‘KMC councillors to inquire before giving legal heir certificates’

Kolkata: With Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) councillors facing an apparent dilemma over whether they can issue legal heirship certificates without an affidavit sworn before a magistrate, Mayor Firhad Hakim suggested that a thorough inspection be conducted before issuing such a document.

During the monthly meeting on Friday, councillor Rupak Ganguly raised a question wherein he said that councillors generally issue legal heir certificates on the basis of an affidavit of declaration before a Judicial Magistrate of First Class (JMFC).

However, lately, he said that people have complained to him that when they are going to obtain such an affidavit, they are being asked to first produce the legal

heir certificate.

Ganguly questioned that in such a case, can councillors issue the legal heir certificate just on the basis of oral declaration by family members of the deceased owner and whether doing so can invite legal consequences for them.

Firhad Hakim said that generally councillors issue such certificates on the basis of trust and acquaintance. It is often that a councillor knows the owner’s family in his or her ward and thus, they issue such a certificate since many a time such a document becomes necessary for financial transactions. Obtaining a succession certificate takes time and hence the legal heir certificate serves the immediate purpose.

Hakim added that in case the councillor does not know the family, then an inspection ought to be conducted before issuing such a certificate. “Councillors should not issue such certificates blindly. A basic inquiry ought to be done before giving away such a certificate,” he said.

As per KMC rules, if a legal heir wishes to mutate the property in his or her name after the death of the owner, among the other documents required for Form A42, one is the affidavit of heirship. Such an affidavit ought to be one sworn before notary public or executive/ judicial magistrate.