Petitioner approached High Court in Writ Jurisdiction seeking direction against police to investigate suspicious death of deceased aunt involving inheritance dispute with relatives citing contradictory wills and hurried cremation.
Request for directing police investigation was dismissed at admission stage.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE V.G.ARUN
TUESDAY, THE 30TH DAY OF MARCH 2021 / 9TH CHAITHRA, 1943
WP(C).No.1595 OF 2021(Y)
PETITIONER/S:
VIVEKANANDAN K. S. AGED 55 YEARS S/O. SUBRAMANIAN, KOOLIYAT HOUSE, PUTHENPALLI P. O., PIN - 680103, IRINGAPREM VILLAGE, CHAVAKKAD TALUK, THRISSUR DISTRICT.
PRESENT ADDRESS - VIVEKANANDAN K. S., KOOLIYAT HOUSE, M.G.R.A.- 3, NEAR G. H.S.S. KUNNAMKULAM, PIN - 680 503, THRISSUR DISTRICT.
BY ADVS. SRI.C.MANOJ KUMAR(KAKKANAD) SRI.P.T.SEBASTIAN TOMY
RESPONDENT/S:
PRESENT ADDRESS - W/O. GANGADHARAN C., CHAMAPARAMBIL HOUSE, POLPPAKKARA P. O., VIA EDAPPAL, PIN - 679576, THRISSUR DISTRICT.
3 BEENA AGED 59 YEARS D/O. SUBRAMANIAN KOOLIYAT, PRESENT ADDRESS - W/O. ROY GOPAN P., PADATH HOUSE, KIZHUR P. O., KUNNAMKULAM - 680523, THRISSUR DISTRICT.
4 NEENA
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AGED 52 YEARS D/O. SUBRAHMANIAN KOOLIYAT,
PRESENT ADDRESS - W/O. ANIL KUMAR V. K., VETTAH KOTTILINGAL HOUSE, KANDANNASSERY P. O., PIN - 680102, THRISSUR DISTRICT.
5 LEENA AGED 47 YEARS D/O. SUBRAHMANIAN KOOLIYAT,
PRESENT ADDRESS - W/O. CHANDRASENAN M. , MATTATHOLI HOUSE, KOLAZHI P. O., THRISSUR DISTRICT, PIN - 680010.
6 CIJOY C. G. AGED 40 YEARS S/O. GANGADHARAN C., CHAMAPARAMBIL HOUSE, POLPPAKKARA P. O., VIA EDAPPAL, PIN - 679576, THRISSUR DISTRICT.
7 BABU K. R. AGED 61 YEARS S/O. RAGHAVAN VAIDYAR, KODAKKATIL HOUSE, KANDANNASSERY P. O., PIN - 680102, THRISSUR DISTRICT.
R1 BY GOVERNMENT PLEADER R3-5 BY ADV. SRI.C.A.ANOOP
OTHER PRESENT:
SR.PP.C.S.HRITHWIK
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 03-02-2021, THE COURT ON 30-03-2021 DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
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JUDGMENT
Dated this the 30th day of March, 2021
The petitioner's paternal aunt Bhargavi died on 15.11.2019. Suspecting foul play behind Bhargavi's death, petitioner requested the police to conduct investigation. The request having yielded no positive result, this writ petition is filed praying for a direction to the first respondent to conduct investigation into the role of respondents 2 to 7 in the suspicious death of Bhargavi. The facts in brief, as discernible from the writ petition, are as follows:
Petitioner and respondents 2 to 5 are siblings. The 6th respondent is the son of the petitioner's elder sister and the 7th respondent, his mother's eldest sister's son.
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The petitioner's paternal aunt Bhargavi was a spinster and had assets in the form of immovable properties and cash deposits. Through out her life, Bhargavi had stayed with the petitioner's parents. On 24.01.1992, Bhargavi had executed a Will bequeathing all her properties in the petitioner's name. On 14.03.2000, she executed a second Will, bequeathing the properties to the children to be born to the petitioner and reserved the petitioner's right to take income from the property. A third Will was executed on 25.10.2003, bequeathing the properties in the name of respondents 2 to 5. By this time, there was rivalry among the siblings and the petitioner was driven out of the house and a partition deed executed on 22.10.2003 between
the petitioner's father and Bhargavi.
