Probate court control over administrator pendente lite justified refusal of ad interim stay over committee oversight order.

Ad interim stay of an order appointing an administrator pendente lite and directing committee oversight was refused because the probate court's power under Section 247 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 was not shown to have been exceeded on the materials then available. The Court noted that the administrator pendente lite acts under the immediate control of the probate court and represents the estate, while voting rights and shareholder control are governed by the Companies Act and controlling interest follows shareholding. As the impugned order was not shown to be perverse or outside the probate court's domain, it was allowed to operate pending final consideration of the stay applications and appeals.

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Issues: Whether ad interim stay of the impugned order appointing and directing the administrator pendente lite committee was warranted, in view of the probate court's power under Section 247 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 and the asserted voting and management rights in the companies concerned.

Analysis: The interim challenge was confined to whether the impugned directions should be stayed pending final hearing. The administrator pendente lite represents the estate and acts under the immediate control of the probate court, within the limits of Section 247 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925. The Court also noted that voting rights and shareholder control are regulated by the Companies Act and that controlling interest is incident to shareholding; on the materials then available, the impugned order was neither shown to be perverse nor outside the probate court's domain. The Court found that the balance at this stage did not justify staying the order and that the matter required further consideration at the final hearing rather than an ad interim restraint.

Conclusion: Ad interim stay was refused, and the impugned order was allowed to operate pending final consideration of the stay applications and appeals.

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