RANBIR KARAM SINGH Vs. JOGINDRA CHANDRA BHATTACHARJI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by defendant 1. The plaintiff's suit was that it be declared that defendant 1 is neither the adopted son of the deceased, Mrs. Surendri Helen Karam Singh or her husband, nor is the legal heir to her estate in the hands of the Administrator-General and Official Trustee, United Provinces, Allahabad, which is divisible according to law only amongst the plaintiff and defendants 2 to 4 who are her legal heirs.

(2.) The Court below has decreed the suit. The plaintiff and the persons who were originally defendants 2 to 4 are brothers. Mrs, Surendri Helen Karam Singh deceased was their sister. Dr. J.C. Bhattacharji, who was originally defendant 2, seems to have died after the institution of the suit and a number of persons have been brought on the record as his legal representatives.

(3.) The plaintiff and his brothers are Christians. So were their sister, Mrs. Surendri Karam Singh deceased, and her husband, Mr. Karam Singh. These facts are admitted. It is also common ground that Karam Singh died intestate on 2nd September 1931, and all his property was inherited by his widow, the sister of the plaintiff. It is again common ground that this lady, Mrs. Surendri Helen Karam Singh, also died intestate on 11 April 1932. At the time of her death she was possessed of moveable and immovable property and the dispute in this case relates to this property. The case of the plaintiff is that the deceased Mrs. Karam Singh being a Christian, he and his brothers are the legal heirs in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Succession Act. Defendant 1, who is a minor under the guardianship of one Dr. Miss C.M. John, contested the suit. The principal pleas raised on behalf of defendant 1 were that the property did not belong to the lady, Mrs. Surendri Helen Karam Singh; that all the property was owned by her husband, the late Mr. Sardar Karam Singh; that defendant 1 was the legally adopted son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Karam Singh, and as such was entitled to the estate left by them; that Mr. Karam Singh and his wife were competent to adopt the contesting defendant as their son and heir under the Punjab Customary Laws; and that the plaintiff was estopped from denying the adoption. In para. 24 of the written statement it was further pleaded that the deceased Sardar Karam Singh was a Sikh by caste before his conversion to Christianity and in the matter of succession was governed by rules of Hindu law and Punjab Customary Law. The plaintiff and his brothers are no heirs to the late Mr. Karam Singh.