Succession certificate is a sanctioning document that sanctions the right to inherit debt and securities to the legal heirs of the deceased who died intestate. This right to inherit is sanctioned when the beneficiaries apply to a civil court of competent jurisdiction. In other words, a succession certificate gives legal recognition to the right of legal heirs to inherit the estate of the deceased. According to section 370[1] of the Act, it is pretty clear that Succession Certificate can not be granted pertaining to any debt or security to which the rights are required to be established by Probate[2] or Letter of Administration[3].
Succession Certificate is not required in case of compensation sanctioned for an employee’s death in the course of his duty[4].The Ho’nble Supreme Court has discussed the status conferred upon the grantee of a Succession Certificate in Banarsi Dass Versus Teeku Dutta (Mrs) and Another[5].
The court said that “The main object of a Succession Certificate is to facilitate collection of debts on succession and afford protection to parties paying debts to representatives of deceased persons. All that the Succession Certificate purports to do is to facilitate the collection of debts, to regulate the administration of succession and to protect persons who deal with the alleged representatives of the deceased persons. Such a certificate does not give any general power of administration on the estate of the deceased. The grant of a certificate does not establish title of the grantee as the heir of the deceased. A Succession Certificate is intended as noted above to protect the debtors, which means that where a debtor of a deceased person either voluntarily pays his debt to a person holding a Certificate under the Act, or is compelled by the decree of a Court to pay it to the person, he is lawfully discharged. The grant of a certificate does not establish a title of the grantee as the heir of the deceased, but only furnishes him with authority to collect his debts and allows the debtors to make payments to him without incurring any risk”.
After
reading the deceision of our Hon’ble Supreme Court it can be easily construed
that a Succession Certificate is helpful while dealing with movable assets like
provident fund, bank deposits, shares, loans and etc. but not
a strong proof for establishing administrative rights pertaining to an immovable
property of the deceased in a court of law. Instruments like Letter of
Administration should also be supplemented for grant of administrative rights
pertaining to an immovable property.
[1] http://districtcourtsnamchi.nic.in/laws/indian_succession_act_1925.pdf
[2] Section 213 http://districtcourtsnamchi.nic.in/laws/indian_succession_act_1925.pdf
[3]Section 212 http://districtcourtsnamchi.nic.in/laws/indian_succession_act_1925.pdf
[4] JT 2000 (4) SC 346, (2000) 9 SCC 240: Rukhsana (Smt) And Ors. vs Nazrunnisa (Smt) And Anr. on 17 January, 2000:(SUPREME COURT OF INDIA)
[5] https://main.sci.gov.in/jonew/judis/26973.pdf (SUPREME COURT OF INDIA)