In Brief
A widow claimed retiral benefits (pension, gratuity, etc.) after his wife's death as her sole successor. The deceased's nephews contested this by producing a will allegedly executed on the day of her death and nomination forms, claiming they were entitled to the benefits. The courts below upheld the will. The Supreme Court set aside those judgments, holding that the will was surrounded by highly suspicious circumstances: the testator's signature differed from her other signatures, she was terminally ill with liver cancer and hepatitis B, the will was signed on her deathbed while under a drip and hands were shivering, and it was executed hours before her death. The propounders failed to prove she executed it with free will and sound mind. The Court restored the husband's entitlement to all retiral benefits as the sole heir.
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