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1980 Supreme(All) 89

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
Amitav Banerji, J.
SATYA DEV - Appellant
Versus
BEHARIJI MAHARAJ, BIRAJMAN MANDIR - Respondents
Second Appeal 1259 Of 1971
Decided On : 02/11/1980

Advocates Appeared:
P.C.GAUTAM, S.N.Verma

A Sarbarkar cannot change the line of succession or the nature or object of a waqf by making a gift to the waqf, and the ordinary law of succession will apply.

Headnote:

WAQF - LINE OF SUCCESSION - SARBARKAR'S POWER TO CHANGE - ADDITIONAL ENDOWMENTS - ACCEPTANCE OF GIFT WITH CONDITION - VALIDITY - ORDINARY LAW OF SUCCESSION - APPLICABILITY.

Fact of the Case:

Plaintiffs sued for removal of defendants from Shebaitship of an idol and possession of the temple and properties. The trial court dismissed the suit, but the lower appellate court decreed the suit for joint possession of the properties. The defendants appealed, and the plaintiffs filed a cross-objection.

Finding of the Court:

The court held that the deed of 1865, which purported to lay down the line of succession, was not a genuine document. The court also held that the Sarbarkar could not change the line of succession by accepting a gift with a condition attached, and that the ordinary law of succession would apply.

Issues: 1. Whether the deed of 1865 was a genuine document. 2. Whether the Sarbarkar could change the line of succession by accepting a gift with a condition attached. 3. Whether the ordinary law of succession would apply.

Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the deed of 1865 was not a genuine document based on various reasons, including the fact that the stamped paper showed the name of the purchaser, the document was written in future tense, no entries were made in favor of the deity until 1872, and the document was not registered. 2. The court held that the Sarbarkar could not change the line of succession by accepting a gift with a condition attached, as this would allow the Sarbarkar to change the aims, objects, or purpose of the waqf or the line of succession of shebaitship to his own advantage. 3. The court held that the ordinary law of succession would apply, as the deed of 1865 was not a genuine document and the Sarbarkar could not change the line of succession.

Final Decision: The court dismissed both the appeal and the cross-objection, and directed the parties to bear their own costs.

AMITAV BANERJI, J.

( 1 ) THIS is a second appeal by the defendants.

( 2 ) PLAINTIFFs suit through Shri Janaki Prasad for removal of the defendants from Shebaitship of the idol-Behariji Maharaj-plaintiff No. 1 and for possession of the temple and the properties was dismissed by the trial Court. On appeal by the plaintiffs the judgment and decree of the trial court were set aside and the suit was decreed only for joint possession of the properties described in the plaint. The suit in respect of the other reliefs was dismissed. The defendants have come up in second appeal in this Court and the plaintiffs have filed a cross-objection.

( 3 ) THE relevant facts are as follows: The plaint case was that Lachhman the common ancestor of the parties had constructed the temple of Behariji Maharaj in village Daulatabad and dedicated the property which belonged to him to the temple. He also executed an Iqrarnama on 1st Jan. , 1865 indicating the scheme of the waqf and also the order of succession in regard to the office of the Shebaitship. According to the terms of the Iqrarnama Parshot-tam, who was the eldest son of kewal Ram became a Sarbarkar of the disputed temple until he died in the year 1944. Janki prasad, plaintiff No. 2 claimed that he was the eldest son of Parshottam and in accordance with the order ofsuccession laid down in the Iqrarnama dated 1st Jan. , 1865 he was entitled to the office of the Shebaitship and to the possession of the properties. He claimed that defendants had wrongly mentioned their names as Sarbarkar of the temple and were also illegally in possession of the properties in dispute. Defendant No. 1 Satya Dev admitted that Lachhman was the common ancestor but denied that Lachhman was owner of the properties in suit. According to him Lachhman was the proprietor of only two plots Nos. 514 and 518. He, however, admitted that Lachhman had created a waqf and dedicated the aforesaid two plots to the temple of Behariji which he had constructed in his lifetime. The alleged Iqrarnama was said to be a forged document and it was stated that Lachhman had never executed it. Mathura Prasad was a sarbarkar of the temple even in the lifetime of Lachhman and the temple had fallen down during the management of Mathura Prasad. After the death of Lachhman, Parshottam got the temple re-constructed and dedicated his own properties to the temple to maintain it. Parshottam also executed a registered deed dated 2nd July, 1951 dedicating his own property to the temple but had at the same time laid down a new line of succession. The defendants have been serving as sarbarkar and were in possession of the properties in pursuance of the aforesaid deed. It was further pleaded that even if the deed dated 1st Jan. , 1865 was held to be valid and genuine then after the death of Janki Prasad, the plaintiff No. 2 Maheshwar Dayal had no right to be the sarbarkar of the temple in dispute and the suit was liable to be dismissed.

( 4 ) THE trial Court enquired into the question if Lachhman was the owner of the entire properties described in the plaint and had created a waqf in regard to all the properties mentioned in the plaint. Another question was whether Lachhman had executed a deed dated 1st Jan. , 1865 and whether Parshottam had created a waqf and laid down the line of succession. A fourth question was whether Maheshwar Dayal was entitled to maintain the suit. The trial Court held that the deed dated 1st Jan. , 1865 was a forged and fictitious document. Lachhman was the owner of only two plots Nos. 514 and 518 and he had created a waqf only in respect of the aforesaid two plots and not in respect of the remaining plots. The suit was dismissed. In the appeal by the plaintiffs the lower Appellate Court held that the document. Ext. 22, alleged to have been executed, by lachhman in the year 1865 was not a genuine document. Parshottam had not created any new waqf and the finding to the contrary of the trial Court was set aside. It was also stated that




















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