an objection to the note, the party may challenge the veracity of the will as well as the legality by following the procedure of law. Revenue officials have to see to it that non-farmers do not become farmers on the basis of wills.

The Supreme Court has given a landmark judgment in the case of Vinod Chandra Kapadia Surat, stating that a person who is not eligible to hold agricultural land under Section 3 of the Computation Act cannot become a farmer even under inheritance. Non-farmers have become farmers in the state illegally on the basis of 'will' and the medium of this will has been used as part of thwarting the provisions of Section 4 of the Computation Act. It is necessary for the revenue officers of the state to truly abide by the Shakvarti judgment given to the country and it is also necessary for the state government to enact a law in Article 6 of the Computation Act which provides for overriding effect. If there is a true ancestral farmer and the farm land from the will is in favor of the farmer, then it is legal and in such a will, without insisting on probate, it can be recorded in the title deed at the village office, except that no party should have objected to the will.