CHAUDHRI RISAL SINGH Vs. BALWANT SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal from a decree, dated the 29th April, 1915, of the High Court at Allahabad, which affirmed a decree of the additional Subordinate Judge of Saharanpur by which the suit of the plaintiffs had been dismissed. The suit was dismissed on the ground that a decision of the Board on the 23rd April, 1912, in an appeal to His Majesty in Council in a previous suit, in which Balwant Singh, the principal defendant in this suit, was the defendant and the late Rani Dharam Kunwar was the plaintiff, operated as a bar to the maintenance of this suit, which is brought by plaintiffs who were not parties to the previous suit, and do not represent either party to the previous suit. That decision is reported in 39 I. A. 142.

(2.) In this suit the plaintiffs are Chaudhri Risal Singh and Lala Fateh Chand. The plaintiff Chaudhri Risal Singh claims in this suit possession of part of the Landhaura Raj, which is a large estate of groat value; his claim is based on an allegation that he is the heir of Raja Jagat Prakash Singh, whom he alleges to have been the last male owner of the estate. The other plaintiff, Lala Fateh Chand, alleges that before suit Chaudhri Risal Singh conveyed to him the other part of the estate, and he claims possession of that other part of the estate as the grantee of Chaudhri Risal Singh. The plaintiffs also claim mesne profits.

(3.) The principal defendant to this suit is Balwant Singh, through whom the other defendants claim title. Balwant Singh s case is that the estate vested in him as the adopted son of the late Raja Raghubir Singh, to whom he alleges that he was validly adopted by the late Rani Dharam Kunwar, the widow of Raja Raghubir Singh, who admittedly died possessed of the estate. The factum of the adoption was denied by the plaintiffs, but it is no longer disputed, and cannot now be disputed; the plaintiffs, however, allege that Rani Dharam Kunwar had no authority to adopt a son to her husband, and further that if she ever had authority to adopt a son to her husband that authority was a limited authority, and was exhausted by previous adoptions made by her before she went through the form of adopting Balwant Singh. The decision of the Board, which has been held by the Courts below to operate as a bar to the maintenance of this suit, related to the adoption of Balwant Singh as a son to her late husband by Rani Dharam Kunwar.