CHHEDI LAL Vs. MTNAFIS FATIMA BEGUM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application for leave to appeal to His Majesty in Council. The judgment of "the Court below has been affirmed by this Court. We have to consider accordingly, first, whether the value of the subject-matter of the suit in the Court of first instance was Rs. 10,000 or upwards and the value of the subject- matter in dispute on appeal to His Majesty in Council would be Rs. 10,000 or more, and, secondly, whether the appeal involves or not a substantial question of law.

(2.) The facts are briefly these: Defendant 1, who is the father of the plaintiff, executed a waqralalaulad, or a dedication for the benefit of one's descendants, in 1919. Later on he executed a document which has been described as supurdnama (handing over the property) in favour of the proposed appellant Chhedi Lal, on 20 March 1924. By this document Chhedi Lal was put in possession of the entire property, which was the subject-matter of the wakf, and was to make a certain payments and to make a certain advances from time-to-time, treating the property as his security. It is in evidence that about Rs. 20,000 were advanced by Chhedi Lal by the time the case came for trial. The plaintiff, one of the three daughters of defendant 1 brought a suit, out of which this application has arisen, to obtain a declaration that the supurdnama of 1924 was not a valid document, and further for a declaration that Chhedi Lal was not entitled to enter into possession of the endowed property by virtue of the said supurdnama. It would thus appear that so far as Chhedi Lal is concerned, his entire interest was jeopardised by the suit. The property, over which he was to take possession, was the entire wakf property, which yielded profits of Rupees 8,290 a year.

(3.) It is clear therefore that the value of the subject-matter of the suit in the Court below was more than Rupees 10,000 and the value of the subject-matter in dispute on appeal to His Majesty is more than Rs. 10,000, though the valuation of the suit is only Rs. 5,100.