JUDGMENT

Jai Lal, J. - The original owner of the property in dispute in this appeal was one Muhammad Hamid Shah, a Gardezi Sayed of Multan City. He belonged to the Shiah sect and had four wives at the time of his death which occurred some time in the year 1900. Two of his wives namely, Mt. Mughlani Bibi and Allah Wasai were prostitutes before heir marriage with Muhammad Hamid Shah while the other two, Mt. Umarao Bibi and Mt. Jindwaddi, belonged to the family of Sayads. On 1st October 1896, Muhammad Hamid Shah made what purports to be a gift of certain properties both movable and immovable, in favour of his wife Mt. Mughlani Bibi. The latter gifted a part of immovable property in favour of her brother's son Muhammad Bakhsh and Ali Muhammad, but we are not concerned with that property in this litigation. Mt. Mughlani Bibi died on 16th June 1913 leaving immovable property which is the subject of dispute in the present appeal. A part of this property had been mortgaged by Muhammad Hamid Shah before the gift in favour of Mt. Mughlani Bibi and has since been in possession of the mortgagees. After the death of this lady possession of such of the immovable property as was in her actual possession at the time of her death was taken by her sister Mt. Rani and mutation of the same, as well as of the property in possession of the mortgagees, was made in the revenue records in her favour on 21st October 1913 by the Naib Tahsildar. The order of the Naib Tahsildar was however, on appeal by Mt. Umrao Bibi and Mt. Jindwaddi, widows of Muhammad Hamid Shah, reversed by the Collector of Multan on 11th November 1913, and it was ordered that the properties be entered in the names of the aforesaid widows of Muhammad Hamid Shah. It appears that there was an appeal from this order to the Financial Commissioner but without success. The result was that on 4th January 1917 the name of Mt. Rani was removed from the proprietary column in the revenue records in respect of the properties in dispute and the names of Mt. Umrao Bibi and Jindwaddi substituted in its place, and thereupon the two widows dispossessed Mt. Rani of the property which was in her possession and took possession thereof.

2. The suit out of which the appeal has arisen was thereupon instituted by Mt. Rani and her two nephews to whom she had gifted portions of the property in suit, against Mt. Umrao Bibi and Jindwaddi, Sayad Fateh Ali Shah, Mt. Amir Ladi and others who claimed to have derived their interests in the property through the widows. Fateh Ali Shah and Mt. Amir Ladi are a brother and a daughter respectively of Muhammad Hamid Shah. The suit was for possession of properties described as Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the plaint and for a declaration of the plaintiffs title as owners of the properties described as Nos. 5, 6 and 7. These last-mentioned properties are those which are in possession of the mortgagees under the mortgages created by Muhammad Hamid Shah and which admittedly have not yet been redeemed. The suit was contested by the defendants on various grounds some of which are repeated before us and will be dealt with presently. The learned senior Subordinate Judge decreed the suit. The defendant Fateh Ali Shah has presented the present appeal in this Court and the other defendants apparently are taking no further interest in this litigation. Mt. Rani having died during the pendency of this appeal, her legal representatives have been substituted in her place.

3. The first question that needs determination is whether Mt. Mughlani Bibi was a Shiah before her marriage and whether Mt. Rani is her real sister. There is overwhelming evidence on the record in support of the conclusion of the learned Senior Subordinate Judge that Mt. Mughlani Bibi was a Shiah and that Mt. Rani was her real sister. In this connexion reference may be made to the testimony, inter alia of Hashim Ali Shah (P.W. 1) whose father acted as agent of Mt. Mughlani Bibi, Raza Ali Shah (P.W. 2) Gulab (P.W. 3) and Khuda Bakh