JUDGMENT : S. Acharya, J. - This is an appeal against the judgment and decree in Original Suit No. 37 of 1961 passed by the learned District Judge, Cuttack, decreeing the suit with costs. The suit arose out of an application by the Plaintiff Respondent No. 1 above named, u/s 278, Indian Secession Act for the grant of Letters of Administration annexing a copy of the will executed by late Joseph Naik, the father of the Plaintiff, with regard to his (Joseph Naik's) estate. 2. The averments in the said application are mainly as follows: Joseph Naik, the father of the Plaintiff-Respondent No. 1, died at Cuttack on 23-5-1943 leaving the immoveable properties described in the schedule attached to the petition. He had executed his last Will and testament on 14.4.1942 which was registered on 22.10.1945. The Plaintiff claims to be the only legal heir of the deceased testator being his only son and also claims to be a legatee under the Will. 3. The two unmarried daughters, namely Biswamohini Naik and Kamalakamini Naik, of the deceased testator and one of his married daughters Mrs. Sarojini Sahu, contested the above petition. The above named two unmarried daughters, the Appellants in this appeal and referred to in the impugned judgment as Respondent Nos. 3. The two unmarried daughters, namely Biswamohini Naik and Kamalakamini Naik, of the deceased testator and one of his married daughters Mrs. Sarojini Sahu, contested the above petition. The above named two unmarried daughters, the Appellants in this appeal and referred to in the impugned judgment as Respondent Nos. 3 and 4, filed a joint written statement and contested the suit mainly on the grounds: that the Will in question is not the outcome of the free will and action of the deceased testator Joseph Naik ; that the testator was ill for about two years before his death and he never wanted to execute a Will for devising settlement of his property; that the Plaintiff Jibanananda Naik, taking advantage of the ill health and helpless condition of the testator, prevailed upon him to execute a Will as desired by the Plaintiff in order to derive illegal benefit out of the same; that the testator was not in a sound and disposing state of mind and body when he executed the Will and so no attempt was made to get the will registered during his life time mostly on account of the fact that the Plaintiff was apprehensive that the registering authorities might not register the document because of the and physical condition of the testator; that the Plaintiff was not the only legal heir of the testator; and that the Plaintiff purposefully suppressed material facts in his petition in order to get the Letters of Administration so as to make illegal claim to the prejudice of the opposite parties. Mrs. Sarojini Sahu, a married daughter of the testator, filed her objections mostly on the same line as that of the above two unmarried daughters. 4. The learned District Judge, on a the rough discussion of the evidence on record, the materials and the circumstances of the case, found that the Will executed by late Joseph Naik was in the custody of Biswamohini Naik, Appellant No. 1, that the Plaintiff-Respondent No. 1 never exercised any undue influence over the testator; that the said Will was a valid one and was the last will and testament of late Joseph Naik and he was in sound and disposing state of mind at the time of executing it. The Court however found that the Plaintiff-Respondent No. 1 Jibanananda Naik is not the sole legal heir of the deceased testator the rough he is a residuary legatee. He ultimately decreed the suit by holding that, the Plaintiff-Respondent No. 1 Jibanananda Naik is entitled to Letters of Administration with a copy of the Will annexed. 5. It is mainly contended on behalf of the Appellants that the evidence on record does not justify the findings, and that the certified copy of the Will should not have been admitted in evidence and Letters of Administration should not have been granted on the certified copy Ext. 1 without the Plaintiff Respondent No. 1 taking proper steps for the production of the original. 'The Plaintiff testifies to the fact that he caned for the production of the original Will which is in the custody of Appellant No. 1. Moreover, Section 240 of the Indian Succession Act provides for a case where the original Will is not available for production at the time when Letters of Administration are applied for. In such a case on the reasonable belief that there is a Will in existence, Letters of Administration can be granted though the same will be limited only till the Will or an authenticated copy of the same is produced. That being so, if and when an authenticated copy of the Will itself is produced, as in this case, Letters of Administration can undoubtedly be granted, and the same will be effective for all intents and purposes. In this case there are sufficient and reliable materials on record regarding the fact that late Joseph Naik left a Will which was registered at the instance of Appellant No. 1 Biswamohini, a daughter of late Joseph Naik. The endorsement of the D.S.R. as seen from the certified copy of the Will shows that the original Will left by Joseph Naik was presented for registration by Biswamohini Naik, a daughter of Joseph Naik. The D.S.R., before registering the Will, took the precaution of examining Mr. Janathan Mohanty and Mr. Mohit Mohan Das, and be was satisfied on their evidence that the said Will was really executed by Joseph Naik and that, Biswamohini Naik who presented the Will for registration was the daughter of the testator Joseph Naik. The above named Mr. The D.S.R., before registering the Will, took the precaution of examining Mr. Janathan Mohanty and Mr. Mohit Mohan Das, and be was satisfied on their evidence that the said Will was really executed by Joseph Naik and that, Biswamohini Naik who presented the Will for registration was the daughter of the testator Joseph Naik. The above named Mr. Janathan Mohanty, a retired Professor of the Ravenshaw College, was cited as witness No. 1 for the Plaintiff in the Court below and he testified to the facts that late Joseph Naik himself wrote out and executed the Will by signing the same in the presence of Prof. Mohanty and late Mohit Mohan Das, who both attested the 'Will in the presence of the testator. Prof. Mohanty further stated that he had another opportunity to see the Will for the second time when there was some dispute between the Plaintiff and his sisters which dispute was referred to an Arbitration Board in which he was a member. Prof. Mohanty asserted as follows: I remember the essence of the documents and so without the original 1 can say referring to the copy that it is a