Proof of Will -- Exclusion of One Sibling With Stated Reason -- Testator held of sound disposing mind, Will upheld
(i) Evidence Act, 1872, S.138 -- Cross-Examination -- Probative Value of Answers to Leading Questions -- Leading questions are permissible in cross-examination, and answers elicited through such questions cannot be treated as having lesser probative value. (ii) Will -- Proof of Execution Through Testimony of Attesting Witness -- Close association of attesting witness with testator supports proof of Will despite delay in deposition. Presence of testator and attesting witnesses at execution, and affixing of signatures by each, stood proved through deposition of the attesting witness. Deposition recorded twenty-four years after execution does not diminish proof of the Will, as exact recollection of every detail of such a visit after such a long gap cannot reasonably be expected. Testator was established to be of sound and disposing mind at the time of execution, and the Will stood proved. (iii) Will -- Exclusion of One Sibling With Stated Reason -- A Will executed in favour of some siblings to the exclusion of another, by a testator of sound disposing mind, and containing a stated reason for such exclusion, is valid. A sibling so excluded has no partible claim over the properties bequeathed by the Will to other siblings.
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