Sayar Kumari Vs State & Ors. (Delhi High Court)
Technology Meets Testament: Video-Recorded Will Seals the Deal: Delhi HC Grants Probate & Disinherits Son
Delhi High Court, in Sayar Kumari vs. State & Ors. (TEST CAS No.29 of 1985, judgment dated 09.10.2009), allowed the probate petition and granted probate of the last Will dated 05.01.1985 executed by Smt. Bhanwari Devi, holding that the Will was duly executed, voluntary and made in a sound disposing state of mind, with no suspicious circumstances.
The testatrix had explicitly disinherited her son, Sagar Mal, recording that she had already given him enough and that he had also taken forcibly. The Will bequeathed cash to a charitable institution, jewellery to the petitioner and her daughter, and the Kashmere Gate property and residue to her grandson Amrao Singh, naming Sayar Kumari as Executor. An earlier Will dated 02.08.1983 existed with substantially similar dispositions; the Court held that the later Will prevailed.
A pivotal feature was the video recording of the execution and attestation of the Will, which was played in Court. The son/objector admitted that the woman in the video was his mother, though he disputed signatures/thumb impressions. The Court relied on the unrebutted testimony of an attesting witness and a doctor (who certified soundness of mind), the video evidence, and surrounding circumstances to hold that the objector failed to discharge the burden of proving invalidity.
The High Court reiterated that probate jurisdiction is confined to examining due execution and testamentary capacity, not the “rightness” of the bequest. It further made important observations endorsing video/digital recording of Will execution, noting admissibility (subject to s.65B Evidence Act) and recommending a protocol for Sub-Registrars to video-record registration to curb future disputes. Probate was directed to issue upon court-fee and administration bond compliance.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF DELHI HIGH COURT
1. This is a petition under Section 222 of the Indian Succession Act seeking grant of probate of a Will dated 5thJanuary 1985 (hereafter “the last Will”) executed by Smt. Bhanwari Devi (the testatrix), who died in Delhi on 10th March 1985.
