DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM-II

Udyog Sadan, C-22 & 23, Qutub Institutional Area

(Behind Qutub Hotel), New Delhi- 110016

Case No.202/2021

Smt. Sabina Khurana

W/o Sanjiv Khurana

R/o Khurana Farms, 15 Club Drive,

Mehrauli Gurgoan Raod,

Gadaipur, Ghottorni,

New Delhi-1100030                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ….Complainant

Versus

Kotak Mahindra Bank

Branch Office at: JMD Regent Square

M.G. Road, Gurugram – 122002

Also At: A-266, Bhishma Pitamah Marg,

Defence Colony, New Delhi-110024                            ….Opposite Party

 Date of Institution    : 16.07.2021

Date of Order             :22.11.2021

Coram:

Ms. Monika A Srivastava, President

Ms. Kiran Kaushal, Member

Sh. U.K. Tyagi, Member

Order

President: Ms. Monika A Srivastava

The present complaint pertains to operation of savings account which is in the Bank of OP in the name of one late Mrs. Kamal Khurana. The complainant, in the present complaint is the daughter in law of the deceased, Mrs. Kamal Khurana and is seeking an order from this Commission for transfer the remaining balance of the deceased to the account of the complainant. The complainant is relying on a Will left by deceased Mrs. Kamal Khurana, in her favour. It is also stated that the daughter of the deceased, Ms. Preeti Jaggi is claiming to be heir of the deceased and is objecting to the operation of the said bank account by the complainant.

The complainant has relied on judgments passed by Ld. Allahabad High Court and Bombay High Courts where in it is stated that “nominee is merely a trustee agent of the legal heir and the legal heir is an ultimate beneficiary to the estate of the deceased, Courts across the country have also placed legal heirs on a much higher footing as compared so the nominees and thus by doing so have given legal heirs preference and overriding superseding status over nominees”. The complainant also relies on the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in  Kanta Yadav vs Om Prakash Yadav  AIR 2019 SC 5556 wherein it is stated that no probate is necessary in order to set up a claim regarding property either movable or immovable on the basis of Will executed in Delhi.

There is no doubt regarding the position of law in this regard but these cases have no application to the present case for the reasons that the complainant in this case is not a nominee and secondly, there are people other than the complainant who are  claiming to be the legal heirs of the deceased. These questions cannot be decided in a summary proceeding like the one before this Commission. The Commission is not the appropriate forum to decide on the veracity of the Will left by late Mrs Kamal Khurana. The complainant should approach the appropriate forum for the relief that is being sought before this Commission.

Complaint is dismissed in limine.

File be consigned to the record room after giving copy of the order.