Sir Lionel Leach—The parties in this appeal are Dadra Rajputs, an agricultural tribe of the Montgomery District of the Punjab. The appeal arises out of a suit brought by the appellants in the Court of the Sub-ordinate Judge, Montgomery, challenging the validity of a deed of gift, executed on 17th December 1938, by Mt. Rajan, defendant I, in favour of her grandson defendant 2, who is the respondent in the appeal.

2. Defendant I, is the widow of one Amira, who died in or about the year 1913. The respondent is the son of a daughter of Amira and defendant I. On the execution of the deed of gift the respondent applied for mutation of names in the records kept by the land revenue authorities, but the Assistant Collector refused the application on the ground that,

"a female has, tinder no circumstances, a right to alienate property by sale or by way of charity under a will, oral or in writing;

and his decision was upheld by the Collector on appeal. Thereupon the respondent filed a suit in the Court of the Subordinate Judge, Montgomery, for a decree for the possession of the land. The only defendant was the donor and on 9th November 1939, with her consent, the Court passed a decr