Manikandan Thiagarajan son of Thiagarajan… — Succession and Inheritance | Bombay HC (2026)

Manikandan Thiagarajan son of Thiagarajan… — Succession and Inheritance | Bombay HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Letters of Administration granted to the petitioner (Manikandan Thiagarajan, son and sole heir of the deceased) for the properties left by the deceased and shown in the schedule, having effect throughout India under the Indian Succession Act, 1925; petitioner exempted from administrative bond per order dated 28.02.2023 in TP Nos. 2556 & 2559 of 2022; petitioner to file account as undertaken in the Petitioner's Oath within the stipulated period; office to verify, before issuance of the grant, that no cross-petition is pending or caveat filed.

Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner, being son of the deceased, is entitled to be granted Letters of Administration for the properties left by the deceased under the Indian Succession Act, 1925. +1 more

Court's answer

Since nobody appeared to resist the petitioner's claim after citation and Collector's notice, and nothing was brought to notice regarding pending litigation concerning the same properties, the petition was treated as an uncontested one.

Ratio / Principle

In view of the order passed by the Hon'ble Court in TP Nos. 2556 & 2559 of 2022 dated 28.02.2023, the petitioner, being the sole heir of the deceased, was exempted from furnishing the administrative bond.

Key takeaways

Petition allowed: the Letters of Administration were granted to the petitioner for the properties left by the deceased and shown in the schedule, in the prescribed format, having effect throughout India, as per the provisions of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.ratio¶15
The petitioner was directed to file an account as undertaken in the Petitioner's Oath within the stipulated period.ratio¶16
Before issuance of the grant, the office is to verify that there is no cross-petition pending or caveat resisting the petition.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Bombay High Court, Testamentary Department (Shri P. A. Jagdale, Officer on Special Duty), 27 January 2026 — In TP 67.TP/5801/2025, Manikandan Thiagarajan, son of deceased Uma Thiagarajan (who died a widow on 26-05-2025 at Chennai, leaving heirs disclosed in paragraph 4 of the petition), sought Letters of Administration under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 for the properties shown in the schedule. Citation published under Rules 396 and 397(1) and (4) of the Bombay High Court (O.S.) Rules, 1980 drew no opposition and no pending litigation was intimated; the petition was accordingly treated as uncontested and the petitioner's facts stated on oath accepted. Applying the Court's order dated 28.02.2023 in TP Nos. 2556 & 2559 of 2022, the sole-heir petitioner was exempted from furnishing the administrative bond; counsel further invoked the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 to found the son's entitlement. Petition allowed: Letters of Administration granted with effect throughout India, conditional on the petitioner filing the account undertaken in his oath and on office verification, before issuance, that no cross-petition or caveat stands.

1 67.TP/5801/2025

Before: Shri. P. A. Jagdale, Officer on Special Duty, With the Testamentary Department Date 27th January 2026

FOR COMPLIANCE:

TP/5801/2025 ) Ms. Zubi Ansari i/b Hussein & Co. Ld. ) (AMH20240128294C20250 Advocate for the Petitioner ) 0010)

P.C.:

Petitioner, namely Manikandan Thiagarajan S/o. Thiagarajan Swaminathan, has applied for the grant of Letters of Administration, under the provisions of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (for short “IS Act”), for the properties left by the deceased, namely Uma Thiagarajan alias Uma Thiagarajan W/o. S. Thiagarajan alias Uma Thiagarajan W/o. Thiagarajan Swaminathan nee Uma Raghavan D/o.Veeraraghavan alias Uma Raghavan D/o. Veeraraghavan N. alias Uma Raghavan D/o. Narayanan Veeraraghavan(For short “Said deceased”).

I have heard Ld. Advocate. I perused the documents, such as a true copy of the death certificate of the deceased, an identity proof of the deceased, an oath in the prescribed format, affidavit of service citation.

Said deceased died as a Widow on 26-05-2025 at Chennai leaving behind her legal heirs, shown in the paragraph No. 4 of the petition. Petitioner states that there are no other legal heirs to the deceased, except heirs shown in the petition. The deceased left properties shown in Schedule I of the petition.

Office issued Citation to all concern and same has been affixed on the Notice Board of the Hon’ble High Court and notice board of the Collector’s Office at Mumbai and 14 days have been expired vide Rule 397(1) and (4) of the Bombay High Court (O.S.) Rules, 1980(for short “BHC Rules”). An affidavit to that effect has been filed. Notice to the collector has been issued vide Rule 396 of the BHC Rules. Till today, no one has appeared to resist the claim of the petitioner, nor has anything been brought to the notice regarding pending litigation about the same properties. Hence, the petition is treated as an uncontested one.

In view of the order passed by the Hon’ble Court in TP Nos. 2556 & 2559 of 2022 dated 28.02.2023, the petitioner, being the sole heir of the deceased, is

2 67.TP/5801/2025

exempted from furnishing the administrative bond.

Ld. Advocate for the petitioner submitted that in view of provisions of the The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the petitioner, being son of the deceased, is entitled to seek a Letters of Administration. Hence, facts stated by the petitioner, on oath, remained unchallenged and required to be accepted. Accordingly, the petition deserves to be allowed, as prayed for. Hence, following order:

ORDER

1. Petition is allowed and the Letters of Administration be granted to the petitioner for properties, left by the deceased and shown in the schedule, in the prescribed format, having effect throughout the India as per the provisions of the Indian Succession Act, 1925.

1. The petitioner to file an account as undertaken in a Petitioner’s Oath within the stipulated period.

1. Before issuance of the grant, the office to verify that there is no cross-petition pending or caveat resisting the petition is filed.

Officer on Special Duty,

27th January 2026 Officer on Special Duty, with the Testamentary Department