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Anil Prashar vs. State & Ors.

First Appeal from Order · 2026:DHC:8047Decided 18 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
FAO 148/2009CNR: DLHC011909682008
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri

Background

After a man passed away in 1984, two of his three sons sought probate (court validation) of his Will, which had divided his Hari Nagar property among the three sons while excluding his widow and daughter. The third son (the appellant here) contested the Will, alleging it was forged, that his father was not mentally or physically fit when it was signed, and that the roughly 20-year delay before anyone sought probate was itself suspicious. The trial court had granted probate in 2008, and the appeal against that decision took another 18 years to be decided by the High Court.

Decision Breakdown

The High Court found the surviving witness who had watched the Will being signed at the Army Hospital gave clear, credible testimony satisfying the legal requirements for a valid Will, and that the appellant's own conduct, including denying his own signatures on court documents, undermined his case. The long delay before seeking probate was found to be reasonably explained: the family had agreed not to disturb the widow during her lifetime, and all three brothers had meanwhile already been living in their respective shares as per the Will, with the appellant himself having earlier acknowledged the Will in municipal records and a family settlement. The Court also rejected the appellant's last-minute request to bring in new handwriting-expert evidence at the appeal stage, since he had already been given, and wasted, repeated opportunities to do so before the trial court.

Lesson Learnt

A long gap between a person's death and a Will being taken to court for probate is not automatically suspicious if there's a reasonable family explanation for it; and a party who repeatedly fails to use the opportunities a court gives them to produce evidence cannot expect a second chance for the same evidence at the appeal stage.

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