(1.) A suit filed by the plaintiff-appellants for a declaration of title or in the alternative for possession of the land in dispute was dismissed by the trial court and the first appeal filed by the plaintiffs had also remained unsuccessful. The plaintiffs have therefore, come to this Court in second appeal under Section 100 of the code of the Civil Procedure.
(2.) DHARAM Singh, the first cousin of the plaintiff-appellants was a joint owner with the appellants, of the land in dispute. He owned a half share while the other half share belonged to the appellants. Dharam Singh died on August 28, 1944 and the mutation of succession, copy Exhibit P-7 was attested in favour of Smt. Ram Kaur defendant-respondent who was described as the widow the deceased during those mutation proceedings. The mutation order had been duly attested in favour of the defendant-respondent in an open gathering of the village on December 19, 1946 and there is a note in the register of mutations that the appellants had filed an appeal against that mutation of succession and that this appeal had been dismissed on December 18, 1947.
(3.) THE dispute about succession to Dharam Singh's half share in the land was not agitated in any Court for a period of more than twelve years until the present suit was filed by the plaintiff-appellants in October, 1960. It was alleged that Ram Kaur respondent was not the lawfully wedded wife of the deceased and that she had no right to succeed to Dharam Singh's half share in the land. The plaintiffs claimed to be in possession and sought a declaration that they were owners of the entire land. In the alternative a decree of possession of the deceased's half share in the land in dispute had been prayed for.