STATE OF RAJASTHAN Vs. RADHEYLAL SARIN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal by the State and is directed against the judgment and decree of the learned Senior Civil Judge, Dholpur dated 31-1-68 declaring the property in suit to be that of the plaintiff-respondent Radheylal and restraining the State from interfering with his possession.

(2.) THE subject-matter of the suit was an old building called a 'kothi' in Bagh Bhaba sahiba at Dholpur. According to the plaintiff, the 'kothi' which was situated in the centre of the Bagh or Garden had attached to it one motor garage and chowkidars' quarters towards its west. The plaintiff's case was that the disputed building namely, the 'kothi' including a garden compound and the other appurtenant buildings originally belonged to Bhaba Sahiba, the wife of one Kanwar pohop Singhji, the pre-deceased son of a former ruler of the ex-Dholpur State His highness Maharaja Rana Kirat Singhii. This 'kothi' had, according to the plaintiff, by a custom of devolution devolved on the Maharanis of Dholpur one after the other. In other words, according to him, on the death of each Maharani the next maharani for the time being would be succeeding to the 'kothi'. In this way the property, says the plaintiff, became the property of Maharani of Dholpur who was on the date of the suit the Rajmata of Dholpur. In re-cognition of the services of the plaintiffs father Dr. Surajmal Sarin, the then Chief Medical Officer of Rajmata and of the services of the plaintiff's elder brother Dr. L. R. Sarin, the plaintiff was granted this 'kothi' by the present Rajmata in the year 1947. Since then the plaintiff was in the possession of the 'kothi. The plaintiff further averred that defendant No. 2 Shrigopal Sarin, his brother was in permissive possession of the 'kothi' on his behalf. The grievance of the plaintiff was that on 19/20-7-54, the Government of Rajasthan had issued an order to its officers that the property had been taken over by the State from the late Maharaja of Dholpur. In pursuance of the order the officer of the State threatened Shrigopal to pay rent lest he would be thrown out. In utter helplessness Shrigopal is said to have agreed to pay rent to the State at the rate of Rs. 20/- per month under protest. The plaintiff, however, did not come to know of this and accordingly he could not file the suit earlier. When he came to know of the action taken by the state in the second week of April, 1960, he served a notice under Section 80, Civil procedure Code on the State Government and then filed the suit on 27-8-64 in the court of the Civil Judge, Dholpur. The plaintiff claimed the declaration that he was the owner of the disputed property and further prayed that the order of the State government dated 19/ 20-7-54 be declared null and void and without jurisdiction and further the State Government be restrained from interfering with the right of the plaintiff over the disputed building in any way or to realise any rent from defendant No. 2 Shrigopal.

(3.) THE State Government resisted the suit. It was denied that the property belonged to Bhaba Sahiba i. e. the wife of Kanwar Pohop Singhji or that subsequently the Maharanis from time to time had become its owner. The State government took the stand that the property was the property of the ex-ruler of dholpur State and further that on the formation of Rajas-than there was a tripartite settlement of private properties of the ex-ruler in terms of the covenant and according to that settlement this property was not kept the private property of the ex-ruler and had consequently become the property of the State Government. Thus, according to the State, it was the owner or the property. It Was also denied that there was any custom of devolution of properties from one Maha-rani to another or that the present Raj-mata could make any gift of the disputed property or that she had in anyway made any gift as alleged by the plaintiff in respect of the suit property. The plea of limitation was also raised. The learned Senior Civil judge framed the following issues :- <FRM>JUDGEMENT_25_TLRAJ0_1972Html1.htm</FRM>