BHAWAR SINGH Vs. HIRA SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS revision has been filed against the appellate order of the Additional Collector, Bharatpur dated 15. 11. 58 whereby the original order of the Village Panchayat Balkhera, Tehsil Kama, District Bharatpur in a mutation case reversed:

(2.) THE facts of the case are not much in dispute. Sanwat Singh a recorded Biswedar in Khewat No. 6, Patti Chand Singh, village Biliond, Tehsil Kama executed a will on 20. 6. 56 in respect of his movable and immovable property in favour of Bhanwar Singh, who is the applicant before us and got it registered before the Sub-Registrar, Kama. Girraj Singh the opposite party in this revision who has since died instituted a suit in the Court of Munsiff Deeg against Bhanwar Singh; joining other collaterals as proforma defendants for a declaration that the will executed by Sanwat Singh was in-effective and inoperative. This suit was rejected. Sanwat Singh died sometime in 1958 and the village Patwari put up a mutation form before the village Panchayat for attestation. Before the Panchayat entries of the Wajib-ul-Arz were produced which prohibited the transfer by will of Biswedari rights without prior approval of the Government. A certified copy of a decision in a mutation case relating to a nearby village was also produced wherein the will was held inoperative. THE Panchayat Board in its decision conceded that the condition of the Wajib-u-Arz, revenue record and pedigree table left no room to doubt that all the collaterals of the deceased were entitled to succeed as against Bhanwar Singh who claimed inheritance through a will of the deceased, but as the Panchayat decisions were to be based on a majority of opinion and as the majority of the Panchas present wanted to decide the case in favour of Bhanwar Singh a decision was given accordingly by the Panchayat. When the matter went up in appeal before the Additional Collector Bharatpur he held that the Panchayat was not justified in ignoring the express provisions of the Act and even the majority of the Panchas could not alter the express provisions and hence the decision of the Panchayat was set aside and mutation was sanctioned in favour of the collaterals. Hence this revision.