Karnataka high court: Heirs’ different residences no bar to family tree certificate

The Karnataka high court has ruled that revenue authorities cannot reject applications for genealogy, family tree or survivor certificates solely because some family members live outside their territorial jurisdiction. Justice MGS Kamal said the determining factor should be the place where the original ancestor had his permanent abode before death. If at least the claimants reside within the officer's jurisdiction and a local enquiry reveals no objection, refusal would be arbitrary, the court held.

The order came on a petition by BS Abhinandan Kumar, whose application for a genealogy certificate covering 11 family members was rejected by the sub-divisional tahsildar, Tavarakere, and the assistant commissioner, Bengaluru South. The tahsildar had cited failure to furnish address proof of family members and death certificates of deceased relatives. Justice Kamal set aside the December 27, 2021 decision, noting that such certificates are issued based on information from surviving heirs and verified through local enquiry by revenue officials. The court directed the tahsildar to issue the certificate subject to Kumar furnishing details as per a government circular of 17 July 2026, within the timeframe under the Sakala scheme.