Disputes over property often turn on a single question: did this person really sign — or put a thumb impression on — this document? Wills, sale deeds, general powers of attorney, agreements to sell, receipts and family settlements are the documents most often challenged. What you do in the early weeks can decide whether that question can be answered reliably.
1. Locate the original and obtain copies
- Find out where the original is — with a party, filed in court, or deposited elsewhere.
- For a registered document, obtain a certified copy from the office of the Sub-Registrar. For sale documents, Section 32A of the Registration Act, 1908 requires the parties’ photographs and fingerprints to be affixed, which can matter in a thumb-impression dispute.
- If the original is on the court record, its inspection or examination may be sought with the Court’s permission.
2. Collect admitted signatures or impressions
The opinion is only as good as the comparison material. Look for documents signed by the person in the ordinary course, preferably made before the dispute arose and close in date to the disputed one:
- bank records — account-opening forms, specimen signature cards, cheques, withdrawal slips;
- pension, insurance, tax and employment papers;
- earlier registered deeds, agreements and affidavits;
- letters, diaries and registers in the person’s own hand.
Where the person has died, these earlier documents are usually the only standards available, so trace them early.
3. Know what has to be proved
- A will must be signed by the testator and attested by two witnesses (Section 63, Indian Succession Act, 1925). The person relying on the will has to prove its due execution, and any suspicious circumstances surrounding it.
- Handwriting and fingerprint opinion is one part of that proof — weighed by the Court with the evidence of witnesses and the circumstances.
4. What an examination can and cannot show
- It can show whether a signature or thumb impression is by the same person as the admitted ones, whether entries were added or altered, and whether different inks were used.
- It can often show the order in which entries were made.
- It cannot, as a rule, give the exact date on which ink was put on paper. Be cautious of anyone who promises that.
5. Take advice early
Speak to your advocate about the proceedings — probate, a civil suit or a criminal complaint — and obtain the expert’s opinion before the evidence stage, so that the right documents are summoned and the right questions are asked.
This article is general information, not legal advice. The law that applies depends on the facts and the proceedings; please consult your advocate.