THE SUCCESSION ACT 1925

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Q. Who can make an application for the grant of a succession certificate and to whom? Give in detail, the procedure to be followed for such grant.

Q. What is succession certificate? Which Court is competent to grant it and what is the procedure to get it?

Answer

1. INTRODUCTION: Though succession certificate is not defined under this Act but may be defined as formal document which attests the qualification of a person as entitled to collect some debt or securities by a person who has his prima facie title to succession.

2. PURPOSE/OBJECT OF SUCCESSION CERTIFICATE: The object of succession certificate is the collection of debts and securities by a person who has a prime facts title to succession.

3. COURT HAVING JURISDICTION TO GRANT SUCCESSION CERTIFICATE: Subject to the provisions of Section 370 a District Judge has jurisdiction to grant a certificate under the following two cases:
(1) If deceased resided within jurisdiction: If the deceased at the time of his death resided within the jurisdiction of District Judge, he has power to grant a certificate. The term residence denotes the place where an individual eats, drinks, sleeps or where his family or servant eats, drinks and sleeps. It is not however, identical with ownership.
(2) If deceases has no fixed place: A District Judge has jurisdiction to grant a succession certificate, if the deceased has no fixed place of residence, when he has left property within his jurisdiction.

    The expression "has no fixed place of residence" means has no fixed place of residence in Pakistan and the property referred to in this Section means the property belonging to the deceased.

4. PROCEDURE TO GET SUCCESSION CERTIFICATE: The procedure to get succession certificate, as set out in Section 372 of the Succession Act, stands as follow;

(1) APPLICATION: Under Clause (1) of Section 372 in order to get a succession certificate an application must be made to the District Judge by a petition signed and verified on the behalf of the applicant

(2) SIGNING & VERIFYING: The same Section necessitates the petition to be signed and verified by the applicant or on his behalf in the manner prescribed by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Specially, this procedure is provided under Order VI, Rules 14 & 15 of the said Code.

(3) PARTICULARS OF THE APPLICATION: Section 372 suggests the following particulars to be set forth in the application for succession certificate:
(a) The time of the death of the deceased:
(b) the ordinary residence of the deceased at the time of his death
(c) if the ordinary residence is not within the local limit of jurisdiction of the Judge to whom the application is made, then the property of the deceased within those limits;
(d) the family or other near relatives of the deceased and their respective residences:
(e) the right in which the petitioner claims:
(f) the absence of any impediment under Section 370 or under any other provision of this Act or any other enactment.
(g) grant of the certificate or the validity thereof it it were granted; and
(h) the debts and securities in respect of which the certificate is applied for.

(4) CASE OF FALSE AVERMENT: Under Clause (2) of the Section 372, if the petition contains any averment which the person verifying it knows or believes to be false, or does not believe it to be true, that person shall be deemed to have committed an offence under Section 198 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

(5)  PUNISHMENT: Under Section 198 and 193, such person is said to commit the offence of giving false evidence and be punished with the imprisonment, of either description, for seven years with fine, both

(6) PROCEDURE ON APPLICATION (Sec. 373): According to this section, if the District Judge is satisfied that there is ground for entertaining the application, he shall fix a day for the hearing thereof and cause notice of the application and of the day fixed for the hearing: 
(a) to be served on any person to whom; in the opinion of the judge, special notice of the application should be given:
(b) to be pasted on some conspicuous part of the court-house and publish on such other manner, if any, as the judge thinks fit.

(7) SUMMARY PROCDURE: Only a summary procedure is provide for issuance of succession certificate under Section 373 of Succession Act, 1925. If a person is dissatisfied or aggrieved by issuance of a succession certificate, appeal under Section 384 lies.

(8) GRANT OF CERTIFICATE: Under Clause (2) & (3) of the Section 373, after the decision of the right in favor of the application by Judge, he shall make an order for the grant of the certificate to him.

5. CONCLUSION: From the provision of the Succession Act, 1925, it is clear that the certificate is required to be obtained in respect of debt or securities and the person who can apply for the certificate and to whom it can be granted must be a person has the same title of interest in the debt to collect. It can't be granted to a stranger, it is further provided that an inquiry shall be held as to the entitlement of the person applying for the certificate. The inquiry required to be held is a summary inquiry in contract with the lengthy investigation which may be required for the determination in a regular suit. The intention is that there should be a rapid decision as inquiry is confined to the right to the certificate to administer the estate of the deceased and the Act is not intended to afford to the litigant parties an opportunity of litigating contested questions of their relationship with the deceased or title to the property, for this can be done by a suit.

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