Administrators-General Act, 1963- Sections 16 to 42

16. After revocation letters granted to Administrator-General to be deemed, as to him, to have been voidable only.

16. After revocation letters granted to Administrator-General to be deemed, as to him, to have been voidable only.—If any letters of administration granted to the Administrator-General in accordance with the provisions of this Act are revoked, the same shall, so far as regards the Administrator-General and all persons acting under his authority in pursuance thereof, be deemed to have been only voidable, except as to any act done by any such Administrator-General or other person as aforesaid, after notice of a will or of any other fact which would render such letters void:

Provided that no notice of a will or of any other fact which would render any such letters void shall affect the Administrator-General or any person acting under his authority in pursuance of such letters unless, within the period of one month from the time of giving such notice, proceedings are commenced to prove the will, or to cause the letters to be revoked, and such proceedings are prosecuted without unreasonable delay.

17. Payments made by Administrator-General prior to revocation.

17. Payments made by Administrator-General prior to revocation.—If any letters of administration granted to the Administrator-General in accordance with the provisions of this Act are revoked, upon the grant of probate of a will, or upon the grant of letters of administration with a copy of the will annexed, all payments made or acts done by or under the authority of the Administrator-General in pursuance of such letters of administration, prior to the revocation, which would have been valid under any letters of administration lawfully granted to him with a copy of such will annexed, shall be deemed valid notwithstanding such revocation.

18. Administrator-General’s petition for grant of letters of administration.

18. Administrator-General’s petition for grant of letters of administration.—Whenever any Administrator-General applies for letters of administration in accordance with the provisions of this Act, it shall be sufficient if the petition required to be presented for the grant of such letters states,—

(i) the time and place of the death of the deceased to the best of the knowledge and belief of the petitioner;

(ii) the names and addresses of the surviving next-of-kin of the deceased, if known;

(iii) the particulars and value of the assets likely to come into the hands of the petitioner;

(iv) particulars of the liabilities of the estate, if known.

19. Name in which probate or letters to be granted.

19. Name in which probate or letters to be granted.—All probates or letters of administration granted to any Administrator-General shall be granted to him by that name.

20. Effect of probate or letters granted to Administrator-General.

20. Effect of probate or letters granted to Administrator-General.—(1) Probate or letters of administration granted by the High Court to the Administrator-General of any State shall have effect over all the assets of the deceased throughout [i][India] and shall be conclusive as to the representative title against all debtors of the deceased and all persons holding such assets, and shall afford full indemnity to all debtors paying their debts and all persons delivering up such assets to such Administrator-General.

(2) Whenever a grant of probate or letters of administration is made by a High Court to the Administrator-General, the High Court shall send to the High Courts for the other States a certificate that such grant has been made, and such certificate shall be filed by the High Court receiving the same.

[ii][(3) Any probate or letters of administration granted by the High Court for the State of Jammu and Kashmir before the commencement of the Central Laws (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Act, 1968 shall, after such commencement, be as effective as if such probate or letters of administration had been granted under this section.]

21. Effect of grant by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir.

21. Effect of grant by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir.—[iii][* * *]

22. Transfer by private executor or administrator of interest under probate or letters.

22. Transfer by private executor or administrator of interest under probate or letters.—(1) Any private executor or administrator may, with the previous consent of the Administrator-General of the State in which any of the assets of the estate, in respect of which such executor or administrator has obtained probate or letters of administration, are situate, by an instrument in writing under his hand notified in the Official Gazette, transfer the assets of the estate, vested in him by virtue of such probate or letters to the Administrator-General by that name or any other sufficient description.

(2) As from the date of such transfer, the transferor shall be exempt from all liability as such executor or administrator, as the case may be, except in respect of acts done before the date of such transfer, and the Administrator-General shall have the rights which he would have had, and be subject to the liabilities to which he would have been subject, if the probate or letters of administration, as the case may be, had been granted to him by that name at the date of such transfer.

23. Distribution of assets.

23. Distribution of assets.—(1) When the Administrator-General has given the prescribed notice to creditors and others to send in to him their claims against the estate of the deceased, he shall, at the expiration of the time therein named for sending in claims, be at liberty to distribute the assets or any part thereof in discharge of such lawful claims as he has notice of.

(2) The Administrator-General shall not be liable for the assets so distributed to any person of whose claims he had not notice at the time of such distribution.

(3) No notice of any claim which has been sent in and has been rejected or disallowed in part by the Administrator-General shall affect him, unless proceedings to enforce such claim are commenced within one month after notice of the rejection or disallowance of such claim has been given in the prescribed manner and unless such proceedings are prosecuted without unreasonable delay.

(4) Nothing in this section shall prejudice the right of any creditor or other claimant to follow the assets or any part thereof in the hands of the persons who may have received the same respectively.

(5) In computing the period of limitation for any suit, appeal or application under the provisions of any law for the time being in force, the period between the date of submission of the claim of a creditor or other claimant to the Administrator-General and the date of the final decision of the Administrator-General on such claim shall be excluded.

