AGARWALA, J. - (1.) THIS is a defendant's appeal arising out of a suit for recovery of two sums of money which the plff. respondent claimed were payable to him under two deeds one of 1912 & the other of 1928.
(2.) THE appellant is the present holder of an impartible estate known as the Vizyanagram Raj or Samasthanam in the State of Madras. The plff. resp. is his uncle usually residing at Banaras. A pedigree of the family will be of help in understanding the narration of events to be made hereafter: - - PEDIGREE Vijayram Raj iii -Alakh Rajeshwari d.1879 | d. July 1902 Narayanna Ananda Gajpati Chitti Babu Rewa Gajpati d. d.23 5 1987 alias Vijay Maharani before his (died without ram Raj IV d.14.12.1912 father. leaving widow (adopted by Alakh Raje shwari in Dec. 1897 d. 11 -9 -1922 Maharaja Alakh Narayan Maharaja Kumar Vijay d. 25 -10 -37 Anand(Plff.) Vijayram Raj Visheshwar Mrityunjay Venketeshwar V(Deft) Gajpati Singh Singh Maharaja Vizianagram The Vizianagram estate which is admittedly an ancient impartible estate was, at one time, owned by Vijayram Raj III. He died in the year 1879 leaving a widow Alakh Eajeshwari & a son, Anand Gajpati, & a daughter who later became the Maharani Rewa. There was another son of Vijayram Raj III, Narain Gajpati who, however, had died in his father's lifetime. On the death of Vijayram Raj III, Anand Gajpati became the Raja & the holder of the estate. On 22 -7 -1896, Raja Anand Gajpati executed a will the contents of which will be set out later. Under this will he bequeathed the entire estate to one Chitti Babu, who was his mother's brother's son. Less than a year later, i. e. on 23 -5 -1897, Raja Ananda Gajpati died without leaving any widow or child &Chitti; Babu became the holder of the estate & was known as Vijayaram Raj IV. A few months later, on 18 -12 -1897, he was adopted by Alakh Rajeshwari to her husband Vijayaram Raj III. Alakh Bajeshwaf i died in the year 1902 & on her death certain collaterals of Ananda Gajpati challenged the adoption of Chitti Babu & instituted suit NO. 18 of 1903 for a declaration that Chitti Babu's adoption was invalid & that he had no more than a life interest in the estate & that there was intestacy as regards the remainder which therefore vested in them. They asserted that the estate was an impartible Raj governed by the law & custom of primogeniture. The Court held that although Chitti Babu's adoption was invalid yet the will conferred upon him an absolute title & not merely a life estate. In the result the suit was dismissed. The plffs. of that suit appealed to the H. C. & Chitti Babu filed cross objections challenging the finding about adoption. In the High Court there was a compromise & on 12 -3 -1913 the Madras High Court passed an order in terms of the compromise declaring that Chitti Babu was validly adopted & was entitled to hold the estate as such adopted son & under the will of Ananda Gajpati.
(3.) THE plff. respondent and his elder brother, Raja Alakh Narain, father of the present Raja, deft, appellant, were the two sons of Chitti Babu. On 28 -10 -1912 Chitti Babu executed a deed of trust in respect of the entire properties possessed by him - -the impartible estate as well as his separate properties, conveying them to a trustee by the name of John Charles Hill Fowler & directing the trustee to convey the said properties to his eldest son, Raja Alakh Narain, on his attaining the age of twenty -one years & to pay to his second son, the plff. respondent, on his attaining majority & during his life time, a monthly allowance of Rs. 5,000 out of the rents, income & profits of the properties, which were the subject -matter of the trust. Chitti Babu died on 11 -9 1922 & very soon thereafter, the trustee handed over the estate to Alakh Narain even before he had attained the age of twenty one. Alakh Narain, now having entered into possession of the estate, executed a deed of settlement in favour of his younger brother the Maharaj Kumar on 1 -11 -1922. Under this deed Raja Alakh Narain declared that the monthly allowance of rupees five thousand which was payable to Maharaj Kumar under the deed of 28 -10 -1912, executed by Cbitti Babu, was inadequate to support the Maharaj Kumar's rank & dignity as the Raja of Vizianagram's younger brother & that he desired to make a suitable additional provision for him settling upon him immoveable property known as the Banaras estate, & some other properties. Thereafter, on 11 -2 -1928, Raja Alakh Narain executed another deed of settlement in favour of the plff. resp. under which another sum of Rs. 5,000 per month was settled upon him for his life time.This was in addition to the mothly allowance of Rs. 5,000 payable under Chitti Babu's deed of 1912. Raja Alakh Narain died on 25.10 -1937 leaving two sons, of which the elder one was the present Raja, the deft, appellant who succeeded to the estate.;