RANJIT KUMAR JAIN Vs. KAMAL KUMAR CHOWDHURY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present suit had been filed by Ranjit Rumar Jain against Kamal Kumar Chowdhury and Ratan Kumar Chowdhury for a declaration that the Registered Indenture of Settlement dated February 14, 1971 executed by Radha Debi (also known as Radha Rani Debi) since deceased, was valid and subsisting, for a declaration that the plaintiff being the sole Trustee of the said Trust was exclusively entitled to administer the premises No. 14/4, Sudhir Chatterjee Street, Calcutta as a Trust property, possession of the said premises and also for a declaration that the Wills dated 9th July, 1974 and 15th July, 1974, claimed to have been executed by the said Radha Rani Debi, since deceased, have no effect or bearing on the said premises. Under those circumstances, the defendants were not entitled to administer the said premises as executors under those Wills and for other consequential reliefs.

(2.) The plaintiff's case was that the plaintiff was the natural born son of one Budhmull Jain (also known as Budhmull Nahata), since deceased. On or about January 30, 1956, the plaintiff was adopted by his maternal grandfather, Shew Karan Jain (Kalhotia) (also known as Shew Raj Singh). The said adoption of the plaintiff was duly recorded in a Registered Deed of Adoption executed by the said adoptive father of the plaintiff. According to the plaintiff, Shew Karan had left behind no other sons -- either natural born or adopted except the plaintiff.

(3.) One Radha Rani Debi (also known as Musstt. Radha Debi) since deceased was in the exclusive keeping of the said adoptive father of the plaintiff and was seized and possessed of the premises No. 14/4, Sudhir Chatterjee Street, Calcutta. Under a duly registered Indenture of Settlement executed by the said Radha Rani Debi on the 14th February, 1971, the said Radha Rani Debi since deceased settled the premises No. 14/4, Sudhir Chatterjee Street, Calcutta upon Trust upon various terms and conditions more fully contained in the Indenture of Settlement full particulars whereof will appear from the original Deed of Settlement dated 14th February, 1971. The salient terms and conditions of the said Settlement were that the settlor herself would become the first Trustee of the said Trust and she duly granted transfer of the assets and conveyed the said premises to the Trustee. On the date of the retirement of the said trustee and in such capacity the adoptive father of the plaintiff was to become the Trustee and failing him, his eldest son would be ihe Trustee of the said Trust property and thereupon the said premises shall vest in him. Shew Karan Jain, the adoptive father of the plaintiff, died on 18th December, 1972 and Radha Debi died on 17th July, 1974. According to the plaintiff, the said Trust was acted upon by the Settlor Trustee herself inasmuch as she realised rents, issues and profits of the said premises till her death. Shortly prior to the death of the Settlor Trustee, the defendants entered into, the said premises. It was the case of the plaintiff, as pleaded in the Plaint, that the defendant No. 1 was contending to be sole executor of a Will dated 15th July, 1974, claimed to have teen executed by Radha Rani Debi, whereas his son, the defendant No. 2 contended that he was the sole executor of another Will executed by Radha Rani Debi on 9th July, 1974. According to the plaintiff, the defendants had been wrongfully contending that the premises had been disposed of by Radha Rani Debi during her lifetime under those two Wills. However, it was the case of the plaintiff that the Settlor, Radha Rani Debi had no power or authority to revoke the said Trust and dispose of the property under the Will inasmuch as the said Deed of Trust and/or Settlement was executed by her, duly registered and acted upon by and between the parties. Inasmuch as it was an irrevocable Deed of Settlement, it was not within the power of Radha Rani Debi after the execution of the document to dispose of the property, which formed a part of the said settlement by her Will.