Ram Piari v. Bhagwant & Ors.

An old man who had two daughters made a Will just one day before he passed away, in which he expressed his interest to transfer all his possessions solely to the sons of one of his daughters among the two. The person who made the Will was unwell and spent the six months before his death with the beneficiaries (the person(s) in favour of whom the Will was executed). Even though he was able to sign, the testator (the person who made the Will) only left his thumbprint on the document.

The daughter who was excluded from inheritance challenged the validity of the Will on the grounds that there were suspicious circumstances and the active involvement of the beneficiary in its execution. The execution of the Will was deemed to be proved valid beyond reasonable doubts by all the courts starting from lower courts up to the High Court. Hence, the aggrieved daughter chose to prefer an appeal to the Hon’ble Supreme Court.  

The court held that, merely proving the genuineness of the Will’s execution alone is not enough if there exist suspicious circumstances. The ruling ensures that the courts must be satisfied with the testator’s mental state and awareness regarding the transfer of assets and the beneficiaries to it. It was stated by the Judge that even though Hindus have an unrestricted right to transfer their property through Will to anyone, including a stranger, the beneficiary must show that the testator had the capacity to make the Will and was with a sound mind while making the same in order to prove that the testator knew and understood the contents of the Will and the aftermath effects of executing the same. Further, it was stated that, the mere execution of a Will by fulfilling legal requirements such as providing a scribe, attesting witnesses or demonstrating the genuineness of the testator’s thumb impression alone was insufficient to establish the validity of the Will until and unless the suspicious circumstances continue to exists.