JOWAND SINGH Vs. CHANDA SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal against an appellate judgment and decree of the Senior Subordinate Judge, Amritsar; dismissing the appeal against the decree of the Subordinate Judge in which it had been held that a gift made by a father of a small portion of his ancestral property in favour of his daughters was valid according to custom.

(2.) Chanda Singh, a Malli Jat of Muradpur in Tarn Taran Tahsil, made a gift of about 4 Kanals of land situate in Tarn Taran in favour of his daughters, Guro and Gauri. The plaintiff who is a real brother of the donor brought a suit to contest this gift. The trial Court held the gift to be valid and this was upheld on appeal to the Senior Subordinate Judge.

(3.) Plaintiff's counsel in appeal has submitted that the present Riwaj-i-am--of 1940 on which reliance has been placed by the Senior Subordinate Judge is of extraordinary nature and is opposed to general custom of the Punjab and therefore should not be relied upon and in support he has quoted a judgment, 'CHET SINGH v. BUR SINGH', AIR 1949 E P 209, where Question No. 52 of the Riwaj-i-am of 1940, which related to the absolute power of widows to make alienations of the self-acquired property of their husbands was held not to be a true statement of the existing custom. But the question to be decided in this case is dif-ferent and the statement of the custom as given in three Riwaj-i-ams of 1865, 1914 and 1940 shows a progressive acceptation of the increased power of gift of proprietors.