Talkeshwari Devi v. Ram Ran Bikat Prasad Singh & Anr.

71 A TALKESHWARI DEVI _v._ -'AM RAN BI.KAT PRASAD SINGH & ANR. B _January_ 12, 1972 [K. S. Hl!GDE, P. JAGANMOHAN REDDY. AND D. G. PALEKAll, JJ.] _Indian_ _Succession_ _Act 1925-Ss._ 124, _131-Scope-Will,_ _construc-_ _tion of._ By clause 4 of a will the testator bequeathed to his grand daughters T and S an absolute right in the properties that were to devolve on them after the death of his wife. Clause _5_ further provided that if one of the two grand daughters were to die issueless the other living grand daughter was to enter into possession of the entire proC perty as absolute owner. After the death of the testator's wife T and S divided the properties which devolved on them in equal shares. On S dying issueless T instituted a 1uit for poasession of the properties that fell to the share of S basin& her claim on clause _5_ of the will. The suit was dismi!!led. Dismissing the appeal, HELD : Clause _5_ of the will rela·es to devolution, it does not provide for any divestment of an estate which had vested. The estate that vested D in S under clause 4 of the will was not a conditional estate, it was an absolute one. The will does not provide for the divestment of that estate. Clause _5_ would have come into operation if the contingency mentioned therein had happened before the properties absolutely devol\-ed on T and S. What the testator intended was that if any of his grand daughters died issueless before the devolution took place then the entire property should go to another grand daughter. The intention of the testator is plain E from the language of the will. [73 BJ Section 124 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 applies to the facts of the case and not s. 131. The legacy claimed by the ap~llant is unavailable as the contemplated con'ingency did not occur· before the fund bequeathed was payable or distributable. Section 131 provides for the divestment of an estate which had already vested; it ·speaks l}f an estate going over to another peraon. 174 Bl F _Norendra_ _Nath_ _Sircar_ _and_ _anr._ v. _Kamal_ _Basini_ _Dasi,_ I.L.R. 23, Cal. 563, referred to. CML APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 213 of 1967. Appeal from the Judgment and order dated February, 17th 1965 of the Patna High Court in First Appeal No. 113 of 1960. G _M._ _C._ _Chagla,_ _D._ _P._ _Singh,_ _S._ _C._ _Agarwal, V. I._ _Francis,_ _R. Gqburdhun_ and _D._ _Goburdhun,_ _lor_ the appellant. _M._ _C._ _Setalvad, Sarjoo_ _Prasad,_ _A._ _G._ _Ratnaparkhi_ and _Rajiv_ _Shah,_ for respondent No. 1. #### • The Jud~ent of the Court was decided by II Hegde, J, In this appeal by certificate we are to consider the effect of the will executed by one Ral!hunath Prasad Singh, on August 31, 1938. The said testator died very soon after the exe cution of the will leaving behind him his widow 1ageshwar Kuer, 72 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1972} 3 S.C.R. his dau,ghter Satrupa Kuer and his two grand daughters Talkeshwari Devi (the appellant herein) and Sheorani. The appellant and Sheorani are the dau,ghters of Sukhdeo Prasad Sin,gh, the son A of the testator who had pre-deceased the testator. Jageshwar Kuer died in November 1948 and Sheorani Devi on November 1, 1949 without Jeavinl!: any issue. The dispute in thiS case is as to who is entitled to the properties devolved on Sheorani under B the provisions of the will left by the testator. For deciding that question we have to refer to the relevant provisions of the will, the l(eni,tineness or validity of which is not in dispute. The will in ques'.ion provides that after the death of the testator a portion of his properties (detailed in the will) was to C devolve on Jaj!;CShwar Kuer absolutoly and tho remaining pro·. perties are also to devolve on her but therein she was to have only a life interest. The will fur.her provides that after her death "the entire property will be l!reated as 16 annas property out of which _S_ annas 4 pies (five annas four pies) share constituting proprietary interest will pass to Shrimati Satrupa Kuer _alias_ Nan dau,ghter of me, the executant and her heirs as absolute owners and the remaining 10 annas 8 pies ( annas ten and eight pies) share will pass to both the minor grand daughters, (1) Shrimati Talkeshwari Kuer _alias_ Babu and (2) Sbrimati Sheorani Kuer _alias_ Bachan in equal shares as absolute proprietary interest" D (cl. 4 of the will) . Clause 5 of the will says : "That if one of the tw0 grand dau,ghters named E abow dies issueless, then under such circumstances the other livinl!; grand dau,ghter will enter into possession and occupation of the entire 10 annas 8 pies and bte· come the absolute owner thereof." At the time of the death of the testator, the appellant as . .well as Sheoranl Kuer were minors. After the death of Jageshwar F Kuer, the appellant and her sister Sheorani Kuer divided the ten annas ei~ht pies share of the properties which devolved on them In equal sharea and each one came into possession of her share of the properties. Immediately after the death of Sheoranl Kuer, the appellant G instituted a suit for possession of the properties that fell to the share of Sheoranl Kuer purporting to base her claim on cla'JSO _S_ of the will to which we have earlier made reference. That suit was resisted bv the first defendant, the husband of Sheorani, He claimed that he was entitled to those properties as the heir of hi& .wife. The trial ~.ourt dismissed the plaintiff's suit and the decision of the ~al court was upheld