B.L. Yadav, J. - (1.) THESE two petitions involve similar questions of law and facts, hence they are being disposed of together by this common judgment.
(2.) THESE two petitions are directed against the judgment dated 27 -10 -1976 rendered by the Board of Revenue allowing two connected second appeal? filed by Respondent No. 4 and setting aside the judgments dated 14 -2 -1972 passed by the Additional Commissioner, Meerut Division, Meerut whereby the first appeals were partly allowed and partly the matter was remanded for determination of the factum of possession and its effect in two connected writs filed by the Petitioners under Section 229 -B of the OP ZA and LR Act (for short the Act) whereby adoption of Respondent No. 1 by Smt. Mukandi Devi, widow of Munshi Lal was challenged and the Plaintiffs claimed relief for declaration of their sirdari and bhumidhari rights but those reliefs were refused by the trial court. The Petitioners had filed two suits with the allegations that the land in dispute belonged to one Munshi Lai who died in 1954 leaving Smt. Mukandi Devi as his widow who died on 12 -7 -1975 and the alleged adoption of Viresh Kumar, Respondent No. 1, by Smt. Mukandi Devi after the death of her husband was not legal, that the order for mutation was passed in favour of Respondent No. 1 Viresh Kumar, adopted son and the claim of the Petitioners was rejected. The Petitioners feeling aggrieved filed the present two suits for declaration that they were bumidhars and sirdars and Respondent No. 1 Sri Viresh Kumar not being legally adopted son has no right to be recorded in the revenue papers in place of Smt. Mukandi Devi and Sri Munshi Lal.
(3.) THE aforesaid suits were contested by Viresh Kumar, Respondent No. 1 who alleged that he was legally adopted by Smt. Mukandi Devi and his adoptive mother died much after the date of adoption and his name was correctly entered in place of the deceased as bhumidhar and sirdar and that the Petitioners have no right to succeed and they were not the heirs of the deceased. Hence their suits were liable to be dismissed.;