Background: A, a Muslim Indian national died intestate. He never married and had no children. His only brother, B, a Pakistani national was dead. B’s 3 adult children, one son and two daughters (Pakistani, Muslim) were due to inherit A’s moveable and immoveable property in India. B’s son, C, went to India and without informing his sisters, filed a suit claiming to be the only successor of A and pleaded that he should inherit all of A’s property. The High Court in India agreed with him and declared him the sole successor of A. The High Court put all of A’s property in his control. Thus C acquired the property on false pretense. All this happened 11 years ago. The sisters have come to know of C’s illegal act in the past few months. C has not himself informed the sisters of his act nor given them their shares from their uncle’s estate. He does not respond to written requests for information on the matter.
Questions:
(1) By falsely presenting himself as the only successor of A, has C committed an offence under the Indian Penal Code?
(2) Can C be prosecuted under the Indian Penal Code. He is still the owner of the property of his uncle although he lives in Pakistan.
(3) Can the sisters, or one of the sisters approach the High Court to over-turn the decision and recognise them as co-inheritors of their uncle’s property?
(4) What other remedies are available in India to the sisters?
