HARI PRASAD SINGH Vs. LAL BEHARI SARAN SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals arise out of three suits brought by the junior descendants of one Dharam Narain Singh for declarations that three certificate sales were void, or failing this, that their own shares in the properties sold were unaffected by the sales in question. The trial Court dismissed the suits, but on appeal the District. Judge decreed them in part and declared that the certificate sales affected only the shares of the certificate debtors named in the certificate proceedings and in one of the suits, further that the sale was void as regards the share of Bibhuti, one of the certificate debtors. Dharam Narain Singh had three sons, and in the Record of Rights of 1916 the properties, three mukarraris, were shown in the names of five descendants of his, (1) Sukhnandan, grandson of his eldest son, (2 to 4) Bishunandan, Bibhuti and Pashupati, the first a grandson, and the other two, sons of the second son, and (5) Sheonandan who had been adopted from the second son by the third son of Dharam Narain Singh.

(2.) For the recovery of arrears of rent for 1336 Fasli in respect of a mukarrari interest of 1 anna 7 dams 10 cowries in mauza Dharaut Bhekh the landlord took certificate proceedings against all the five holders shown in the Record of Rights- except Pashupati (No. 4 above), instead of whom three sons of his named Mahesh, Suresh and Naresh were joined as minora under the guardianship of Sheonandan. A sale held in execution of the certificate in May 1930, proved abortive and then there was another sale in January 1931, the auction-purchaser taking out dakhaldehani on 3 January 1932. The suit challenging this sale was instituted on 4 April 1934, and has been referred to by the District Judge as Title Suit No. 66, being the suit in which he declared that the sale was void as regards the share of Bibhuti.

(3.) The landlord similarly took certificate proceedings for the recovery of arrears of rent for the year 1337 in respect of two other properties of the family--the 16 annas mukarrari of mouza Jamanganj and a 1 anna 6 dams 5 cowries mukarrari in mauza Dharaut Khas. The certificate deb-tors named in these proceedings were the seven persons proceeded against on the earlier occasion (leading to Title Suit No. 66) besides, Dinesh another son of Pashupati. The certificate sales were held in March 1931, and petitions of "objection under Section 29, Public Demands Recovery Act (Bihar and Orissa Act 4 of 1914) were filed in May by twelve members of the family, of whom six (including our plaintiffs Naresh and Dinesh) were certificate debtors and the other six were descendants of Bibhuti who, it has been found as a fact, had died on 4 January 1931, the date of service of the notice under Rule 25 of Schedule 2 of the Act. Mahesh, the only other certificate debtor, does not figure in these objections; he was apparently dead (though the time of his death has not been ascertained) and his three brothers who were among the objectors were his heirs.