Three Brothers. One Ancestral Property. One Forged Will. 18 Months of Legal Battle.
About the Client
Three brothers from a well-known business family in Gurugram. Their father passed away in 2021, leaving behind an ancestral property in Gurgaon itself — a commercial building with 6 shops on the ground floor and residential space above, valued at approximately ₹27 crore.
What Was the Problem
The father had never written a will. According to Hindu Succession Law, all three brothers had equal rights to the property. They had informally agreed to divide the property equally. But the eldest brother produced a "will" claiming their father had left 70% of the property to him alone.
At first look, the was looking genuine. It was duly typed, signed, and attested by two witnesses. The eldest brother filed a probate petition in court to get the will declared officially valid and to request that 70% of the property be handed over to him
The two younger brothers came to us. They were sure that the will was fake. Their father had told all three of them, that the property would be shared equally. But they didn't have proof.
What Made This Case Difficult
- The will was looking genuine, because it was duly typed on proper stamp paper with two witness signatures
- The eldest brother had already filed a probate petition in court
- The two witnesses were employees at the eldest brother's business
- The father had passed away, so they couldn't confirm or deny the will
- Family relationships were at stake — the mother was still alive and heartbroken
- The eldest brother had already started collecting rent from the 6 shops
How SPJ Advocates Handled It
Week 1–2 — Contesting the Will
- Filed an objection in court, formally saying the will was fake and should not be accepted
- Asked the court to stop the eldest brother from collecting rent or making any changes to the property until the case was decided
- The court granted the interim order and ordered that all rent money must go into a joint bank account that no one could use
Month 1–2 — Will Investigation
- We hired a forensic handwriting expert to examine the father's signature on the will
- The expert compared the will signature with 15 known signatures from bank documents, property papers, and government records
- The expert confirmed that the signature on the will was fake. It looked similar, but when examined closely, the way the pen was pressed and the way the letters were drawn were clearly different from the father's real signature.
- One witness admitted during cross-examination that he signed a "blank paper" on the eldest brother's instructions
Month 3–5 — Court Proceedings
- We presented the forensic handwriting report in court
- The witness admittedthat he signed a blank paper without knowing it was a will. That single admission turned the case in our favour. It was clear proof that the will was fake.
- We presented evidence that the father had applied for mutation in all three sons' names jointly which clearly showed he wanted it shared equally.
- The eldest brother's lawyer had no evidence that the father had "changed his mind"
Month 6 — Court's Decision
- The court rejected the probate petition and declared the will as not genuine
- The property was confirmed as ancestral property to be divided equally under Hindu Succession Law
- The rent collected by the eldest brother (₹18 lakh) was ordered to be shared equally
What We Did After the Verdict
- We drafted a family partition deed dividing the property clearly among all three brothers
- Got the partition deed registered at the Sub-Registrar's office
- Helped the two younger brothers get their names added to property tax and mutation records
The Result
The court rejected the fake will. The property was divided equally among all three brothers. The two younger brothers, who had nothing on paper before, now have registered ownership worth approximately ₹ 9 crore each. And their mother's wish — that her sons don't fight over property — was finally respected.
Dealing with a property dispute in your family? Don't let a fake document take away what's rightfully yours. Talk to SPJ Advocates before it's too late.
Worried about your property's ownership? Don't wait for a legal notice to find out. Get a title verification done today.
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