Judgement

BEG, J. :- This is a Defendant s Appeal, by grant of Special Leave, against the judgment and decree of a learned Judge of the Allahabad High Court allowing a plaintiff s second appeal.

2. The plaintiff s case was that the Government of Rampur had given him a house "under the orders of His Highness the Nawab of Rampur, passed on 23rd June, 1945. It appears that, after the merger of Rampur State in Uttar Pradesh in 1949, when Rampur became a District of Uttar Pradesh, this house was given by the Government of Uttar Pradesh to the Municipal Board of Rampur. Defendant-Appellant, which demanded rent from the plaintiff by notice. On the plaintiff s refusal to pay, the house was attached on 23rd February, 1955. The plaintiff deposited a sum of Rupees 100/- under protest. He then filed his suit, on 26-10-56, for a declaration that he is the owner in possession of the house, and, in the alternative that he is a "licensee" entitled to remain in possession of the house for life without payment of any rent.

3. The defendants, the State of Uttar Pradesh, the Municipal Board of Rampur, and the Public Works Department at Rampur, denied the alleged gift of either the ownership or of a life-