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1921 Supreme(SC) 97
PRIVY COUNCIL [ON APPEAL FROM THEEAST INDIES]
LORD BUCKMASTER, SIR JOHN EDGE, MR. AMEER ALI, AND SIR LAWRENCE JENKINS.
GOPAL LAL SETT - Appellant
Versus
PURNA CHANDRA BASAK - Respondents
On Appeal from the High Court at Calcutta.
Decided On : December 20, 1921.
Solicitors for appellant: T. L. Wilson & Co.
Solicitors for respondents: W. W. Box & Co., Watkins & Hunter, J. Page Thomas.
In the absence of a direct gift to a deity, a will imposing religious duties on a specific person confers ownership on that person. Additionally, final orders in administration suits regarding property interests are binding as res judicata.
Headnote:(A) Code of Civil Procedure, 1882 - Section 539 - Private Trust - Establishment of a scheme for administration - Where a trust is determined to be a private trust for the worship of deities, the provisions of Section 539 regarding the establishment of a court-approved scheme for administration are inappropriate.
(B) Construction of Wills - Religious Endowments - Gift to Deities vs. Gift to Person charged with maintenance - Where a will is addressed to a specific individual and imposes the burden of performing religious duties (sheba) without an express direct gift of the property to the idols, the property is treated as conferred upon that individual, who holds it charged with the performance of those duties.
(C) Res Judicata - Administration Suits - Scope and Effect - An order made in administration proceedings declaring the nature of interests in an estate, once the time for appeal has lapsed, is final and conclusive and operates as res judicata between the parties, even if the order does not contain express words to that effect.
Facts of the case:
A testatrix left a will addressed to her grandson, directing that the income from certain properties, including company papers and two houses, be used for the worship of various deities. The will specified that the remainder of the income from the two houses be divided among three beneficiaries. A dispute arose between different branches of the family regarding whether the property was dedicated absolutely to the idols or given to the grandson, and whether the interests of the three beneficiaries in the houses were absolute or limited to their lifetimes. The lower court had held that the property was dedicated to the idols and that the shebaitship was heritable.
Findings of Court:
The court found that there was no direct gift of the whole property to the idols. The property, excluding the two houses, was given absolutely to the grandson, charged with the performance of worship. The shebaitship was not heritable but was for the grandson's lifetime. Regarding the two houses, the court held that previous judicial orders in administration proceedings had already declared the absolute interests of the three beneficiaries, and these orders were binding on all parties.
Issues: The main issues were whether the will created a dedication of property to the idols or a gift to a person charged with their maintenance; whether the shebaitship was heritable; and whether prior judicial orders regarding the distribution of income from specific properties operated as res judicata.
Ratio Decidendi: When a will is addressed to a specific person and casts the burden of religious duties upon them without an express gift to the deity, ownership of the property is inferred to be conferred upon that person. Furthermore, directions given in an administration suit regarding the distribution of interests in an estate are final and binding once the period for appeal has expired, thereby precluding re-litigation of those interests.
Result: Appeal allowed in part and cross-appeal dismissed; decree of the lower court varied to discharge the requirement for an administration scheme and declare the absolute interest of the grandson in the property (excluding the houses) and the res judicata effect of prior decrees regarding the houses.
Legal Category Hierarchy
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family law
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wills and probate
- construction of wills
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hindu law
- shebaitship
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wills and probate
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practice and procedure
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civil procedure
- res judicata
- administration suits
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civil procedure
Judgement
Consolidated Appeals (Nos. 169 and 170 of 1919) from a judgment and decree (January 10, X908) of the High Court in its ordinary civil jurisdiction, the suit having been heard by a special Division Bench of two judges in order to obviate the necessity of an appeal to the appellate jurisdiction of the Court.
One Gobind Chandra Basak, a Hindu governed by the Bengal school of Hindu law, died on February 7, 1810. He had two wives, Kanakmoni Dasi and Bhaggobati Dasi, of whom the latter alone survived him. Bhaggobati Dasi died on May 29, 1841, having on that date executed a will the construction of which was the subject of the present litigation.
The will commenced with the words "To the fortunate Srijut Udoy Chand Basak, chief among the prosperous, I, Srimati Bhaggobati Dasi, endite this hukumnana"; it then proceeded to make the provisions stated in the judgment of the Judicial Committee.
The present suit was brought in 1904 by the first respond ent, a descendant of Gobind Chandra Basak and his wife Kanakmoni Dasi, who predeceased him, against numerous defendants for the construction of the will, and for a declaration that he was entitled to the shebaitship of the idols. The facts relative to the present decision of the Judicial Committee sufficiently appear from the judgment; the view taken by their Lordships made immaterial other questions to which the arguments at the hearing were directed.
The Division Bench (Brett and Mookerjee JJ.) by its judgment delivered on January 10, 1908, held that the plaintiff, and the defendants who were descended from Kanakmoni Dasi, were not heirs of Bhaggobati Dasi, and had no right to the shebaitship or the estate. The learned judges also held that the question as to those rights had not been determined by the previous litigation and the decree therein made on December 14, 1857, referred to in the judgment of the Judicial Committee. They further held (inter alia) that under the will Udoy Chand Basak was sole shebait, but that no heritable right of shebaitship was conferred on him; that the testatrix dedicated the whole of her stridhan properties to the idols named ; that the bequest of the surplus income of the two houses to Monmohini Dasi, Radha Kanta Sett, and Golapmoni was limited to their lifetime ; that the succession to the shebaitship opened on the death of Udoy Chand Basak, and that at that time Radha Kanta Sett was, according to the Dayabhaga, the heir of Bhaggobati Dasi, and entitled to the shebaitship and the properties ; that accordingly Behari Lal Sett and others were entitled, and not the present appellant Gopal Lal Sett and his brother. They further held that Joy Krishna Basak was at the date of Bhaggobatis death a lunatic, and therefore was permanently excluded from succession, The learned judges made a decree accordingly, and directed that certain accounts should be taken, and that a scheme should be submitted for the approval of the Court by the persons declared to be shebaits for carrying out the religious trusts of the will.
1921. Nov. 11, 14, 15, De Gruyther K.C., Dunne K.C., Ramsay, and K.C., Chaudhuri for the representatives of Gopal Lal Sett, appellant deceased.
Sir George Lowndes K.C., E. B. Raikes, and Dube for the representatives of Puma Chandra Basak, deceased respondent, and other respondents descended from Kanakmoni Dasi.
Upjohn K.C. and Kenworthy Brown for respondents descended from Bhaggobati Dasi through her grandson Radha Kanta Sett.
Parikh for Khoka, a minor respondent through his guardian ad litem.
Dec. 20. The judgment of their Lordships was delivered by
LORD BUCKMASTER. The history of the litigation of which these appeals form part, extending over a period of sixty-five years, has been carefully and minutely examined in the judgment of the learned judges of the High Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, from which Court these appeals have been brought. Their Lordships therefore do not propose to attempt a repetition of the facts, except so f
