The Court's discretion in transferring suits under Clause 13 of the Letters Patent is guided by the interests of justice, which includes promoting the confidence of parties in the fairness and impartiality of the tribunal.

( 1 ) THIS is an application under Clause 13 of the Letters Patent for transfer of a suit pending in the Subordinate Judge's Court at Jalpaiguri to this Court to be tried and determined in its Extraordinary Original Civil Jurisdiction.

( 2 ) THE suit has been filed to recover a large estate, called Baikunthpur, situated in the district of Jalpaiguri being one of the largest estates in that district and concerns a family which is of importance not only in that district but also in the province of Bengal.

( 3 ) THIS family, originally Koch, apostatised to Hinduism, and although affected to be Hindus it has retained and is governed by family customs which as regards some matters are at variance with Hindu law. It appears that the law of primogeniture governs succession to the estate; females are excluded from inheritance. The successive holders of the estate are called Raikuts. Mokrund Deb Raikut v. Bissessuree, 9 S. D. A. R. 159 and Fanindra Deb v. Rajeswar Dass, 12 I. A. 72 : (11 Cal. 463 P. C. ).

( 4 ) THE last holder of the title and of the estate was Prasanua Deb Raikut (hereinafter called "the Raikut") who died in December 1946, leaving a widow, Rani Ashrumati (defendant 1) and a daughter by her Srimati Prativa who has been married to a gentleman of the name of Dr. S. K. Bose who as the name suggests is a caste Hindu. The Raikut had no son by the Rani.

( 5 ) THE plaintiff in this suit claims to be the eldest son of the Raikut by a lady of the name of Srimati Renchi Debi, a Lepcha by birth, coming not from a very well-to-do family in the district of Darjeeling. It is alleged that she was married to the Raikut according to the Gandharva form of marriage. This form of marriage rests upon agreement and springs from mutual love.

( 6 ) THERE is no doubt that the Raikut for many years lived with this lady Sm. Renchi Dabi as man and wife, and had three sons by her, plaintiff and defendants 5 and 6.

( 7 ) IMMEDIATELY on the death of the Raikut, Rani Ashrumati purported to perform what is called the accession ceremony (formal installation to the guddi) that is to say, she purported to become the holder of the estate and possibly of the title though it is said that females in the family do not inherit the estate. This ceremony was approved by the leading men of the district who in token of their approval signed a document. Among them were some of the leading lawyers of the district and two gentlemen who sometimes served in the Ministry of the Province of Bengal.

( 8 ) FOLLOWING the accession ceremony, defendant 1 took and has been in possession of the major part of the estate, if not of the whole of it. Naturally, therefore the officers of the estate both old and new are under the control of Rani Ashrumati.

( 9 ) THE plaintiff who is a minor has filed the suit by his next friend, his mother, inter alia, for a declaration that he is entitled to the title of Raikut and recover the estate.

( 10 ) THE defendants in the suit are Rani Ashrumati (defendant 1), three distant relations of the Raikut (defendants 2 to 4), and the other two minor sons of Sm. Renchi Debi (defendants 5 and 6 ).

( 11 ) THE plaintiff alleges that his mother was lawfully married to the Raikut and he is his eldest legitimate son of the Raikut and as such is entitled to the title and to the estate.

( 12 ) DEFENDANT 1 filed her written statement on 19-1-1948, wherein she denied that there was any marriage between the Raikut and Sm. Renchi Debi. According to her Sm. Renchi Debi was only a mistress of the Raikut and therefore the plaintiff is not the legitimate son of the Raikut and as such he is not entitled to succeed to the estate or to the title.

( 13 ) DEFENDANTS 2 to 4 have also filed their written statements. They deny the marriage of the plaintiff's mother with the Raikut and the legitimacy of the plaintiff. They assert their own respective claims to the title and to the estate.

( 14 ) DEFENDANTS 5 and 6, brothers of the plaintiff, have