BHOLA RAM Vs. BISHANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a plaintiffs' appeal against an appellate decree of District Judge Dalip Singh dated the 1st of March, 1949 reversing the decree of the trial Court whereby the suit of the plaintiffs was decreed qua the agricultural land mentioned at A, B, C and D and was dismissed in regard to Shamlal land and the houses. The latter has been confirmed in appeal.

(2.) The following pedigree table will assist in understanding the case :

(3.) The donor in the present case is Niadar defendant No. 3. The question for decision is whether the property gifted which consists of lands A, B, C and D and shamlat land marked E and houses is ancestral and therefore the gift can be challenged by the appellants or not. It has been found by the Courts below that the plaintiffs-appellant are collaterals of the donor within the fifth degree. Therefore they have a right to challenge the gift provided they show that the land and the houses in dispute are ancestral. The learned Judge has found that the land at A, B, C and D including Khasra No. 7130 measuring 3 bighas 13 biswas was held in 1842 by Harsa in the line of Piru, Hari Ram and Ram Jas jointly. The presumption is that they must have been holding in equal shares. In 1880 these very portions A. B, C and D were held by Gokal son of Jawahar, Meru, Sarwaria and Jaimal in the line of Piru and Kehar son of Hari Ram and after the death of Kehar his son Niadar succeeded to his estate. In these circumstances in my opinion the and in dispute should be held to be ancestral. If the land was hold jointly without specification of shares which mean in equal shares then the presumption would go up one degree and I must therefore hold that the land was held by Ratia.