24. Appointment of Official Trustee as trustee of assets after completion of administration.

24. Appointment of Official Trustee as trustee of assets after completion of administration.—(1) When the Administrator-General has, so far as may be, discharged all the liabilities of an estate administered by him, he shall notify the fact in the Official Gazette, and he may, by an instrument in writing with the consent of the Official Trustee and subject to any rules made by the State Government, appoint the Official Trustee to be the trustee of any assets then remaining in his hands.

(2) Upon such appointment, such assets shall vest in the Official Trustee as if he had been appointed trustee in accordance with the provisions of the Official Trustees Act, 1913 (2 of 1913), and shall be held by him upon the same trusts as the same were held immediately before such appointment.

25. Power of High Court to give directions regarding administration of estate.

25. Power of High Court to give directions regarding administration of estate.—The High Court may, on application made to it by the Administrator-General or any person interested in the assets or in the due administration thereof, give to the Administrator-General of the State any general or special directions as to any estate in his charge or in regard to the administration of any such estate.

26. No security to be required from Administrator-General.

26. No security to be required from Administrator-General.—No Administrator-General shall be required by any Court to enter into any administration bond, or to give other security to the Court on the grant of any letters of administration to him by that name.

27. Manner in which petition to be verified by Administrator-General.

27. Manner in which petition to be verified by Administrator-General.—No Administrator-General shall be required to verify, otherwise than by his signature, any petition presented by him under the provisions of this Act, and, if the facts stated in any such petition are not within his own personal knowledge, the petition may be subscribed and verified by any person competent to make verification.

28. Entry of Administrator-General not to constitute notice of a trust.

28. Entry of Administrator-General not to constitute notice of a trust.—The entry of the Administrator-General by that name in the books of a company shall not constitute notice of a trust, and a company shall not be entitled to object to entering the name of the Administrator-General on its register by reason only that the Administrator-General is a corporation, and in dealing with assets the fact that the person dealt with is the Administrator-General shall not of itself constitute notice of a trust.

Chapter IV

GRANT OF CERTIFICATE

29. In what cases Administrator-General may grant certificate.

29. In what cases Administrator-General may grant certificate.—(1) Whenever any person has died leaving assets within any State and the Administrator-General of such State is satisfied that such assets, excluding any sum of money deposited in a Government Savings Bank or in any provident fund to which the provisions of the Provident Funds Act, 1925 (19 of 1925), apply, did not at the date of death exceed in the whole [iv][ten lakhs] rupees in value, he may grant to any person, claiming otherwise than as a creditor to be interested in such assets or in the due administration thereof, a certificate under his hand entitling the claimant to receive the assets therein mentioned left by the deceased within the State, to a value not exceeding in the whole five thousand rupees.

(2) No certificate under this section shall be granted before the lapse of one month from the death unless before the lapse of the said one month the Administrator-General is requested so to do by writing under the hand of the executor or the widow or other person entitled to administer the estate of the deceased and he thinks fit to grant it.

(3) No certificate shall be granted under this section,—

(i) where probate of the deceased’s will or letters of administration of his estate has or have been granted; or

(ii) in respect of any sum of money deposited in a Government Savings Bank or in any provident fund to which the provisions of the Provident Funds Act, 1925 (19 of 1925), apply.

30. Grant of certificate to creditors and power to take charge of certain estates.

30. Grant of certificate to creditors and power to take charge of certain estates.—(1) If, in cases falling within Section 29, no person claiming to be interested otherwise than as a creditor in such assets or in the due administration thereof obtains, within three months of the death of the deceased, a certificate from the Administrator-General under that section, or probate of a will or letters of administration of the estate of the deceased, the Administrator-General may administer the estate without letters of administration, in the same manner as if such letters had been granted to him.

(2) If the Administrator-General neglects or refuses to administer such estate, he shall, upon the application of a creditor, grant a certificate to him in the same manner as if he were interested in such assets otherwise than as a creditor; and such certificate shall have the same effect as a certificate granted under the provisions of Section 29, and shall be subject to all the provisions of this Act which are applicable to such certificate.

(3) The Administrator-General may, if he thinks fit, before granting a certificate under sub-section (2), require the creditor to give reasonable security for the due administration of the estate of the deceased.

31. Administrator-General not bound to grant certificate unless satisfied of claimant’s title, etc.

31. Administrator-General not bound to grant certificate unless satisfied of claimant’s title, etc.—The Administrator-General shall not be bound to grant any certificate under Section 29 or Section 30 unless he is satisfied after making such inquiry as he thinks fit of the title of the claimant and of the value of the assets left by the deceased within the State.

32. Effect of certificate.

32. Effect of certificate.—The holder of a certificate granted in accordance with the provisions of Section 29 or Section 30 shall have in respect of the assets specified in such certificate the same powers and duties, and be subject to the same liabilities as he would have had or been subject to if letters of administration had been granted to him:

Provided that nothing in this section shall be deemed to require any person holding such certificate,—

(a) to file accounts or inventories of the assets of the deceased before any court or other authority; or

(b) save as provided in Section 30, to give any bond for the due administration of the estate.

