Probate and letters of administration are subject to Article 137 limitation when the right to apply first accrues.

Proceedings for probate or letters of administration under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 are governed by Article 137 of the Limitation Act, 1963, and the right to apply arises when it becomes necessary to approach the court. On the facts, the claimant knew of the rival testamentary claim and had already litigated the dispute by 1999, or at the latest when the related suits ended in 2004. A petition filed only in 2009 was therefore outside the three-year limitation period and not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether the petition for letters of administration was barred by limitation under Article 137 of the Limitation Act, 1963 and was therefore not maintainable.

Analysis: The petition concerned a testamentary claim based on an alleged will of 1995, while the petitioner had knowledge of a rival will and had already litigated the same controversy in civil proceedings from 1999. The Court held that proceedings for probate or letters of administration under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 are covered by Article 137, and that the right to apply accrues when it becomes necessary to approach the court. On the facts, that right arose at the latest in 1999, or at the latest when the related suits ended in 2004, whereas the present petition was filed only in 2009. The petition was therefore beyond the prescribed period of three years.

Conclusion: The petition was time barred and not maintainable.

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