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Aggrieved by his ouster from the parental house, the petitioner filed a partition suit arraying his parents, aunt Bhargavi and
siblings as defendants. Later, a 4th Will was executed by Bhargavi on 01.12.2011, bequeathing all the amounts in her bank accounts to the petitioner's sisters. According to the petitioner, Bhargavi had executed the 3rd and 4th Wills succumbing to the pressures exerted by his sisters and was actually contemplating the execution of a 5th and final Will, making the petitioner the sole legatee. While so, Bhargavi died on 15.11.2011
at 7.30 a.m, which according to the petitioner, was under mysterious
circumstances. The petitioner alleges that the body of Bhargavi was cremated hurriedly at
12.55 p.m on the same day at the
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Shanthikavadam Gas Crematorium so as to defeat investigation into the death. Other than the allegation of Bhargavi having been cremated at the Santhikavadam Gas Crematorium which is 30 Kms from the place of demise, no other suspicious circumstances has been stated in the writ petition.
2. The averments leave no room for doubt that the motive behind filing the writ petition is the petitioner's ouster from his house and vesting of the properties of his deceased aunt with respondents 2 to 5.
3. From Ext.P6 Will dated 01.12.2011, it is seen that Bhargavi was aged 81 years, as on the date of execution of Will. Therefore, she would have been 90 by the time she died. As such, in the absence of clear and cogent evidence to the contrary, this Court can only
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presume that Bhargavi had died of natural causes.
4. The petitioner claims to be a teacher and, if so, I am compelled to observe that a teacher is not expected to file frivolous writ petition of this nature, motivated by personal animosity. The conduct of the petitioner is to say the least, reprehensible. Since the writ petition is being dismissed at the admission stage, I refrain from imposing cost.
In the result, the writ petition is dismissed.
Sd/ V.G.ARUN JUDGE
Scl/
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APPENDIX
PETITIONER'S/S EXHIBITS:
EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF THE 1ST WILL DATED 24.01.1992 EXECUTED BY BHARGAVI AND REGISTERED AS 6/III/1992 OF SRO, KOTTAPPADY.
EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF THE 2ND WILL DATED 14.03.2000 EXECUTED BY BHARGAVI AND REGISTERED AS 23/III/2000 OF SRO, KOTTAPPADY.
EXHIBIT P3 TRUE COPY OF THE PARTITION DEED DATED 22.10.2003 REGISTERED AS 1806/I/2003 OF SRO KOTTAPPADY EXECUTED BY BHARGAVI ALONG WITH HER BROTHER SUBRAMANIAN.
EXHIBIT P4 TRUE COPY OF THE 3RD WILL DATED 25.10.2003 EXECUTED BY BHARGAVI AND REGISTERED AS 98/11/2003 OF SRO, KOTTAPPADY.
EXHIBIT P5 TRUE COPY OF THE 4TH WILL DATED 01.12.2011 EXECUTED BY BHARGAVI AND REGISTERED AS 123/III/2011 OF SRO, KOTTAPPADY.
EXHIBIT P6 TRUE COPY OF THE PRELIMINARY DECREE DATED 10/11/2011 IN THE PARTITION SUIT - O.S.NO.746/2002 FILED BY THE PETITIONER BEFORE THE MUNSIFF COURT AS CHAVAKKAD.
EXHIBIT P7 TRUE COPY OF THE COMPLAINT DATED 05.12.2011 SUBMITTED TO THE CIRCLE INSPECTOR OF POLICE, GURUVAYUR BY THE PETITIONER.
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EXHIBIT P8 TRUE COPY OF THE DEATH CERTIFICATE OF BHARGAVI DATED 15.11.2019 ISSUED ON 01.12.2019 FROM GURUVAYUR MUNICIPALITY.
EXHIBIT P9 TRUE COPY OF THE COMPLAINT DATED 05.12.2019 SUBMITTED BEFORE THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE - KERALA BY THE PETITIONER.
EXHIBIT P10 TRUE COPY OF THE COMPLAINT DATED 10.12.2019 SUBMITTED TO THE CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER, THRISSUR BY THE PETITIONER.
2 issues framed by the court
Whether a writ petition directing police investigation into a suspicious death must be allowed on facts regarding inheritance disputes and property distribution decisions of the deceased?
What level of suspicion about foul play is required to direct a criminal investigation by the state?
VIVEKANANDAN K. S.
THE CIRCLE INSPECTOR OF POLICE GURUVAYOOR POLICE STATION
SEENA
BREENA
NEENA
LEENA
V. G. ARUN
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
