R.L. Gulati, J. - (1.) There was one Baba Sarveshwar Dass, who was the Bhumidhar of the land in dispute situated in village Belwa Basaihya, Tahsil Biswan, district Sitapur. He died sometime in 1950. The fifth Respondent, Ram Shanker, who claims to be the Chela of Baba Sarveshwar Dass, got his name entered in the revenue papers and by a sale deed executed in the year 1963 he transferred the land in dispute in favour of Asharfi Lal, who is the Petitioner in this petition. The Gram Sabha of Belwa Basahiya, the fourth Respondent, filed a suit Under Sec. 229 -B/209 of the ZA and LR Act, challenging the sale deed in favour of the Petitioner. It was alleged in the plaint that Ram Shanker was not the legal heir of Baba Sarveshwar Dass and as such had no title to the land in dispute. It was further alleged that even if Ram Shanker had perfected his title through adverse possession, he could only be regarded as a sirdar and not a bhumidhar competent to transfer the land.
(2.) The suit was contested on the ground that Baba Sarveshwar Dass had executed a will in favour of Ram Shanker and in any case Ram Shanker being the Chela of Baba Sarveshwar Dass was entitled to succeed. The suit was decreed by the trial court and the judgment of the trial court was affirmed on appeal. The Petitioner filed a revision application before the Board of Revenue, the first Respondent. The Board of Revenue dismissed the revision petition summarily. Hence this petition Under Article 226 of the Constitution.
(3.) The only question argued before me is that the Board of Revenue committed an error of law in holding that Ram Shanker, even though he was a chela of Baba Sarveshwar Dass, was not entitled to succeed to the property of the Baba Under Sec. 171 of the UP ZA and LR Act. It is contended that the Chela of a Guru belonging to a religious order is like a spiritual son of the Guru and as such is his legal heir. Reliance was placed upon Sital Dass v/s. Sant Ram : AIR 1954 SC 606. In para 20 the Supreme Court observed: It is well known that entrance into a religious order generally operates as a civil death. The man who becomes an ascetic severs his connection with the members of his natural family and being adopted by his preceptor becomes, so to say, a spiritual son of the latter. The other disciples of his Guru are regarded as his brothers, while the co -disciples of his Guru are looked upon as uncles and in this way a spiritual family is established on the analogy of a natural family.;