PRITAM SINGH Vs. GURDIAL KAUR AND ANR.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) FACTS giving rise to this Letters Patent Appeal under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent from the judgment of a learned Single Judge of this Court may briefly be stated, but before doing so, it is desirable to reproduce the relevant pedigree table:

(2.) IN June, 1960, the suit out of which the present appeal has arisen was instituted by Smt. Gurdial Kaur and Smt. Harnam Kaur against Pritam Singh. Smt. Gurdial Kaur based her claim on the gift as well as on her right as a next heir both to Harnam Singh and Smt. Harnam Kaur. In the alternative, Smt. Harnam Kaur based her claim on her ownership. Smt. Harnam Kaur's claim was negatived but Smt. Gurdial Kaur's suit was decreed by the Court of first instance and affirmed on appeal by the learned District Judge as also on further appeal by a learned Single Judge of this Court.

(3.) ON behalf of the Appellant, it has been urged that by virtue of the declaratory decree obtained by Pritam Singh in March, 1051, the gift made by Hamam Singh and Harnam Kaur was determined to be" void with the result that Smt. Gurdial Kaur cannot base any title on the said gift. It has further been contended that Smt. Harnam Kaur, having consented to the gift made in favour of Gurdial Kaur, has precluded herself from succeeding to the estate of Harnam Singh with the result that the Appellant should be considered to be the only heir left, who is entitled to succeed to Harnam Singh's estate. A further point sought to be made by the counsel is based on the dismissal of Harnam Kaur's suit by the trial Court against which no appeal has been preferred by her.