Judgement

Appeal (No. 52 of 1922) from a decree of the High Court (April 13, 1917) reversing a decree of the First Class Subordinate Judge at Bijapur.

The suit was brought in 1912 by the appellant, to recover as the nearest reversioner to the last male holder certain watan lands from the respondent, who made title thereto as the adopted son of the adoptive father of the last male holder. The plaint originally contained a prayer for a declaration that the adoption relied on was invalid, but that prayer was deleted by permission of the Court.

The facts appear from the judgment of the Judicial Committee.

Substantially the only question in the appeal was whether art. 118 of the Indian Limitation Act, 1908, applied. By that article the period of limitation for a suit " to obtain a declaration that an alleged adoption is invalid, or never, in fact, took place," is six years, the time from which the period begins to run being " when the alleged adoption becomes known to the plaintiff."

By art. 141 the period in the case of a suit for possession of immovable property " by a Hindu or Mahomedan entitled to possession of immovable property on the death of a Hindu or Mahomedan female " is twel