RANI PURNIMA DEVI AND ANOTHER vs KUMAR KHAGENDRA NARAYAN DEV AND ANOTHER

The Supreme Court held that the execution and attestation of a will must be proved satisfactorily, especially in the presence of suspicious circumstances, as outlined in the case of H. Venkatachala Iyengar v. B. N. Thimmajamma (1959). The Court found that the mere registration of the will did not dispel the doubts regarding its genuineness, as the testator did not appear before the sub-registrar, and the evidence of registration was deemed perfunctory. Consequently, the Court overturned the lower courts' decisions and denied the grant of letters of administration to the propounder of the will, K, due to insufficient proof of due execution and attestation under the Indian Succession Act.