A widow is entitled to claim maintenance from her father-in-law under Section 19 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, and the transferee of the ancestral property during the pendency of the suit is liable to pay such maintenance under Section 28 of the Act.

Bal Raj Tuli, J.

1. The appellant, Shrimati Kapur Kaur, is the widow of Hakam Singh, who predeceased his father Kishan Singh, Hakam Singh died in April, 1957, as a result of a truck accident. His father, Kishan Singh, owned agricultural land, which was ancestral. Shrimati Kapur Kaur filed a suit against her father-in-law, Kishan Singh, on July 23, 1958, claiming maintenance at the rate of Rs. 40 per mensem. Having got the scent of the suit, Kishan Singh made a gift of his entire land measuring 82 Kanals, 8 Marias in favour of his daughter, Gurnam Kaur, on July 31, 1958. She stated in the plaint that she had no source of income. She further mentioned in the plaint that the parties were governed by Customary Law in the matter of maintenance and her father-in-law was liable to pay maintenance allowance to her.

2. The suit was dismissed by Shri Mohindra Singh, Sub-Judge 1st Class, Faridkot, on October 29, 1959, but, on appeal, the learned District Judge, Bhatinda, ordered re-trial by his judgment dated July 28, 1960, after framing the following issues:-

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(1) Whether the plaintiff is entitled to claim maintenance against the defendant according to custom applicable to the parties and what that custom is?

(2) If issue No. 1 is not proved in the affirmative, is the plaintiff still entitled to claim maintenance otherwise according to law?

(3) Is the property against which charge is claimed ancestral of the deceased Hakam Singh and the defendant as alleged in para 9 of the plaint and what is its effect?

(4) To what amount of maintenance, if any, is the plaintiff entitled?

(5) Whether Kapur Kaur is living in adultery with Jagrup Singh and, if so, what is its effect?

3. On issues Nos. (1) and (2) the learned trial Court held that there was no such property out of which maintenance allowance could be granted to the plaintiff in view of the provisions contained in Section 19 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (No. 78 of 1956) (hereinafter called the Act), but on issue No. (3) the finding was that 82 Kanals and 8 Marias of land had been proved to be ancestral qua the plaintiffs husband. On issue No. (4) the learned trial Court held that the plaintiff was entitled to a maintenance allowance of Rs. 20 per month, if she succeeded on other issues. Issue No. (5) was decided against the defendant.

4. As a result of his findings on various issues, the suit of the plaintiff was dismissed on December 9, 1960.

5. Feeling aggrieved, the plaintiff went up in appeal which was dismissed by the Additional District Judge, Faridkot, on January 4, 1962. The learned lower appellate Court held that the ancestral land measuring 82 Kanals and 8 Marias in the hands of the defendant was not coparcenary property within the meaning of the word as used in Section 19 of the Act and, therefore, the defendant was not liable to maintain the plaintiff.

6. No other issue was argued before the learned lower appellate Court. The appellant has filed the present appeal against the decree of the learned lower appellate Court.

7. The first point argued by the learned counsel for the appellant is that a Full Bench of this Court by majority has held in Gurdip Kaur v. Ghamand Singh. ILR (1965) 1 Puni 271 = (AIR 1965 Punj 238) (FB), that the term "coparcenary property" occurring in Section 19 (2) of the Act means the property which consists of ancestral property, or of joint acquisitions or of property thrown into the common stock, and accretions to such property. That case also related to Jats and the point of law arose in similar circumstances. Gurdip Kaur had filed a suit against her father-in-law, Ghamand Singh, for maintenance at the rate of Rs. 100 per mensem, she being the widow of a predeceased son.

8. Respectfully following that decision, I hold that the appellant was entitled to a maintenance allowance from her father-in-law after the death of her husband. The amount of maintenance allowance was fixed as Rs. 20 per mensem by the learned trial Court and tha