Arasu.S Vs the Thasildar — Writ and Judicial Review | Madras HC (2025)

Arasu.S Vs the Thasildar — Writ and Judicial Review | Madras HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Impugned order dated 01.04.2024 set aside; petitioner to appear before the respondent for further enquiry on 28.03.2025, with liberty to the respondent to insist on documents/affidavits or relegate the matter to the Revenue Inspector; authorities to conclude by best judgment who the legal heirs are, include their names and issue the legal heirship certificate; exercise to be completed within 12 weeks of receipt/production of a web-copy of the order; if necessary, and subject to permission being granted to reopen the same application, the parties may make a fresh application; no order as to costs; connected miscellaneous petition (W.M.P.No.8958 of 2025) closed.

Issue for consideration

Whether the impugned order dated 01.04.2024 (Application No.TN-720220330398) rejecting the petitioner's application for a legal heirship certificate should be quashed, and whether the respondent should be directed to issue a legal heirship certificate in favour of the petitioner as legal heir(s) of late Subramaniyam C.P @ Subramani. +1 more

Court's answer

The impugned order dated 01.04.2024 passed by the respondent rejecting the legal heirship certificate application shall stand set aside.

Ratio / Principle

Once a death is reported and an application for a legal heirship certificate is made, the legal heirs must be determined; even if there is no other proof, the petitioner can be directed to file an affidavit and arrange for five affidavits of persons known to the family, including relatives and neighbours.

Key takeaways

When there is no rival claim and each and every fact cannot be verified in view of the efflux of time, a best judgment must be made on the basis of the available materials and the concerned persons declared as legal heirs.ratio¶36
The petitioner shall appear before the respondent for further enquiry on 28.03.2025; the respondent may insist on such documents/affidavits or relegate the matter to the concerned Revenue Inspector; the authorities shall conduct further enquiry and, by their best judgment, conclude who the legal heirs are, include their names and issue the legal heirship certificate.ratio¶40

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Writ Petition (Article 226) — Legal heirship certificate — Application No.TN-720220330398 dated 01.04.2024 of the Thasildar, Mylapore Taluk, rejecting the petitioner's application in respect of C.P.Subramaniyam @ Subramani (died 19.12.1998) set aside — Death was reported but certificate never earlier applied for; enquiry could not conclusively identify legal heirs, hence rejection — Held: once death is reported and application made, legal heirs must be determined; even absent other proof, petitioner may file own affidavit plus five affidavits of persons known to the family (relatives and neighbours); where there is no rival claim and facts cannot be fully verified due to efflux of time, authority must decide by best judgment on available materials and declare the legal heirs — Petitioner to appear before respondent on 28.03.2025; respondent may insist on documents/affidavits or relegate to Revenue Inspector; names to be included and certificate issued — Exercise to be completed within 12 weeks of receipt/production of web-copy of order without waiting for certified copy — Parties may file fresh application if permitted to reopen same application — No costs; connected W.M.P. closed. (Decided 07.03.2025, Justice D.Bharatha Chakravarthy.)

W.P.No.7978 of 2025

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED : 07.03.2025

CORAM :

THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE D.BHARATHA CHAKRAVARTHY

W.P.No.7978 of 2025 and W.M.P.No.8958 of 2025

Arasu S

.. Petitioner

Versus

The Thasildar, Mylapore Taluk, No.28, Raja Annamalipuram, Chennai - 600 028.

.. Respondent

Prayer : Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, pleased to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus calling for records relating to the impugned order passed by the respondent vide Application No.TN-720220330398, dated 01.04.2024 and quash the same as illegal and consequently, direct the respondent to issue legal heir certificate in favour of the petitioner as legal heirs of late Subramaniyam C.P @ Subramani respectively within the time that may be stipulated by this Court.

For Petitioner : Mr.I.Calvin Jones

For Respondents : Mr.R.Neelakandan, Additional Advocate General,

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W.P.No.7978 of 2025

Asstd. by Mr.S.Balamurugan, Government Advocate

ORDER

This Writ Petition is filed challenging the impugned order passed by

the respondent in the application of the petitioner bearing Application

No.TN-720220330398, dated 01.04.2024.

The legal heirship certificate was applied by the petitioner in

respect of the death of one C.P.Subramaniyam @ Subramani , who died on

19.12.1998. It seems that the death has been reported, but, so far, legal

heirship certificate was never applied for. The respondents conducted an

enquiry. Since they could not come to a conclusion as to who are the legal

heirs, the application was rejected.

Once the death is reported, when an application is made for legal

heirship certificate, it has to be determined as to who are the legal heirs.

Even if there is no other proof, the petitioner can be directed to file affidavits https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

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W.P.No.7978 of 2025

and he can also arrange for five affidavits of the persons known to the family

which will include relatives and neighbours. On that basis, the report has to be forwarded to the respondent and ultimately, when there is no rival claim, each and every fact cannot be verified in view of the efflux of time. The

best judgment has to be made on the basis of the available materials and the persons have to be declared as legal heirs.

In view thereof, this Writ Petition is disposed of on the following

terms:-

(i) The impugned order, dated 01.04.2024 passed by the respondent shall stand set aside;

(ii) The petitioner shall appear before the respondent for further enquiry on 28.03.2025 and the respondent shall insist such documents/affidavits or relegate him to the concerned Revenue Inspector for

further enquiry and the authorities shall make further enquiry and come to a conclusion by their best judgment as to who are all the legal heirs and

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include the names of that persons and issue legal heirship certificate;

(iii) The above exercise shall be completed within a period of 12

weeks from the date of receipt/production of a web-copy of this order

without waiting for a certified copy of this order;

(iv) If necessary, until permission is granted to the respondent to

reopen the same application, the parties can make a fresh application also;

(v) There shall be no order as to costs. Consequently, connected

miscellaneous petition is closed.

07.03.2025

Neutral Citation : no grs To The Thasildar, Mylapore Taluk, No.28, Raja Annamalipuram, Chennai - 600 028.

D.BHARATHA CHAKRAVARTHY, J.

grs

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W.P.No.7978 of 2025 and W.M.P.No.8958 of 2025

07.03.2025

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