(1) A succession certificate (hereinafter in this Part referred to as a certificate) shall not be granted under this Part with respect to any debt or security to which a right is required by section 212 or section 213 to be established by letters of administration or probate:
Provided that: nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to prevent the grant of a certificate to any person claiming to be entitled to the effects of a deceased Indian Christian, or to any part thereof, with respect to any debt or security, by reason that a right thereto can be established by letters of administration under this Act.
(2) For the purposes of this Part, "security" means-
(a) any promissory note, debenture, stock or other security of the Central Government or of a State Government;
(b) any bond, debenture, or annuity charged by Act of Parliament 1[of the United Kingdom] on the revenues of India;
(c) any stock or debenture of, or share in, a company or other incorporated institution;
(d) any debenture or other security for money issued by, or on behalf of, a local authority;
(e) any other security which the 2[State Government] may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a security for the purposes of this Part.
Provided that nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to prevent the grant of a certificate to any person to whom a grant of letters of administration with a Will annexed is required or permitted by this Act to be made.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 370
Section 370 establishes the statutory boundaries of succession certificates, strictly restricting their grant to debts and securities, while barring certificates for debts where probate or letters of administration are mandatory under Section 212 or 213.
Where mandatory probate is required by law, parties cannot bypass testamentary probate through a summary succession certificate.
Under sub-section (2), the section defines 'security' exhaustively: government promissory notes, debentures, stocks or shares in companies, bonds, and securities issued by statutory local authorities. Crucially, Section 370 confines the remedy strictly to movable debts and securities. A succession certificate CANNOT BE GRANTED for immovable property. Any attempt to obtain a succession certificate regarding land, houses, or agricultural tenancy is completely without jurisdiction.
Section 370 is a fundamental jurisdictional boundary. Litigators frequently see applications filed before Civil Judges seeking a 'succession certificate' for an ancestral agricultural land or a family flat. Counsel should immediately raise a preliminary objection under Section 370: the court has zero jurisdiction to issue a succession certificate for immovable property. The correct remedy for immovables is a civil suit for declaration and partition.