Judgment :- 1. A long and bitter litigation that strained and injured many relationships and took many unexpected turns, has come to a quiet close today. 2. One A.A.D. Luiz alias Tony, a Roman Catholic Anglo Indian, had amassed a fortune, married a lady by name Dorothy but gradually diverted his amorous attentions to another by name Ammu Amma. By the first he had no issue, estrangement and separation having marred their matriomony, but by the other with whom flirtation flowered into abiding affection and quasi-conjugal nexus, Viju, a girl, was born. The story of Tony snapped suddenly on 27-12-1962 when he died of heart failure at Ernakulam; but a man of wealth, on his death, becomes the cynosure of his relatives who had left him well alone when alive. Whatever that be, the brothers, widow, sweet-heart and daughter and a number of others, evinced immediate interest in the estate the deceased had left behind. Disputes erupted, forensic proceedings issued and Tony dead became the apple of discord in Court among those near to him, not as to how to honour the memory of the departed Luiz but as to who should lay licit or covetous hands upon his considerable assets and so three original petitions came to be filed. They are: "(1) OP. 1479 of 1963 filed by Mrs. Dorothy Luiz (Nee McLeod) claiming herself to be the widow of the deceased for the grant to her of letters of administration of the deceased's estate on the ground that A.A.D. Luiz died intestate. (2) OP. 705 of 1964 filed by Dr. M. V. Francis Chithalan for the grant of probate of the will Ex P-1 dated 26 121961 alleged to have been executed by the deceased, claiming himself to be the executor therein. (3) OP. 826 of 1964 filed by C. Ammu Amma for the grant of probate of the will Ext. D-1 dated 2121960 alleged to have been executed by the deceased, claiming herself to be the executor therein." All the Original Petitions came to be tried together and were disposed of by a common judgment on the basis of common evidence. The learned Single Judge held Ex. Dl to be genuine and Ex. P1 to be concocted and directed the issue of probate of Ex. Dl to Ammu Amma thereby allowing OP. 826 of 1964. Consequentially, the learned judge dismissed the other two petitions. 3. The learned Single Judge held Ex. Dl to be genuine and Ex. P1 to be concocted and directed the issue of probate of Ex. Dl to Ammu Amma thereby allowing OP. 826 of 1964. Consequentially, the learned judge dismissed the other two petitions. 3. Appeals were carried successfully, in a limited sense, because the Division Bench set aside findings of the learned Single Judge and directed a retrial of the petitions. 4. After remand, the whole litigation had a second birth and parties, aided by good counsel, had second thoughts on the futility of acrimonious and expensive forensic battles. After preliminary hearing before me, it became apparent that a serious move to settle the entire dispute was afoot and I facilitated it by postponing further steps in the case; and now a razi has been filed in Court, followed by a registered partition deed. What is more soul-satisfying to a judge than to see feuding parties compose their conflicts, bury the hatchet and become friendly again, assisted in the process by the statesmanship of counsel? Justice has an aspect of relativity; and what all disputants, on fair and competent advice, accept as just is the best that human institutions can dispense. I have always regarded that the finest hour for the bar and the Bench arrives when a long drawn-out and extremely bitter litigation has been brought to a peaceful end by mild suggestions from the Bench, catalytic action by advocates and sensible response from the parties. I record my deep appreciation of the counsel appearing for the various parties in the present case for having produced what, I am assured by counsel, is a reasonable and just distribution of the assets of the deceased, made in a spirit of harmony and with a wish for well-being of those close to the deceased. 5. Although a partition deed has been registered and produced before me, the petition, CMP. No. 3919 of 1959, (OP. No. 826 of 1964) does not pray for any substantive orders on the original petitions. Indeed, all the original petitions are non-contentious, now more than ever before, because there is no dispute whatever surviving between the parties. 6. Proceedings where parties have gone into contest may become quiescent by the termination of the contest whereupon it becomes non-contentious. (Rule 4 of The Indian Succession Rules (Kerala) 1968 hereinafter referred to as the Rules). Indeed, all the original petitions are non-contentious, now more than ever before, because there is no dispute whatever surviving between the parties. 6. Proceedings where parties have gone into contest may become quiescent by the termination of the contest whereupon it becomes non-contentious. (Rule 4 of The Indian Succession Rules (Kerala) 1968 hereinafter referred to as the Rules). Even otherwise, the normal course in this case the proceedings have not been all too regular, as the appellate Bench was at pains to explain is for an application to be followed by the issuance of citations to rightful parties and filing of caveats and supporting affidavits. Notice of such affidavit shall be given by the caveator to the petitioner. The stage is then set for a show-down between the concerned parties and the proceedings assume a contentious complexion and have to be converted into a suit. Thereafter R.26 of the Rules governs the situation and the petition for probate or Letters of Administration will be registered as a plaint by the petitioner, who will thereafter figure as plaintiff, against the caveator who shall be treated as the defendant, the affidavit filed by him being the written statement in the suit. So far as we are concerned, even though the proceedings in the case have flared up into legal battles there has been no proper citation, no caveat, no affidavit; and a lapsing of the whole controversy into non-contentiousness before conversion into a suit is mooted. In these circumstances, there is no need to treat the proceedings before me as anything other than non-contentious and so I direct a to be proceeded with as non-contentious proceedings, not requiring to be converted into suits. It is perfectly open to the petitioners to say that they do not press their petitions. Since all the advocates appearing for the petitioners in all the three Original Petitions have represented to me that their O.Ps. be dismissed I dismiss them all, without costs. All the parties in the various O.Ps. have been brought on record in O.P. No. 826 of 1964 and the present CMP. has been filed in that O.P. The only prayer that is pressed before me is not one for any substantive relief in the original petitions but an ancillary direction consequent on the dismissal of the O.Ps. All the parties in the various O.Ps. have been brought on record in O.P. No. 826 of 1964 and the present CMP. has been filed in that O.P. The only prayer that is pressed before me is not one for any substantive relief in the original petitions but an ancillary direction consequent on the dismissal of the O.Ps. It is seen that the estate is in the hands of an advocate receiver appointed in CMP. No. 1748 of 1968 in A.S. No. 98 of 1966 (the appeal directed against the order in O.P. No. 705 of 1964) after removing Smt. C. Ammu Amma who had been first appointed receiver. Now that the proceedings are coming to a close by dismissal, the estate need not continue in the hands of the officer of the Court. The only order that can justly be passed, and in this all the parties in all the O.Ps. through their advocates are at one, is to direct the receiver to transfer, by taking necessary steps, and hand over possession of all the assets, movable and immovable, in his hands to the respective parties to whom the partition deed (marked now by me as Ex. Cl in this petition) allots. The receiver will carry out this direction and make a report to the Court after notice to all the parties. 7. The petitions are disposed of as above, with the hope that even as peace for the departed may be promoted by this settlement of property squabbles, the peace and friendliness among the parties will be long-lasting. There will be no order as to costs.