- (1.) THE facts of the case may be briefly summarised thus : -
(2.) SHRI Ranjit Singh, Jagirdar of Solia-ki-Mandri died on 25. 4. 54. The grant, however, now stands resumed since 23. 8. 54 under the Rajasthan Land Reforms and Resumption of Jagirs Act. Two claimants both being sons of the deceased grantee claimed succession to the grant - Manohar Singh being the eldest son and Karan Singh being the younger one. The S. D. O. Ballabhnagar after making necessary enquiries through the Tehsildar proposed that according to the custom prevailing in the former State of Udaipur, Manohar Singh the eldest son was entitled to succeed. The younger one filed objections before the Collector on 24. 4. 54. His contention was that the elder brother Manohar Singh had executed a document in Svt. 1965 surrendering his claim to the Jagir. The Collector, Udaipur held that there could be no relinquishment with regard to a State Grant and that the claim of the younger brother as against the elder one was devoid of all substance. Accordingly mutation in favour of the elder brother was recommended by the Collector to the Jagir Commissioner who after making enquiry from Bakshi Khana recommended the proposal of the Collector to the Revenue Minister. The Revenue Minister accepted the recommendations of the subordinate officers and sanctioned succession in the name of Manohar Singh. Karan Singh filed a review petition before the Revenue Minister which was transferred to the Board in view of the provisions contained in sec. 4 (g) of the Rajasthan Jagir Decisions and Proceedings Validation Act which had come into force in the meanwhile. This review petition was allowed by a Bench of the Board on 8. 2. 57 and hence this case has come up for hearing before us. We have heard Shri Jiwan Singh Chordia appearing for Shri Karan Singh and Shri Makhanlal appearing for Shri Manohar Singh. The succession in the present case is to be governed by the provisions contained in Secs. 107 and 113 of the Kanun Mal Mewar (Act No. 5) of 1947. Sec. 107 lays down that a State grant shall devolve upon such person who is in the male line of the original grantee and in whose favour sanction has been accorded by Shri Ji-Hajur. Sec. 113 lays down that a younger brother or younger son of a Jagirdar or a Bhumia shall be entitled to receive land or maintenance allowance in accordance with the Rules that may be framed by the Government under the Act. Both these sections read together therefore leave no room to doubt that the State grant would devolve upon one person only and that would be the eldest or in other words the law of primogeniture was to govern succession to the State grants. This law may not be expressly laid down in both the sections but the peculiarity prescribed for succession to the State grant make it abundantly clear that this was the intention of the law. It was for this reason and this reason alone that the younger brother of the Jagirdar or the younger son of the Jagirdar was held eligible to a maintenance only and not to joint succession to the state grant. Shri Jiwan Singh Chordia has produced a certified copy of a judgment wherein according to him a State grant was settled upon 3 brothers jointly in 1939. We need not go into the validity or otherwise of this decision for the obvious reason that it was prior to the enforcement of the Kanun Mal Mewar and as such it cannot have any validity or binding force after the enforcement of the Act. We, therefore, hold that according to the provisions of the law governing the case the grant is to devolve upon the eldest son of the deceased state grantee and as such the claim of Shri Manohar Singh is perfectly correct. Shri Jiwan Singh Chordia also argued before us that sections 107 and 113 of the Kanun Mal Mewar were ultra vires of Arts. 14 and 19 of the Constitution and hence they should be held to be ineffective. Much need not be said on the point. No decision of the Supreme Court or the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan was produced before us in support of this proposition and hence we need not go into the arguments that were addressed before us on the point. Another contention raised by Shri Jiwan Singh before us is that as Shri Manohar Singh had relinquished his rights in the State grant in a letter addressed to his father, he should now be held ineligible to succeed to the State grant. This contention is devoid of all force. The letter which is alleged to be the basis of this relinquishment has been addressed by Manohar Singh to his father Ranjit Singh and is to the effect that as he was turned out on that day he would have nothing to do further with the house. There is no mention of any possible succession to the State grant Neither was that question in dispute then. Shri Ranjit Singh was the grantee and as long as he was alive, there could be no question of succession to the grant being open or available for discussion. In fact, there was absolutely no occasion to consider that point. The letter is merely an expression of frustration by a son who was turned out by his father and contained nothing but an empty thereat or bragging. The contention is thus not capable of any serious consideration. The result is that in accordance with the provisions contained in secs. 6 and 7 of the Rajasthan Jagir Decisions and Validation Act we hereby decide that succession of the deceased Ranjit Singh be sanctioned in favour of his elder son Manohar Singh and that the claim of Karan Singh be rejected. . ;