This is an appeal under S. 39 of the Arbitration Act against the judgment and decree of the learned District Judge Srinagar dated 3-10-64 whereby he has refused to set aside an award passed by Shri M. M. Siddiqi, late Financial Commr. of the State dated 12-12-61.

The history of the litigation is that there is a holy shrine of Hazrat Makhdoom Sheikh Hamza on the Hari Parbat hillock, held in great esteem by the residents of Kashmir. The saint is alleged to have been born in the year 900 Hijri and passed away in the year 964 Hijri. He had no issue of his own, but it is alleged that he adopted one Mohd. Ali. His brother was one Baba Ali Raina. Descendents of Mohd. Ali, his adopted son, are called Pir Sabiban Pain and those of his brother, Baba Ali Raina, are called Pir Sahiban Bala. Both these Pir Sahiban are called Baba Sahiban also. As is usual at such shrines the devotees go to make their offerings in cash and kind. People in charge of the holy shrine contend for the income which thus accrues in the name of the holy shrine

In this case according to Shri M. M. Siddiqi, the arbitrator, the first dispute arose between the above mentioned two sets of Pirs and was finally decided by Babu Nilambar on 19th Jeth 1932 (Bikrami) by which order Khatumkhani was given to the Pir Sahiban Bala and Fatehkhani to Pir Sahiban Pain, and it was further held that one Subhan Pahlwan and his son should perform Khatumkhani on behalf of Pir Sahiban Bala. In addition to the two above sets of people working in the shrine, another set of people who are called the Khadims also claimed some share in the income of this shrine. On this claim of theirs, a dispute arose between the Pir Sahiban on the one hand and the Khadims on the other, in the year 1969 Bakrami. Earnings from the Shamadan Androni Deodi were given half to the Khadims and they were also to get half of the income of Phallus, i. e copper coins. The remaining half of this income was to go to the Pirs and the offerings, in other coins was also to go to them. This dispute went Upto the High Court and from the High Court it went to His Highness, the Maharaja Bahadur who by his order dated 7 5-74 upheld the decision of the courts based on an award given by one Mirza Ghulam Mustafa .

. In the present dispute there are alleged to be three parties one is the Pir Sahibs (both Pain and Bala, called also as Baha Sahiban}. The other party is the Khadims The third party is the managing committee MAjlis Intizamia) which exercises some sort of supervision over the holy shrine. The dispute between the Pirs and Khadims:

continued to such an extent that in the fifties there were criminal and civil cases between the Khadims and the Pirs. Four civil suits were brought in different courts, some by the so called Khadims the others, by the so called Pirs. These suits are

as under.

The first suit was No. 22 of 1957 instituted on 18-11-57 by Pir Ali Shah, who is a Baba against 90 defendants. One Mirza Kamal Din who happened to be the President of the Intizamia Committee had given an award and he was one of the defendants in the case. The second suit was No. 41 of 1958, Asadulla Pahalwan (Khadim) v. Lassa Baba & ors, instituted on 16-8-58. The third suit was suit No. 18-of 1960 instituted on 7th June 60 by Pir Abdul Majid Makhdoomi (Baba Sahib) against Asadullah Pahalwan & others, Khadims, in the court of the ADM Srinagar. The fourth suit was suit No. 74 of 1960 instituted on 26th July 60, Ali Mohd. and others (Khadims) v., Pir Mohiudin and others (Baba Sahiban) When these cases were pending in the different courts, a criminal revision pertaining to a dispute relating to the holy shrine came up before the High Court and was heard by the Honble C. J Thereupon the parties to the disputed agreed that all the four cases be transferred to the court of the District Judge and indicated before the learned C. J. their preparedness to r