RAMESHWAR BAKSH SINGH Vs. BALRAJ KUAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON June 4, 1918, one Babu Indarsen Singh, a taluqdar E of the estate of Dhaurwa situate in the Province of Oudh, died, leaving him surviving two widows, Annapurna Kuar and Balraj Kuar, and two daughters, namely Brijraj Kuar by his deceased wife Jadunath Kuar, and Hemraj Kuar by his wife Balraj Kuar. The senior widow, Annapurna Kuar, succeeded to B the entire property of her deceased husband ; and on November 22, 1923, she made a will by which she devised the property in dispute to the junior widow, Balraj Kuar, for her life, and, after the latter's death, to the two daughters of her husband in equal shares as absolute owners.

(2.) IN June, 1929, Annapurna Kuar died, and the estate left by her was claimed by the surviving widow, but her claim was resisted by the sons of Babu INdarsen Singh's daughter, Brijraj Kuar. The revenue authorities, who dealt with the dispute in the first instance, accepted the counterclaim made by the sons of Brijraj Kuar ; and directed that the mutation of the estate should be effected in their favour.

(3.) THE trial Judge, after an elaborate discussion of the terms of both the will and the codicil, reached the conclusion that the testator gave his senior widow an absolute estate of inheritance, and that conclusion has been endorsed on appeal by a division bench of the Chief Court of Oudh. On this appeal preferred by the defendants, their Lordships have carefully examined the scope and effect of the various clauses contained in the will and also the codicil in the light of the arguments advanced by the learned counsel on both sides ; and are not prepared to dissent from the concurrent decisions of the Courts in India.