Judgment

BEG J.:- The plaintiffs-appellants, before us by grant of special leave, had filed a suit on 20-4-l959 far possession against Me defendants respondents, of 331 Canals and 11 Marlas of land the Khasra numbers of which are given in the plaint. The plaintiffs were the sons of Smt. Premi a daughter of Sham Singh (deceased), the original owner at the plots, and of Smt. Malan, who, as the widow of Sham Singh, had gifted the plots in dispute 1935, half and half, to the plaintiffs and Sent. Khemi, the younger sister of their deceased mother, Smt. Premi. It appears that Smt. Khemi, who was issueless, had also made a gift in favour of the plaintiffs before her death in 1944. The plaintiffs are said to have obtained possession of the whole land in dispute thus gifted to them. But, as there was considerable uncertainty at that time about the rights of the daughters and the powers of a widow to donate during her life time under the customary law in Punjab, which was applicable to the parties, the defendants-respondents, the 8th degree collaterals of Sham Sink, had filed a suit on 3-7-1940 for possession of the land in dispute. This suit had been stayed from 1941 to 29-5-1946, under the