JAMBU DASS Vs. JAI PRAKASH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a plaintiff's appeal arising out of a suit for recovery of possession of a share in a house. The plaintiff Jambu Dass and the first two defendants Jai Prakash and Jai Chandan are brothers. A dispute over the ancestral property was referred to arbitration in 1906 the share now in suit was awarded to the plaintiff by the arbitrator. This award was confirmed by a decree of a Civil Court on the 18 June 1908. In 1916 the share in suit was sold in execution of a decree to one Konwal Nain who has been impleaded in the present suit as defendant No. 3. He has not appeared throughout the proceedings and has not contested the plaintiff's claim.

(2.) The present suit was instituted on the 14 of June 1920. The plaintiff's case was that five or six years previously he had permitted his two brothers to live in his part of the house. The purchase at auction by Konwal Nain was merely benami on his own account. His brothers now refused to surrender possession to him and he accordingly brought the suit to compel them to do so.

(3.) The trial Court held that the suit was barred by limitation. It doubted the plaintiff's story of permission to his brothers to take possession and considered that limitation should be held to run from the date of the private award and not from the date of the decree confirming that award. If the latter is the correct date then in any case the suit was in time by four days.