C.M. LODHA, C.J.—This is a special appeal under sec. 18 of the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance from the judgment and decree dated August 9, 1974, by the learned Single Judge, whereby the learned Judge allowed the appeal filed by the plaintiff Syed Ilmuddin and set aside the judgment and decree dated Dec. 14, 1970, passed by the Civil Judge, Ajmer, in Civil Suit No. 271 of 1948 and granted "a declaratory decree in favour of the plaintiff against the defendant to the effect that so far as nearness in propinquity to the last Sajjada Nashin is concerned, the plaintiff is the rightful person entitled to hold the office of the Sajjada Nashin of the Dargah Khwajah Sahib of Ajmer and that Hakim Inayat Hussain had no right or title to hold the said office as against the plaintiff.

2. The case has a chequered history inasmuch as the suit was filed as far back as May 18, 1948, in the court of the Sub-Judge, First Class, Ajmer. It was dismissed on May 9, 1951, on the preliminary ground that the suit was not maintainable in view of sec. 119 of the Ajmer Land and Revenue Regulations. Aggrieved by the judgment and decree of the trial court, the plaintiff filed appeal to the District Judge, Ajmer, who, by his judgment dated August 27, 1952, set aside the judgment and decree by the trial court and held that section 119 of the Ajmer Land and Regulations No. 11 of 1877 did not bar the jurisdiction of the civil court to try the suit. Thereupon, the defendant filed second appeal in the court of the then Judicial Commissioner, Ajmer, who, by his judgment dated November 17, 1953, held that the jurisdiction of the civil court was barred and, in this view of the matter, he set aside the judgment of the District Judge and restored that of the trial court. Dissatisfied with the judgment of the Judicial Commissioner, the plaintiff went in appeal to the Supreme Court by certificate and the Supreme Court, by its judgment dated March 7, 1961, allowed the appeal, set aside the judgment of the trial court and remitted the case to the trial court for fresh decision in accordance with law. Meanwhile the court of the Sub-Judge had been abolished and the Munsiff, Ajmer City, acquired jurisdiction to try the suit. It is also important to note that during the pendency of the aforesaid litigation, Dargah Khwaja Sahib Act of 1955 (36 of 1955) (which will hereinafter be referred to as "the Act") came into force and the Dargah Committee constituted under the Act filed an application to be impleaded as a party to the suit. This application was allowed on September 30, 1964, and the Dargah Committee, Ajmer, was impleaded as a defendant. In its written statement, the Dargah Committee pleaded that on the death of Hakim Inayat Hussain, responsibility for making interim arrangement for the performance of the functions of the Sajjada Nashin had devolved upon it under section 13 (1) of the Act and, consequently, it had appointed Syed Saulat Hussain, son of Hakim Inayat Hussain, as interim Sajjada Nashin and further that this appointment had been approved by the Governor of the State of Rajasthan vide Notification dated July 27, 1964. with effect from the date of the death of Hakim Inayat Hussain (Ex A.8, page 416). The Committee further pleaded that under section 13 of the Act. it had the authority to make permanent arrangements for the office of the Sajjada Nashin. Thus, in short, its plea was that the suit had become infructuous. The learned Munsiff, by his order dated October 13,1964, overruled the objection raised by the Committee and held that the suit was triable by the civil court. By another order dated December 12, 1964, the Munsiff also rejected the plea that the suit had been undervalued and the court-fee paid on it was insufficient. A revision was taken to the High Court from the orders of the Munsiff dated October 13, 1964 and December 12, 1964. Jagat Narayan J., as he then was, by his order dated August 25, 1966, allowed the revision application with the consent of

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