- (1.) THIS order will dispose of R. S. As. Nos. 510, 511 and 512 of 1958.
(2.) ON the 31st of May, 1956, Aftab Rai, by means of four sale deeds sold four pieces of agricultural land, the details of which are set out hereunder:--Kanals. Marias. To whom sold. Sale price. Rs. Np. 1. 36 00. Gurdev Singh. 2400. 00. 2. 157 OS. Gurnam Singh. 10000. 00. 3. 158 01. Mehar Singh and Gurcharan Singh. 10000. 00. 4. 174 17. Amir Singh. 10000. 00 The three sales to Gurnam Singh, Mehar Singh and another and Amir Singh were pre-empted by Gurdev Singh, Ram Singh and Jodh Singh. The suits were filed on the 23th of May 1957. Before the institution of the suits, the respective vendees transferred by exchange about two Kanals out of the land purchased, which is the subject matter of the suits for pre-emption, with persons who are owners in the village and in lieu thereof got a little less than two Kanals of land. The defence set up to the suits was that by reason of aforesaid exchanges, the defendants had acquired equal status with the pre-emptors and thus the suits for pre-emption were liable to fail RS. the pre-emptors' status had ceased to be superior to that of the defendant vendees. The trial Court decreed all the suits as it came to the conclusion that there was DO exchange in fact. On appeal by the defendant vendees, the learned Additional District Judge after admitting additional evidence held that the exchanges in question were valid exchanges and therefore the defendant vendees bud acquired equal status with that of the pre-emptors with the result that the suits for preemption would fail. He accordingly allowed the appeals and dismissed the suits. Dissatisfied with this decision, the pre-emptors have preferred the present second appeals to this Court.
(3.) THE contention of Mr. Faqir Chand Mital, the learned counsel for the appellants in R. S. A. No. 511 of 1958 which has been adopted by Mr. H. S. Gujral in R. S. A. Nos. 510 and 512 of 1958, is that by exchanging part of the property sold, a vendee cannot be held to have acquired a better or equal status with the pre-emptors, because what he acquires by exchange forms part of the preempted property and as such does not confer any right equal or superior to that of the pre-emptor.;