KHIALI RAM Vs. SANT LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a second appeal by the defendants who are brothers inter se and has arisen from a suit for possession of agricultural land measuring 32 Kanals by preemption. The land in dispute was sold by Ladha Ram, the paternal grandfather of the plaintiff-respondent, in favour of the defendants on the 1st of June, 1955 for rs. 4,000. The plaintiff sought to pre-empt the sale on the ground of his relationship with the vendor. The suit was resisted by the defendants with the plea that they were occupying the land as tenants under the vendor on the date of the sale and that, therefore, the sale could not be pre-empted. This plea found favour with the trial Court but was negatived in appeal by Shri. A. N. Aggarwal, Additional district Judge, Hissar, who rejected as false the relevant entries in khasra girdawari Exhibit D-2, according to which the defendants were in possession of the land in dispute as tenants under the vendor during the agricultural year 1964-65.

(2.) THE case of the appellants before me is that the learned Additional District judge has misinterpreted the evidence and drawn wrong inferences therefrom and that on a correct appreciation thereof the khasra girdawari entries must be held to be fully reliable. After hearing learned counsel for the parties, I am of the opinion that the contention raised by the learned counsel for the appellants merits acceptance.

(3.) THE land in dispute is comprised of Killas Nos. 5, 6, 15 and 16 of rectangle No. 289. According to the entries in khasra girdawari Exhibit D-2, Killa Nos. 5 and 6 were in possession of one Kirta as a tenant under the vendor while the other two killa numbers were in the cultivating possession of the vendor himself prior to the agricultural year 1964-65. For the Kharif crop of that year the following entry was made in respect of all the four Killas on the 6th November, 1964: