MT BASANTI DEVI Vs. MTSAHODRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application by Mt. Basanti, a defendant in civil suit No. 16 of 1935, pending in the Court of the Subordinate Judge of Agra, and the prayer in the application is that the said suit be transferred to the Hon ble Chief Court at Lucknow. The application is headed under Section 22, Civil P.C., and it is obvious that the intention of the applicant is that we should come to a determination under the provisions of that section.

(2.) The facts on which the application is based are that the suit relates to certain property which was owned by one Lala Murlidhar and to a certain will which was executed by the aforesaid person. It is said that Murlidhar executed a will in 1931 and died in 1934 and that he possessed considerable moveable and immovable property, the bulk of which lies in the Districts of Lucknow and Partabgarh. The suit brought by the opposite parties was for a declaration that the alleged will was a forged will and that the estate of Lala Mmrlidhar in the hands of Mt. Basanti Devi and Anand Behari Lal and in whosesoever name be reduced in possession by appointment of receiver for the life-time of Mt. Basanti Devi.

(3.) The suit itself was based on the allegations that the will was not a genuine will and that Mt. Basanti Devi the widow of Murlidhar who was entitled only to a Hindu widow's estate had come under the influence of one Anand Behari Lal and was wasting the property. The case of the defendant, Mt. Basanti Devi who is the applicant before us is that although the Agra Court has jurisdiction, inasmuch as a portion of the property is situate with, in the jurisdiction of the Subordinate Judge of Agra, yet a strong case of balance of convenience exists for the case being tried at Lucknow. It is pointed out that the bulk of the property is in Oudh, that Murlidhar resided in Lucknow, that the will was executed at Lucknow and that therefore the witnesses who would be produced by the parties in connexion with the suit instituted by the opposite parties will be from Oudh. It is further stated that the receiver who is to be, according to the plaint allegations, a permanent receiver for the lifetime of the Hindu widow should naturally come from Lucknow, and the Courts at Lucknow would be in a better position to nominate such a person and to see that their directions are properly carried out.