BRIJ LAL Vs. DAULAT RAM AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS regular second appeal is directed against the judgment and decree of the learned District Judge, Ferozepur, dated May 13, 1975, by which the appeal of Brij Lal, defendant, was dismissed and the judgment of trial Court decreeing the suit of the plaintiffs respondents was affirmed.

(2.) THE facts, in brief, are that Brij Lal, appellant defendant No. 1 (hereinafter called the appellant), obtained a money decree against Jagan Nath defendant No. 2 (now respondent No. 4) on May 20, 1954 in execution of which the immovable property in dispute was attached. In the first instance, this order of attachment was challenged by two separate suits under Order 21, Rule 63, Code of Civil Procedure (hereinafter called the Code), by Des Raj, defendant No 3 and Mst. Malan Devi, defendant No. 4 (now respondent Nos. 5 and 6, respectively). Their suit was decreed; they were declared owners of 1/3rd and 1/6th share, respectively, in the attached property and the order of attachment qua their share was set aside. Subsequently, the present plaintiffs (now respondents Nos. 1, 2 and 3) instituted a suit for declaration contending that they were owners of half the share in the attached property which had devolved upon them from their father Kheta Ram and that after his death on July 18, 1957, Jagan Nath, respondent No. 4, had no interest or title in the said property and, thus the same was not liable to attachment or sale in execution of the decree passed against him. These pleas of the plaintiffs were traversed by Brij Lal, appellant. On the pleadings of the parties, the following issues were framed: -

(3.) IT has been contended by the Learned Counsel for the appellant that it was found by the learned District Judge that the property inherited by Daulat Ram from his father Kheta Ram, was ancestral in his hands qua his son Jagan Nath, defendant No. 2 and relying on para 223 in Mulla's Hindu Law, it was held as under: