GIANO Vs. SUNDER SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is plaintiff's appeal against the judgment and decrees of the Courts below whereby her suit for possession has been dismissed.

(2.) The case of the plaintiff is that one Ganga Ram son of Harnam was the last male holder of the property in suit. He died on 19.2.1973 without leaving behind any issue or widow inasmuch as his wife Bhuro also died on the same day. Claiming herself to be the real sister of Ganga Ram (deceased), the plaintiff has averred that she is the sole heir to succeed to the estate of Ganga Ram. It is alleged that after the death of Ganga Ram and his wife, the defendants took possession of the suit land measuring 175 Bighas 8 Biswas forcibly in the absence of the plaintiff. According to the plaintiff, Ganga Ram (deceased) did not execute any Will and that he had no right to alienate the suit property by Will because the suit property was ancestral in the hands of Ganga Ram. Ganga Ram (deceased) was said to be Jat by caste and governed by customary law in the matter of alienation and according to custom he was not competent to bequeath the suit property. It was, therefore, stated that the Will was bogus and illegal and was not binding upon the rights of the plaintiff. Since the defendants did not admit the claim of the plaintiff and refused to deliver possession of the suit property to her, she filed the present suit.

(3.) The defendants resisted the suit. It was denied that the plaintiff is the sister of Ganga Ram. It was also denied that Ganga Ram left no wife. It was stated that Ganga Ram had another wife named Shrimati Nando, who is still alive and in her presence the plaintiff, in any case, had no right in the estate left by Ganga Ram. It was averred that Ganga Ram executed a registered Will on 21.9.1966 in favour of the defendants. It was also averred that after the execution of the Will, Dalip Singh and Balwan Singh defendants and one Mohinder Singh brought a suit for possession of land described in paragraph 2 of the additional pleas of the written statement against Ganga Ram, which was decreed on 15.11.1969; and consequently the said suit land was not held by Ganga Ram at the time of his death.