GOPAL Vs. COLLECTOR OF ALIGARH AND CHUNNA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The dispute in this appeal relates to a piece of muafi land occupied by a grove situated in Qasba Koil, close to the town of Aligarh. The land was originally granted by the predecessors of the plaintiff to Sirh Mal, the predecessor of the contesting defendant, for planting a grove, and the question for considering is whether the descendants of Sirh Mal had a right to sell the grove to Chunn and Ram Lal, and are liable to ejectment in consequence.

(2.) The allegation of the plaintiff was that there was a custom appertaining to the muafis granted by the zemindars by (sic) of which the muafi holders or their (sic) ants had no right to transfer the muafi by sale. The plaintiff questioned the right Of the son and grandsons of Sirh Mai to transfer the grove, and he sued for the cancellation of the sale and for possession of the grove by the ejectment of the muafidars and their transferees.

(3.) The plaintiff relied in support of the custom wajib-ul-arz prepared in 1872 in which under the heading referring to "muafis granted by the zemindar for specific purposes", it was stated that so long as the muafidar or his descendants remained in possession, there will be no interference with them, and the muafidars shall have every right thereto except that of transfer by sale. A list of the plots and groves then held as muafi was also given and among those plots and groves the grove in dispute was mentioned and described as an old grove (qadim baghicha) held by Sirh Mal. Both in the waijb-ul-arz and in the khasra it was stated that the land had been given for the purpose of planting a grove, and that fact is not disputed.