(1) The District Judge shall in any case in which he proposes to proceed under sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) of section 373, and may, in any other case, require, as a condition precedent to the granting of a certificate, that the person to whom he proposes to make the grant shall give to the Judge a bond with one or more surety or sureties, or other sufficient security, for rendering an account of debts and securities received by him and for indemnity of persons who may be entitled to the whole or any part of those debts and securities.
(2) The Judge may, on application made by petitioner and on cause shown to his satisfaction, and upon such terms as to security, or providing that the money received be paid into Court, or otherwise, as he thinks fit, assign the bond or other security to some proper person, and that person shall thereupon be entitled to sue thereon in his own name as if it had been originally given to him instead of to the Judge of the Court, and to recover, as trustee for all persons interested, such amount as may be recoverable thereunder.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 375
Section 375 empowers the District Judge to require the grantee of a succession certificate to furnish security with sureties as an indemnity for the protection of other rightful claimants.
Because the inquiry under Section 373 is summary and does not determine final title, the indemnity bond under Section 375 ensures that if rival heirs subsequently establish their title in a regular civil suit, they can recover their rightful share directly from the grantee and his sureties. Under sub-section (2), the court may assign the bond to an aggrieved party to sue upon breach of condition.
Section 375 is the primary shield for contesting heirs who lose the summary contest under Section 373. Counsel for the losing claimant should immediately urge the court under Section 375 to mandate a substantial surety bond before the certificate is delivered to the grantee. This guarantees that the money collected from the bank will remain secured pending the outcome of a regular partition or title suit.