IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Reserved on : 18.12.2024 Date of decision : 17.03.2025 RSA-2317-1989 (O/M) 2025:PHHC:035578 Amarjit Singh through his legal heirs and another ...... Appellants Versus Parkash Kaur through her LR and others ...... Respondents RSA-2318-1989 (O/M) 2025:PHHC:035579 Jaswant Singh through his LRs ...... Appellant Versus Amarjit Singh and others ...... Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARSH BUNGER Present :- Mr. B.S. Jaswal, Ms. Vaishali Thakur, Mr. Ankit Bhardwaj, Advocates for appellants in RSA-2317-1989.

Mr. M.L. Saggar, Senior Advocate with Ms. Armaan Saggar, Advocate for appellant in RSA-2318-1989. Mr. Anshuman Narula, Advocate for respondent No. 1 in RSA-2317-1989 and for respondent No. 3 in RSA-2318-1989.

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HARSH BUNGER, J.

1. This order shall dispose of abovementioned two regular second appeals, as identical issues of law and facts are involved therein. For brevity, facts have been taken from RSA-2317-1989. For convenience, the parties herein are being addressed as per their status in the original suit.

2. This is plaintiffs' regular second appeal against judgment and decree dated 23.08.1989, passed by learned Additional District Judge, Amritsar, whereby he has set aside the judgment and decree dated 30.08.1986, passed by learned Additional Senior Sub Judge, Tarn Taran, whereby the suit of the plaintiffs was decreed. Consequently, the suit filed by plaintiff was ordered to be dismissed.

3. Briefly, plaintiffs (Amarjit Singh and Daljit Singh, both sons of Kirpal Singh) filed a suit for declaration to the effect that plaintiffs and defendant No. 3, namely, Jaswant Singh, son of Ajaib Singh, are heirs in equal share in the estate of Bhagat Singh son of Sunder Singh on the basis of registered Will dated 09.12.1966, executed by Bhagat Singh (deceased) in their favour. A further prayer for permanent injunction was also made for restraining defendants No. 1 and 2 from seeking partition of the suit land as heirs of Bhagat Singh (deceased) and dis-possessing the plaintiffs and defendant No. 3 from the suit land.

3.1 In order to understand the relationship between the parties, it is necessary to have a look at the family tree of Bhagat Singh (deceased), as reproduced in the plaint, which is as under :-

Sunder Singh Ajaib Singh Bhagat Singh died Jagat Singh issueless in year 1970 Kirpal Jaswant Iqbal Bhan Naranjan Singh Singh Singh Singh Kaur (Widow)

Amarjit Daljit Balraj Singh Parkash Kaur Singh Singh alias Sukha widow

3.2 It is the pleaded case of the plaintiffs that Bhagat Singh (deceased) executed a registered Will dated 09.12.1966 in favour of plaintiffs, defendant No. 3 (Jaswant Singh) and Iqbal Singh [husband of Parkash Kaur-defendant No. 1 and father of Balraj (minor)-defendant No. 2]. It was stated that as per registered Will dated 09.12.1966, Iqbal Singh was a joint beneficiary under said Will, however, he died during lifetime of Bhagat Singh (testator). It was further stated that defendants No. 1 and 2, claiming themselves to be heirs of Iqbal Singh, got mutation No. 2898 pertaining to the estate of Bhagat Singh (deceased) sanctioned in their favour with connivance of local revenue officials and on that basis, they filed an application for partition of joint khata, which was pending before the revenue authorities. It is the case of the plaintiffs that since Iqbal Singh had pre-deceased testator Bhagat Singh, therefore, registered Will dated 09.12.1966 will be deemed to have lapsed as far as defendants No. 1 and 2 are concerned. Consequently, they had no right to seek partition of joint khata on the basis of mutation No. 2898.

Accordingly, the suit was filed with the prayer, as noticed hereinabove.

3.3 Defendants No. 1 and 2 contested the suit by filing their written statement wherein certain preliminary objections were taken that the suit was time barred and that the plaintiffs have no locus standi to file the suit. The averments made in the plaint were also denied. It wa