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The said Nawab belonged to a leading family of Nobles in the Hyderabad State and was possessed of large Jagir and non-Jagir properties. Soon after his death, the Nizam appointed a Commission of Enquiry to hold a regular enquiry into the Virasat of the late Nawab Kamal Yar Jung on February 8, 1944. By the Firman issued by the Nizam in that behalf a direction was given that the Government should take the estate of the late Nawab under its supervision so that after the declaration of the successor, arrangements may be made about its delivery to the proper person. It appears that the Government accordingly took possession of the properties of the Nawab and continued in possession thereafter.

It appears that after the Military Governor was put in charge of the administration of the State of Hyderabad, the Nizam issued a Firman on September 19, 1948, delegating to the Military Governor all the authority for the administration of the State. Subsequently, by another Firman he made it clear that the authority delegated to the Military Governor included and shall always be deemed to have included authority to make Regulations. This latter Firman was issued on August 7, 1949. In due course, the Chief Minister took the place of the Military Governor and the Nizam issued a Firman on December 1, 1949, whereby all the powers of administration delegated by him to the Military Governor were as from the date of the notification terminated and the said powers were delegated to the Chief Minister. That is how the Chief Minister was vested with all the powers of administration which the Nizam possessed.

The legal nature of the jagir estate has been considered by the High Court in dealing with the Writ Petition filed by the widows of the late Nawab. Several Firmans to which reference has been made by the High Court indicate that on the death of the holder of the jagir, the estate devolved upon the State and though it was usually re- granted to the person who was found to be the successor on enquiry, in theory, jagirs were resumed on the death of the holder of the jagir and their heirs did not automatically succeed to them. It is also clear that in their lifetime the Jagirdars were not permitted to alienate the property and that it was not necessary that on the death of the Jagirdar the estate should be granted to all his heirs either. It also appears that no suit relating to jagir could be instituted in the Civil Court without the prior special permission of the Nizam. The Firman issued on December 16, 1901, to which the Judgment refers, shows that the heirs of the deceased holders of Jagirs could not insist upon their right to succeed to the estate because no Atiyat grant was heritable. Another Firman issued on September 28, 1928, showed that the powers of the grantor of the Jagir could not be curtailed by the rules framed for the guidance of the Atiyat Courts and that the grantor had an absolute right either to re-grant the state to the successor or not. There fore, the position appears to be that "the jagir tenure consisted of no more than usufructuary rights in land to which the revenue law of the State did not apply; that the Jagirs were inalienable and terminable on the death of the grantee, each Jagirdar, though an heir of the deceased holder, was deemed a fresh grantee of the estate, the right to confer such an estate being uncontrolled, absolute and beyond the jurisdiction of the Civil Courts.

It is true that on the death of a Jagirdar an enquiry was held about the succession to the said Jagir either by the Atiyat Courts or by a commission or Tribunal specially appointed in that behalf; and it is also true that generally the property of the deceased Jagirdar was granted to the person who was held by the Nizam to be the successor of the deceased Jagirdar. But that does not affect the true legal character of the Jagir.

This position is borne out by the previous Firmans issued by the Nizam in regard to the enquiry of the Atiyat estates. Circular No. 34 of 1341F prescribed rules for conducting enquiries and passing decisions in cases of Inam. This circular was subsequently superseded and in its place Circular No. 10 of 1338F was issued. The date of this latter circular is June 13, 1929. Several rules are prescribed in the from of sections for holding enquiries and passing decisions in Inam cases. It is not necessary to refer to the sections of this Circular in detail. It may be enough to state that three classes of officer are contemplated by the Circular for holding the enquiry. They are given powers to hold the enquiry. The enquiries are intended to be held generally in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the Civil Procedure Code. Appeals are provided against the decision of one officer to the officer higher in rank, but the ultimate position appears to be clear; when the Nizam-e- Atiyat expresses his opinion and submits it to the Hon'ble the Revenue Member, the Revenue Member thereupon expresses his own opinion, and on considering all the opinion expressed in the enquiry, "the Nizam is graciously pleased to issue his Firman and the Firman thus issued will be binding on the parties." Thus it appears that though formal provisions were made in regard to the holding of the enquiry, the nature of the enquiry was essentially consultative and the Nizam was not bound by the decisions reached by the several officers authorised to hold the enquiry. The fact that the Nizam usually accepted the decision of the enquiry does not alter the legal position that the Nizam might well have refused to accept the opinion and might even have refused to make a grant of the estate to anyone among the several claimants. Therefore, even under the Circulars issued by the Nizam for holding enquiries into the questions of succession to Jagirs, the position appears to be clear that jagirs were not heritable and on the death of the Jagirdar, on principle and in theory, it was always a case of resumption and re-grant.