just copy of the original and more so when I compared both at the time of arbitration. Nothing could be elicited from him to show his interestedness with the Plaintiff therein. There is not even an iota of suggestion to that effect. Prof. Mohanty was from the same community to which the parties belong and was a respectable gentleman of the society. From the tenor of his evidence there is no doubt that the testator late Joseph Naik executed a Will which was presented for registration by Biswamohini Naik, Appellant No. 1, on 17.9.1945 and was actually registered on 22-10-1945. Sri N.C. Naik, the then Deputy Secretary to the Government of Orissa, Community Development Department, a cousin brother of both Appellant No. 1 and Respondent No. 1, was examined as witness No. 2 for the Plaintiff. He deposed to the fact that late Joseph Naik bad told him about his executing a Will which he bad an opportunity to see in the custody of Biswamohini Naik when it was produced before an Arbitration Board to settle a dispute between Jibanananda and his sisters. Mr. N.C. Naik according to Prof. Mohanty, was present during the arbitration of the above dispute. Mr. Mr. N.C. Naik according to Prof. Mohanty, was present during the arbitration of the above dispute. Mr. Naik asserted that "Ext.1 is the copy of the original Will." There is nothing to disbelieve this witness. Sri S. Sahu, 11 witness for the Appellants herein, is the second son-in-law of the testator, being the husband of one of the daughters contesting the Will, and is a retired police officer. He admitted to have seen and gone through the Will executed by late Joseph Naik sometime after it was registered. He also stated that there was a cause for an arbitration over the Will. 6. From all that has been discussed above, it is satisfactorily established that late Joseph Naik executed his last Will and testament which wag registered after his death on being presented by his daughter Biswamohini Naik. Appellant No. 1 in this appeal, and that Ext. 1 is the certified copy of the said Will It is just possible that Biswamohini, who was in possession of the original Will at the time of registration and arbitration, may still have the Will with her, and as she is contesting this case on the said Will, she is interested in not producing the same. 7. It is now to be determined as to whether the testator while executing the said Will was in a sound and disposing state of mind, and whether he understood the nature and effect of the depositions made in the Will and put his signature to the document of his own free will. On this aspect also there is cogent and reliable evidence on record. Prof. Mohanty, witness No. 1 for the Plaintiff, deposed to the effect that- "When Joseph executed the Will in question he was mentally and physically fit. He was also fully aware of its contents for after writing the same he read it out also. To my knowledge there was no undue influence exercised in the execution of the Will." He in cross-examination stated that late Joseph was only having asthma before his death but had no other complications, and that both of them used to meet each other almost every evening. Sri Naik (Pt. W. 2) likewise stated that he was told by the testator that he executed a Will, and at that time, though he was Buffering from asthma, he was perfectly in sound state of mind. Sri Naik (Pt. W. 2) likewise stated that he was told by the testator that he executed a Will, and at that time, though he was Buffering from asthma, he was perfectly in sound state of mind. In cross-examination he said that late Joseph Naik was suffering from chronic asthma but only on some occasions he had a few acute attacks. Mr. Sahu, witness No. 2 for the Appellants herein, and son-in-law of the testator, states only about the chronic asthmatic condition of the testator, and does not any anything about his mental incapacity relevant for the purpose. Thus none of these three important and reliable witnesses speaks anything adverse about the mental condition of the testator from which it can be said that at the time of the execution of the Will he was not in a sound and fit state of mind to understand the nature of his act and its effects. The doctor, witness No. 4 for the Appellants, had occasion to examine the testator only four of five times in course of one year preceding the testator's death, and he too speaks only about the testator's asthmatic condition and the frequent spasms in his later days, without mentioning anything about his mental infirmity in any manner. Rather, according to him, testator Joseph was able to go about during the last year of his life. There is absolutely nothing in his evidence to show that the testator, in or about the time when he executed the Will, was not in a sound and disposing state of mind so as not to understand the nature and effect of the dispositions which he was making by the Will. Thus the finding of the learned District Judge that the testator was in a sound and disposing state of mind at the time when he executed the Will is well founded. 8. There is absolutely nothing reliable on record to show that late Joseph Naik was tutored, prevailed upon, coerced and or forced by anybody, much less by the Plaintiff, in the execution of the Will. That being so and from all that has been discussed above, it becomes evident that late Joseph Naik acted on his own free will and discretion in drawing up and executing the Will, and no undue influence was exercised on him in the execution of the Will. 9. That being so and from all that has been discussed above, it becomes evident that late Joseph Naik acted on his own free will and discretion in drawing up and executing the Will, and no undue influence was exercised on him in the execution of the Will. 9. Thus it is established beyond doubt that Ext. 1 is the authenticated copy of the original 'Will, properly and validly executed by late Joseph Naik in a sound and disposing state of mind acting on his own free will and discretion. 10. On the above findings, as the existence of the original Will executed by late Joseph Naik as his last Will and testament has been established beyond doubt, and Ext. 1 is proved to be an authenticated copy of the same, the grant of Letters of Administration on the said authenticated copy of the Will itself is sanctioned by law u/s 240 of the Indian Succession Act, the Letters of Administration so granted are valid and effective for all intents and purposes. 11. The Appellants have not challenged the findings of the Court below on any other ground. 12. In this view of the matter, we do not find any merit in this appeal which is accordingly dismissed with costs. A. Misra, J. 13. I agree. Final Result : Dismissed