Judgement

Appeal (No. 74 of 1917) from a judgment arid decree of the High Court (May 20, 1916) affirming, subject to a slight modification, a decree of the Subordinate Judge of Mirzapur (March 3, 1915).

The suit was instituted by the respondent to establish his title to the estates appertaining to the raj of Agori-Barhar. The last male holder, Raja Kesho Saran Shah, died in 1871 leaving no children ; since that date his widow had been in possession until her death in 1913. The plaintiff-respondent was the direct senior lineal descendant of the common ancestor of himself and the last male holder. The first two appellants (defendants), who were in possession, were uncles of the plaintiff, being thus one degree nearer to the common ancestor than the plaintiff. The family was governed by the Mitakshara.

The facts appear more fully from the judgment of the Judicial Committee and from the report of the appeal to the High Court at I. L. R. 38 A. 590, in which report a pedigree will be found.

The material allegations in the plaint were that the estate was impartible, and that by custom the succession was governed by lineal primogeniture; the possession by the deceased rani was accounted fo