Sardool Singh And Another v. Nasib Kaur (Smt) .

Factual and Procedural Background

Special leave was granted and the matter was heard. A civil suit between the parties was pending in which the respondent contended that no will was executed, while the appellants contended that a will had been executed by the testator. Separately, a probate proceeding was also pending before the District Judge, Rampur. Despite these pending civil proceedings where the validity of the will was already sub judice, the respondent initiated criminal proceedings alleging that the will was forged. The High Court had passed an order permitting the matter to proceed, which was challenged in the present appeal.

Legal Issues Presented

1. Whether criminal prosecution alleging that a will is forged should be permitted to proceed when the validity of the same will is already pending adjudication in civil and probate proceedings.

Arguments of the Parties

The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the parties' legal arguments.

Table of Precedents Cited

No precedents were cited in the provided opinion.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The Court noted that two civil proceedings were already pending: a civil suit and a probate case, both involving the central question of whether a will was executed and, consequently, its validity. Since the civil court was seized of the validity of the will and would decide it after recording evidence and hearing the parties in accordance with law, the Court held it would be improper at that stage to allow the respondent to prosecute the appellants criminally on the allegation that the will was forged. The Court emphasized that the question of forgery was intertwined with the issue pending before the civil courts and should first be resolved there. At the same time, the Court clarified that quashing the criminal proceedings would not prevent appropriate future proceedings if the civil court were to conclude that the will was forged. The Court expressly refrained from expressing any view on the genuineness of the will, leaving the matter open for the lower courts.

Holding and Implications

ALLOWED; HIGH COURT ORDER SET ASIDE; CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS QUASHED; APPEAL DISPOSED OF.

The criminal proceedings pending before the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Chandigarh in Smt Nasib Kaur v. Sardool Singh were quashed, and the High Court's order was set aside. The direct effect is that the respondent cannot, at this stage, continue the criminal prosecution based on alleged forgery of the will while the will's validity is being adjudicated in the pending civil and probate matters. The Court specified that this does not bar institution of appropriate proceedings in the future if the civil court concludes that the will is forged, and it stated that no opinion was being given on the will's genuineness.