33. Revocation of certificate.

33. Revocation of certificate.—(1) The Administrator-General may revoke a certificate granted under the provisions of Section 29 or Section 30 on any of the following grounds, namely:—

(i) that the certificate was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation made to him:

(ii) that the certificate was obtained by means of an untrue allegation of a fact essential in law to justify the grant though such allegation was made in ignorance or inadvertently.

(2) No certificate shall be revoked under this section unless the holder of the certificate has been given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause why the certificate should not be so revoked.

34. Surrender of revoked certificate.

34. Surrender of revoked certificate.—(1) When a certificate is revoked in accordance with the provisions of Section 33, the holder thereof shall, on the requisition of the Administrator-General, deliver it up to such Administrator-General, but shall not be entitled to the refund of any fee paid thereon.

(2) If such person wilfully and without reasonable cause omits to deliver up the certificate, he shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.

35. Payment to holder of certificate before it is revoked.

35. Payment to holder of certificate before it is revoked.—When a certificate is revoked in accordance with the provisions of Section 33, all payments made in good faith under such certificate to the holder thereof before such revocation, shall, notwithstanding such revocation, be a legal discharge to the person making the payment and the holder of such certificate may retain and reimburse himself in respect of, any payments made by him which the person to whom a certificate or probate or letters of administration may afterwards be granted might lawfully have made.

36. Administrator-General not bound to take out administration on account of assets for which he has granted certificate.

36. Administrator-General not bound to take out administration on account of assets for which he has granted certificate.—The Administrator-General shall not be bound to take out letters of administration of the estate of any deceased person on account of the assets in respect of which he grants any certificate under Section 29 or Section 30, but he may do so if he revokes such certificate under Section 33, or ascertains that the value of the estate exceeded [v][ten lakhs] rupees.

37. Transfer of certain assets to executor or administrator in country of domicile for distribution.

37. Transfer of certain assets to executor or administrator in country of domicile for distribution.—Where—

(a) a person not having his domicile in any State [vi][in India] has died leaving assets in any State and in the country in which he had his domicile at the time of his death, and

(b) proceedings for the administration of his estate with respect to assets in any such State have been taken under Section 29 or Section 30, and

(c) there has been a grant of administration in the country of domicile, with respect to the assets in that country,

the holder of the certificate granted under Section 29 or Section 30, or the Administrator-General, as the case may be, after having given the prescribed notice for creditors and others to send in to him their claims against the estate of the deceased, and after having discharged, at the expiration of the time therein named, such lawful claims as he has notice of, may, instead of himself distributing any surplus or residue of the deceased’s property to persons residing out of India [vii][* * *] who are entitled thereto, transfer, with the consent of the executor or administrator, as the case may be, in the country of domicile, the surplus or residue to him for distribution to those persons.

Chapter V

LIABILITY

38. Liability of Government.

38. Liability of Government.—The Government shall be liable to make good all sums required to discharge any liability which the Administrator-General, if he were a private administrator, would be personally liable to discharge, except when the liability is one to which neither the Administrator-General nor any of his officers has in any way contributed, or which neither he nor any of his officers could, by the exercise of reasonable diligence, have averted, and in either of those cases the Administrator-General shall not, nor shall the Government, be subject to any liability.

39. Creditor’s suit against Administrator-General.

39. Creditor’s suit against Administrator-General.—(1) If any suit be brought by a creditor against any Administrator-General, such creditor shall be liable to pay the costs of the suit unless he proves that not less than one month previous to the institution of the suit he had applied in writing to the Administrator-General, stating the amount and other particulars of his claim, and had given such evidence in support thereof as, in the circumstances of the case, the Administrator-General was reasonably entitled to require.

(2) If any such suit is decreed in favour of the creditor, he shall, nevertheless, unless he is a secured creditor, be only entitled to payment of the amount decreed or ordered by the court to be paid out of the assets of the deceased equally and rateably with the other creditors.

40. Notice of suit not required in certain cases.

40. Notice of suit not required in certain cases.—Nothing in Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) shall apply to any suit against the Administrator-General in which no relief is claimed against him personally.

Chapter VI

FEES

41. Fees.

41. Fees.—(1) There shall be charged in respect of the duties of the Administrator-General such fees, whether by way of percentage or otherwise, as may be prescribed by the State Government.

(2) The fees under this section may be at different rates for different estates or classes of estates or for different duties, and shall, so far as may be, be arranged so as to produce an amount sufficient to discharge the salaries and all other expenses incidental to the working of this Act, (including such sum as the State Government may determine to be required to insure the Government against loss under this Act).

42. Disposal of fees.

42. Disposal of fees.—(1) Any expenses which might be retained or paid out of any estate in the charge of the Administrator-General, if he were a private Administrator of such estate shall be so retained or paid and the fees described under Section 41 shall be retained or paid in like manner as and in addition to such expenses.

(2) The Administrator-General shall transfer and pay to such authority in such manner and at such time as the State Government may prescribe, all fees received by him under this Act, and the same shall be carried to the account and the credit of the Government.

References

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