by the HI~ Court, H ### It was contended on behalf of the appellant that In ''iew of #### claUIO S of the will, the appellant Is entitled to the suit properties A B ## c D F G TALKESHWARI DEVI _v._ RAM RAN BIKAT _(Hegde,_ J.) 71 as Sheorani Kuer had died issueless. This contention, as mentioned earlier, did not find favour either with the trial court or with the appellate court. They have held that on a proper ieading of the will as a whole, it is clear tha~ clause 5 ceased to be operative on the death of' Jageshwar Kuer, thereafter caluse 4 of \he will was the only operative clause so far as the rights of the appellant and Sheorani were concerned. It is undisputed 11at the duty of the court is to !ind out the intention of the testator but that intention has t0 be gathered from the langmfge Qf the will read as a whole. I'. is clear from clause 4 of the will that the testator wanted to give to his grant-daughters an absolute right in the properties that were to devolve on them after 'the death of his wife, J ageshwar Kuer. The estate bequeathed undcl'r clause 4 Of the will is not a condi1ional estate. Clause 5 of the will relates to devolu'.ion and it does not provide for anv divestment of an estate which had vested. The estate that vested on Sheorani was an absolute one. The will does not provide for the divestment of '.hat estate. It is plain from the language of clause 5 of the will that it refers to the devolution, which means when the properties devolved on the two si,ters on the death of Ja~eshwar Kuer.. We are unable '.o accept the contention of Mr. M. C. Chagla, learned Cooosel for the appellant that there is any conflict between clause 4 and clause _5_ of the will. Clause 5 in our judgment would have come into force if the contingency mentioned therein had happened before the properties absolutely devoved on the two sisters. Clause 5 cannot be considered as a defeasance clause. If the testator wanted that the bequest made to any of his grand-daughters should stand divested on the happening of any contingency, then he would have said so in the will, assuming that he could have made such a provision. But the will nowhere says that the properties bequeathed to the appellant and her sister should cease to be their properties on their dying issueless. Obviously what the testator intended was that if any of his grand-daughters dies issueless before the devolution took place then the entire property should go to the other granddaughter. To. our mind the intention of the testator is plain from the language of the will. To find out the effect of the will before us we have to look to ss. 124 and 131 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. Section 124 says : "Where a legacy is given if a specified uncertain event shall happen and no time is mentioned in the will for H the. occurrence of that event, the legacy cannot take effect; unless such event happens before the period when the fund bequeathed is payable or distributable." 6-L864 Su PC I /72 74 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1972] 3 S.C.R. Illustration (ii) to .that section says : "A legacy is bequeathed to A, and in the case of.his death without Children, to B. If A survives the testator or dies in his lifetime leaving a child, the legacy _to_ B does not take effect." If s. 124 applies _to_ the facts of' the case, as we think it does, B then it is clear that the legacy claimed by the appellant is unavailable as the contemplaied eontingency did not occur before the fund bequeathed was payable or distributable. Section 124 deals with devolution. But as we shall presently secs. 131 deals with divestment of an estate that had vested. Mr. Chagla con# tends that the governing provision is s. 131. That section says: c "A bequest may be made _to_ any person· with the condition superadded that, in case a specified uncertain event shall happen, the thing bequeathed shall go _to_ another person, or that in case a specified uncertain event shall not happen, .the thing bequeathed shall go over (o another person." D The section provides for the divestment of an estate which had already vested. It speaks of an estate going over _to_ another person. As seen earlier clause _5_ of .the will is not a defeasance clause. A case somewhat similar _to_ the one before us came up for B consideration before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in _Norendra Nath Sircar and anr._ v. _Kamal Basini_ Dasi('). Therein a Hindu at his death left three sons, the eldest of full age and the other two minors. In his will were the directions "My three sons shall be entitled to enjoy all the moveable and inunoveable properties left by me equally. Any one of the sons dying JI sonless, the surviving son shall be entitled to all th~ properties equally". Interpreting this clause the Judicial Committee held that those words gave a. legacy to the survivors contingently on the. happening of a specified uncertain event, which · had not happened before the Jltlriod when ·the property bequeathed was distributable, that period of distribution being the time of the testator's death. In arriving at this conclusion, the Judicial Com- G mittee relied on s. 111 of the Indian Succession Act, 1865. That provision is similar to s. 124 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. For the reasons mentioned above we are in a8!"eetllent with the courts below that the suit brou~t by the appdlant is unsustainable. This appeal is accordmgly dismissed with costs. K.B.N. _Appeal_ _dismissed._ (I) ~~1.L.R.~~ ~~23.~~ ~~Cal.~~ ~~,63.~~