( 1 ) THE suit of the plaintiff having been dismissed on preliminary issues he has come up in appeal before this Court.

( 2 ) THE two main submissions of the appellants are that the trial court has erred in deciding these issues as preliminary issues which ought to have been left for decision after the entire evidence had been recorded along with remaining issues and that even while deciding the issues as preliminary issues the court had erred in not confining itself to the legal aspect of these issues by also entering into the merits of factual controversy.

( 3 ) TO appreciate the controversy it would be necessary to first have the background facts leading to the suit. In the State of Bihar a large Estate known as Bettiah Estate was put under the management of the Court of Wards because its last owner Rani Janki Kunwar was said to be of unsound mind. On her death disputes arose about the succession to the property and a large number of claimants filed suits claiming succession to the estate. All these suits were ultimately disposed of by the Supreme Court by its decision reported in AIR 1983 SC 864 (sic) whereby all the suits by the various claimants were dismisse