Court
Handled by Advocate N. J. Parmar, B.A., LL.B., more than thirty-five years at the Bar. Court practice and notaryship run together: under section 3 of the Notaries Act, 1952 read with Rule 3 of the Notaries Rules, 1956, notaries are appointed from among advocates of long standing, and the application is routed through the court where the advocate practises.
What it covers — and what it does not
A succession certificate is granted by the District Court under sections 370 to 390 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, where a person has died without a will. It authorises the holder to collect the deceased's debts and securities — bank deposits, shares, mutual funds, provident fund, insurance proceeds, and debts owed to the deceased.
Land, houses and flats are outside its scope. For immovable property the route is the revenue record — pedhinama, varsai mutation, and where the heirs are dividing or consolidating, a partition or relinquishment deed. People spend money on a succession certificate expecting it to transfer a house. It does not. Partition → · Relinquishment →
The process
A petition to the District Court setting out the death, the heirs, and the debts and securities to be collected; court fee computed on the value; publication so that anyone objecting may come forward; and a hearing. Where objections are filed, the matter becomes contested and takes considerably longer.
Because the fee is ad valorem on the value, it is worth establishing early what actually needs to be covered — sometimes an institution will release a modest balance against an indemnity bond and heir no-objections without a court grant at all, which is faster and much cheaper. Indemnity bonds →
Where there was a will
The succession certificate route does not apply. Succession follows the will. Where the will is likely to be contested, probate is the relevant proceeding.
Where a claim is time-barred, where the document relied on was never registered and therefore cannot be received in evidence of the transaction under section 49 of the Registration Act, 1908, or where the realistic recovery is less than the cost of recovering it — you will be told at the first meeting, not after money has been spent. A settlement reached quickly is very often worth more than a decree obtained slowly.
Drafted here, in Gujarati or English
Drafted by an advocate of 35+ years rather than filled into a downloaded template, e-stamped at a Government authorised centre, and notarised in the same visit. If the parties read Gujarati, the document is drafted in Gujarati — not translated out of an English form, because legal Gujarati has its own settled vocabulary and a literal translation frequently means something looser.
What to bring
- Death certificate
- Proof that the deceased died intestate, so far as known
- Full details of all heirs with identity documents
- A schedule of the debts and securities to be collected
- Bank, company or insurer correspondence stating what they require