- (1.) The substantial question of law involved in this appeal is as to "whether a person can derive any benefit out of a Will executed in his favour if the testator alienates the property, bequeathed by way of the said Will, byway of a collusive decree which remained unchallenged"?
(2.) The plaintiff is in second appeal. The brief facts of the case are that the plaintiff filed a suit for declaration in which it was alleged that his father Mangal Singh was the owner of the land in dispute who executed a Will dated 09.12.1965 in favour of the defendants and died in the year 1978, but during this period Mangal Singh suffered a decree of the land in dispute in favour of the plaintiff in the year 1970. The plaintiff, thus, alleged that the Will executed by Mangal Singh is inoperative insofar as the suit land is concerned and claimed that it may be declared to be illegal and also that he has become the owner of the suit land. In the written statement, the defendants had claimed that they have succeeded to the suit land owned by Mangal Singh only on the basis of registered Will dated 09.12.1965, but they did not specifically denied the claim of the plaintiff with regard to his ownership over the land in dispute on the basis of Civil Court decree. Plaintiff filed replication and on the basis of the pleadings of the parties, the learned Trial Court framed five issues on 08.09.1982 which are reproduced as under:- "1. Whether the Will dated 09.12.1965 is illegal, null and void, if so to what effect? OPP 2. Whether the suit is not maintainable in the present form? OPD 3. Whether the plaintiff has no locus standi to file the present suit? OPD 4. Whether the suit is barred by time? OPD 5. Relief."
(3.) The plaintiff appeared as his own witness and produced copy of the Civil Court decree as Ex.PW1/A, whereas the defendants examined two witnesses, namely, Satbir Singh DW1 and Dalip Singh DW2, and produced copy of the Will dated 09.12.1965 as Ex.D1.;