ORDER SHEET
IN THE HIGH COURT OF SINDH, KARACHI
SMA No.142 of 2018 __________________________________________________________
Order with signature of Judge(s)
· For hearing of main petition
[DR (OS) Diary dated 06.09.2018]
26.09.2018
Mr. Ghulam Mohiuddin, Advocate along with petitioner and legal heirs Halima Bai, Rafiq Lashkarwala, Hussain Lashkarwala and Muhammad Siraj Lashkarwala and witnesses Muhammad Amin Yousuf Godial and Muhammad Ebrahim.
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Petitioner Muhammad Ilyas has applied for grant of Letter of Administration and Succession Certificate in respect of estate (described in the Schedule of properties) of his father late Wali Muhammad, who is shown to have died intestate on 11.02.2014 through the original death certificate attached at Page 09. Petitioner states that the deceased left behind four legal heirs named in paragraph 3 of the petition and the petitioner as his surviving legal heirs. In support of the instant SMA, photocopy of the FRC is attached at Page-11 which reflects that those listed in paragraph 3 of the petition and the petitioner are the only surviving legal heirs of the deceased. Photocopies of documents pertaining to the following properties forming part of the Schedule are also provided between pages 19 to 33:-
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1. |
House No.C-80, Block-IV-V, Dohraji Cooperative Housing Society, Karachi. |
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2. |
Plot No.A-2, Sector 15/A/3, KDA Employees Cooperative Society, ST-1, Sector 15A/4, Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Yousuf Ludhyanvi Shaheed Road, adjacent Rufi Rose Peta Gulzar-e-Hijri, Scheme No.33, Karachi. |
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3. |
Rs.370,234/- in Account No.0322-210302541 of the deceased in United Bank Limited, Jodia Bazar Branch, Karachi. |
In this connection, Office Note of the Deputy Registrar (O.S) dated 06.09.2018, which provides as under is worth reproducing:-
“As per contents of petition, the above named deceased expired on 11.02.2014 at Karachi. Photocopy death certificate and Family Registration Certificate are attached in the case file at page No.09-11. The deceased above named left behind the following legal heirs as per petition including petitioner:-
|
1 |
Halima Bai |
Widow |
|
2 |
Muhammad Ashraf |
Son |
|
3 |
Rafiq Lashkarwala |
Son |
|
4 |
Hussain Lashkarwala |
Son |
|
5 |
Muhammad Siraj Lashkarwala |
Son |
All the legal heirs have sworn affidavit of No objection in favour of the petitioner (Page No.35-43).
Affidavits of two witnesses, namely, (1) Muhammad Amin Yousuf Godial son of Muhammad Yousuf Godial and (2) Muhammad Ibrahim son of Abdul Ghani, are also on record. (Page No.45-47).
As per schedule of properties (Page No.13), the above named deceased has left two (02) immovable properties and a bank account. Photocopies of title documents and bank statement are attached in the case file (Page No.19-33) while original documents of immovable property have been seen and returned by the office.
Mr. Gohar Ali, registered Court clerk of learned Counsel for the petitioner.
Publication of main petition has been effected in daily Jang, Karachi dated: 09.08.2018 but none has come forward to raise any objection. Copy of publication is available on the record.”
Petitioner himself has filed his affidavit to the effect that the deceased had no other legal heir except those stated in paragraph 3. The legal heirs Halima Bai, Rafiq Lashkarwala, Hussain Lashkarwala and Muhammad Siraj Lashkarwala are present in the Court and have re-affirmed contents of their Affidavits of No objection as well as that of the petition while legal heir Muhammad Ashraf has put an appearance on 05.04.2018 and his further appearance was dispensed with.
Two witnesses namely (1) Muhammad Amin Yousuf Godial son of Muhammad Yousuf Godial and (2) Muhammad Ibrahim son of Abdul Ghani, who have filed their duly sworn affidavits to the effect that the deceased had left behind only the above mentioned legal heirs, have also appeared before this Court and re-affirmed contents of their affidavits.
The publication in the present matter has been made in daily “Jang”, Karachi dated 09.08.2018 inviting the objections, but none has come forward to contest this S.M.A.
Since the petitioner is legal heir of the deceased and despite publication in a widely circulated newspaper, nobody has appeared to raise any objection, the petition is allowed. Let the Letter of Administration and Succession Certificate be issued in favour of the petitioner in respect of the properties left by the deceased, as mentioned in the Schedule of Properties available at Page No.13 of the petition upon proper verification, identification and the petitioner having deposited nothing but the original title documents of the Scheduled properties and upon the petitioner executing a personal bond with one surety equal to the value of the assets.
Be that as it may, custodians of the record of rights are required to act strictly in accordance with law. In case title of the Scheduled properties is under clouds in any manner or under adjudication before any Court of law or before any other forum, relevant fora shall not be influenced by this order of the Court.
JUDGE