GYANDERA KUMAR Vs. RAJA MOHAMMAD MUSTAFA ALI KHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS reference has been made in First Appeal No. 456 of 1956 , which was filed by the two appellants, namely, Smt. Brij Raj Kumari, widow of Th. Gajendra Shah, and Th. Bikram Shah, son of Th. Gajendra Shah. The respondent in this appeal is Raja Mohamad Mustafa Ali Khan. The suit out of which this appeal arises was filed by Raja Mohammad Mustafa Ali Khan, as plaintiff against Smt. Brij Raj Kumari and Th. Bikram Shah, as defendants Nos. 1 and 2 on the basis of a mortgage deed dated the 29th January, 1946. On me date of the execution of the aforesaid deed the estate of the appellants was under the superintendence of the Court of Wards, Shahjananpur, and the estate of the respondent was under the superintendence " of the Court of Wards, Gonda. Accordingly, the mortgagor in the deed of mortgage was the Court of Wards, Shahjehanpur, charged with the superintendence of the estate or Smt. Brij Raj Kumari and Th. Bikram Shah, and the mortgagee in the deed was the Court of Wards, Gonda, charged with the superintendence of the estate of Raja Mohammad Mustafa Ali Khan, It is not necessary to specify the terms of the mortgage as they are not relevant for our purpose.

(2.) THE present appeal arises out of the suit filed for the enforcement of the aforesaid mortgage by Raja Mohammad Mustafa All Khan against Smt. Brij Raj Kumari and Th. Bikram Shah on the 11th March 1955. The main pleas taken in this suit on behalf of the defendants were that they were entitled to the benefit of the U. P. Zamindars' Debt Reduction Act, and the provisions of Sub-clause (vi) of Clause (f) of Section 2 of the said Act are invalid, being in conflict with Article 14 of the Constitution. Issues Nos. 2 and 6 framed by the trial Court relate to these pleas. They run as follows:--

(3.) THE two questions arising in the case are: