SHIBI Vs. GORKHIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a plaintiff's appeal against the dismissal of her suit by both the learned lower Courts.

(2.) The land in dispute originally belonged to Mansha Ram. On his death, it was inherited by his widow, who is the plaintiff-appellant. In 1917, she made a gift of it to her daughter Shrimati Reshmo orally. Shrimati Reshmo died on 22nd April, 1963. The question that arose was whether the suit land would then revert back to the plaintiff-appellant or would go to respondent No. 1, Gorkhia, who was the husband of Shrimati Reshmo and her heir according to the Hindu Law.

(3.) In the plaint, it was pleaded that Gorkhia was the husband of Shrimati Reshmo by Reet. The validity of the marriage was not impugned. The word 'reef simply means "custom". The pleading, therefore, was that the marriage of Shrimati Reshmo to Gorkhia was according to custom. The validity of the marriage not having been impugned, it was assumed in the trial Court that Gorkhia was the husband of Shrimati Reshmo and the trial Court proceeded on that assumption. For the first time before the lower appellate Court, the appellant contended that Gorkhia was not the husband of Shrimati Reshmo at all. The learned lower appellate Court, however, found that no such plea had been taken by the plaintiff-appellant in the trial Court. On the contrary, she admitted that Gorkhia was the husband of Shrimati Reshmo by 'reet' and this meant that he was her husband according to law.