LALU Vs. MUKHRAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal by Lalu and others who were plaintiffs in a suit for preemption, which has been dismissed by the Civil Judge of Suratgarh.

(2.) THE case of the plaintiffs appellants was that they were co-sharers in Patti Sohna, village Kulchandra. This Patti originally be-longed to Sohan, who was the father of Jeymal the original plaintiff. THE present appellants are sons of Jeymal and have been substituted in his place. Jeymal had sold parts of this Patti to various persons which included Binjraj and Khetaram. THEse two persons in their turn sold their share on the 26th May, 1950, to Mukhram who was the contesting defendant in this suit. THE present suit was brought to pre-empt this sale on the ground that the plaintiffs were Biswedars in this Patti from before, and were, therefore, entitled to pre-emption. Reliance was placed on the custom of pre-emption entered in the Wajib-ul-arz of this village though it was not pointed out in the plaint that the plaintiffs came under a particular term of the Wajib-ul-arz.

(3.) IN the present case we find that Patti Sohna is divided" into a number of Khewats. The plaintiffs are co-sharers in Khewats 4, 5 and 6, while the vendors are co-sharers in Khewat 8. Besides the vendors there are other co-sharers in Khewat 8. Therefore, in the view that we have adopted, these other co-sharers only in Khewat 8 can be called Sharkyan Shikmi, because they are included in the Khewat in which the vendors are included. The plaintiffs are not included in that Khewat, though they may be in Patti Sohna, and they cannot therefore claim to be Sharkyan Shikmi of the vendors] Under these circumstances, the plaintiffs are not entitled to claim pre-emption on the ground that they are Sharkyan Shikmi. There is no further order of preference provided in this Wajib-ul-arz, because after Sharkayan Shikmi there is equal right to other agriculturists. The plaintiffs are agriculturists and so is the vendee, and there can be no preference between two kinds of agriculturists in view of the terms of this Wajib-ul-arz.