MANGAL SINGH Vs. RATTNO DEAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal arises out of a suit brought for possession of some land which was admittedly owned at one time by one Labhu. Labhu died in the year 1917 and, on his death, his widow, Smt. Harnam Kaur, who filed the suit as plaintiff came into possession of the land. She continued in possession of the land until the year 1954 when, on an application made by the collaterals of Labhu, the Naib-Tahsildar, by his order dated 26th June 1954, effected mutation in favour of those collaterals. These collaterals were defendants 1 to 4 Mangal Singh. Amar Singh, Santa Singh and Ishar Singh. These collaterals, on the basis of the order of the Naib-Tehsildar, dispossessed Smt. Harnam Kaur. Harnam Kaur's appeal against the order of the Naib-Tehsildar was dismissed by the Collector. The claim of these collaterals was that Smt. Harnam Kaur had entered into karewa marriage with one of these collaterals, Isher Singh, defendant No. 4 and, consequently, she had lost her right to hold the land of her first husband Labhu. Smt. Harnam Kaur denied that she had entered into any karewa marriage with Ishar Singh and. on the basis of this denial, instituted the suit claiming possession of that land. She pleaded that the four defendants had no right to this land and had wrongfully dispossessed her, so that they were mere trespassers. This suit was instituted on 1st March 1956. After the institution of the suit, the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (No. 30 of 1956) (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") came into force on 17th June 1956. The suit was at that time, pending and it continued to remain pending until the year 1958 when Smt. Harnam Kaur died. Thereupon, Smt. Rattno applied to be substituted as plaintiff in place of Smt. Harnam Kaur as her legal representative. This application was allowed, though it was opposed by defendants 1 to 3. In the trial of the suit, defendants 1 to 3 took the plea that Smt. Harnam Kaur, the original plaintiff, had lost her right to the land because of her karewa marriage with Ishar Singh, defendant No. 4. Defendant No. 4, however, admitted the claim of Smt. Harnam Kaur in his written statement, denied that he had dispossessed her and also denied the allegation of her karewa marriage with him. In these circumstances, two main questions came up for decision by the trial Court. The first question was whether Smt. Harnam Kaur had entered into a karewa marriage with Ishar Singh, defendant No. 4, so as to lose her right to the disputed land as widow of the previous male owner, Labhu The second question that arose 'was whether Smt. Rattno, who was substituted as the legal representative of Smt. Harnam Kaur, was entitled to succeed to the property of Smt. Harnam Kaur This second question depended on whether Smt. Harnam Kaur had, or had not, become full owner of the land under S. 14 of the Act. The trial Court held that Smt. Harnam Kaur had contracted karewa marriage with Ishar Singh, defendant No. 4, and had lost her rights. The further finding of the trial Court was that Smt. Harnam Kaur had been dispossessed before the Act came into force and, consequently, S. 14 of the Act did not apply, with the result that Smt. Rattno could not claim succession to Smt. Harnam Kaur under that provision of law. On these findings, the trial Court dismissed the suit.

(2.) On appeal, the Additional District Judge, Patiala, recorded the finding that Smt. Harnam Kaur had not entered into karewa marriage with Ishar Singh, defendant No. 4, and, further, that S. 14 of the Act was applicable to the present case, as the land in suit was possessed by Smt. Harnam Kaur so as to make her full owner of this land under that provision of law. On these findings, the first appellate Court decreed the suit against defendants 1 to 3 with costs in both Courts, after making a comment that Ishar Singh, defendant No. 4, was a pro forma defendant. Defendants 1 to 3, thereupon, came up in second appeal to the High Court of Punjab and impleaded as respondents Smt. Rattno as well as Ishar Singh. The High Court dismissed the appeal and, thereupon, defendants l to 3 have come up to this Court in appeal under special leave granted to them. In this appeal also, defendants 1 to 3 impleaded both Smt. Rattno and Ishar Singh as respondents.

(3.) During the pendency of this appeal, one of the defendants-appellants died and his legal representatives were brought on the record as appellants. Smt. Rattno also died and her legal representatives were impleaded as respondents. Further, Ishar Singh, defendant No. 4 who was a respondent in this appeal, also died. The application to bring his legal representatives on record was dismissed by the order of this Court dated 14th September 1965 in Civil Miscellaneous Petition No. 1589 of 1965. In view of this order, a preliminary objection was raised at the time of hearing of this appeal by learned counsel for the respondents, who had been impleaded as legal representatives of Smt. Rattno, that the appeal had abated on account of the failure of the appellants to implead the legal representatives of Ishar Singh respondent. It, however, appears that, on the pleadings of parties and the nature of the dispute that came to be settled by the lower Courts, it cannot be held that this appeal must abate as a whole, or must fail because of its abatement against Ishar Singh on his death. We have already mentioned that, though the plaintiff, Smt. Harnam Kaur, had come forward with the allegation that she had been dispossessed by all the four defendants 1 to 4, Ishar Singh, defendant No. 4, in his written statement repudiated this claim. He put forward the plea that he had not dispossessed the plaintiff and, further, supported the claim of the plaintiff by pleading that there had been no karewa marriage between them. The suit was dismissed by the trial Court. It was decreed by the first appellate Court only against defendants 1 to 3, treating Ishar Singh as a pro forma defendant. In these circumstances, it is obvious that, when the case came up before the High Court, the dispute was confined between Smt. Rattno, legal representative of the original plaintiff on the one side, and defendants 1 to 3 on the other. Defendants 1 to 3 sought vacation of the decree for possession which had been granted against them in favour of Smt. Rattno. Ishar Singh, against whom the suit had not been decreed at all, thus became an unnecessary party. In these circumstances, even if Ishar Singh had not been impleaded as respondent in the High Court, the relief claimed by defendants 1 to 3 in that Court against Smt. Rattno could have been granted without bringing into effect any contradictory decrees. In the appeal in this Court also, in these circumstances, Ishar Singh was an unnecessary party and, consequently, the failure to implead his legal representatives as respondents in the appeal after his death does not affect the right of defendants 1 to 3 to claim the relief for which they have come up to this Court in appeal. The preliminary objection, therefore, fails and is rejected.