Succession, Legal Heirship & related Certificates

24 May 2021Posted inProperty & Succession
Legal Heirship Certificate (LHC), Succession Certificate (SC) and Letters of Administration (LoA) have close relation. They serve a common purpose – they are being used for devolution of some rights on the property of a person died intestate, to their legal descendants.   The above said certificates, because of their misleading names, create some confusion in the minds of not only ordinary people but also some learned lawyers also. This write-up intends to bring in some clarity in regard to the basic nature of those certificates governing inheritance and succession.

Right of the Legal Heir over the Nominee on Deposits

23 May 2021Posted inCivil law
Who is the legitimate claimant when the bank deposit/insurance amount of a deceased person is claimed simultaneously by both the nominee on the one hand and the legal heir on the other? The laws have no specific provision to differentiate between legitimacy of a nominee and a legal heir in receiving the deposit/insurance amount of the deceased person. But a few case laws shed light on the issue. This issue, which led to inconsistent decisions by different courts in the yester years, seems to be reasonably well settled right now.

Law relating to Vakalatnama in Civil Cases

23 May 2021Posted inCivil law
The Vakalatnama enables the advocate appearing for the litigant to do several acts as an agent of the litigant who remains as the principal. It creates a special relationship between the lawyer and the litigant. It regulates the extent of delegation of authority to the advocate in regard to the conduct of the judicial proceedings and the terms and conditions governing such delegation. It should, therefore, be properly filled, attested and accepted with due care and caution.

Distinction between Culpable Homicide & Murder

23 May 2021Posted inCriminal law
The crime of killing a human being by another human being is categorized as Culpable Homicide under Section 299 and as Murder under Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Sections separate the most heinous killing from those which are less serious ones in nature. Even though both provisions relating to Culpable Homicide and Murder correspond with each other, the difference in both the offences – Culpable Homicide and Murder - lies in the certainty of death in the latter. In fact the difference is in regard to gravity - the seriousness of the act of crime.If the act of the accused is so dangerous with no possibility of survival for the victim, it is an apt case of Murder. If a person dies out of an intentional act of cutting someone’s head, then there is no chance for his survival. Then that is nothing but Murder. On the other hand, if an act of crime leaves the victim with some chance for escaping death it is a case of Culpable Homicide.