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(c) undemarcated forests. Demarcated forests were those which were defined and stated as demarcated forests in the forest settlements of Bushahr State whereas undemarcated forests included (a) all tracts of land bearing tree growth or from which the trees were felled and which paid no land revenue as cultivated land to the Bushahr State; and (b) such other tracts of land, cultivated or uncultivated, as with the previous sanction of the Raja were from time to time included in the existing undemarcated forests or were declared to be undemarcated forests. By clause (III) of the said document, the Raja granted to the Punjab Government 'the entire and sole control of the whole of the forests of Bushahr excepting those reserved for the use of the Raja'. The Raja was to receive an annual payment of Rs. 1 lakh to be paid in two equal half-yearly installments of Rs.50,000 on 30th April and 3 1st of October of each year. In addition to the said amount of Rs. 1 lakh he was to receive payment of the whole net surplus on the working of the forests included in the lease. Thus, according to clause (III) of the lease agreement the Raja granted to the Punjab Government the entire and sole control of the forests of Bushahr, excepting those reserved for his use under clause (II) thereof. Under Section 1 of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, as from 15th August, 1947, two independent Dominions of India and Pakistan came to be set up. By virtue of section 4 the Province of the Punjab as constituted under the Government of India Act, 1935, ceased to exist and the same was recon- stituted into two new Provinces of West Punjab and East Punjab. In section 7(1) were set out the consequences of the setting up of the two Dominions, Paragraph (b) whereof said that 'the suzerainty of His Majesty over the Indian States lapses, and with it, all treaties and agreements in force at the date of passing of this Act between His Majesty and the rulers of Indian States'. The plaintiff's father Raja Padam Singh having died in April 1947, his eider son Tikka Vir Bhadra Singh born to his first wife Shanta Devi succeeded to the Gaddi under the rule of primogeniture but since he was a minor a council for the administration of Bushahr State was set up to mind the affairs of the State. On 15th April, 1948 an agreement of merger was signed whereby the Raja of Bu- shahr ceded to the Dominion of India 'full and exclusive authority, jurisdiction and powers for and in relation to the governance of the State'. A centrally administered unit of Himachal Pradesh came into being on that day. The agree- ment of lease dated 25th September, 1942 was formally termi- nated by mutual agreement between the East Punjab Government and the Himachal Pradesh Administration on 1st April, 1949. While the forests of Bushahr were under the control and management of the Government of Punjab, Raja Padam Singh, the plaintiff's father, executed a document on 14th Maghar 1999. Bikrami (i.e. 28th November, 1942) whereby he bestowed upon the plaintiff and his mother Rani Sahiba Katochi land admeasuring about 1720 acres. This original document called the Patta was admittedly lost during the minority of the plaintiff, vide statement of counsel for defendants Nos. 1 and 2 dated 29th May, 1969. However, the factum of the grant cannot be disputed as it has been referred to in the subse- quent two grants executed by the plaintiff's father on 29th Phagun 1999, Bikrami (i.e. 11th March, 1943--Exh. P-2) and 24th Maghar 2003, Bikrami (i.e. 10th December, 1946--Exh. P-1). These two subsequent grants Exh. P-1 and Exh. P-2 have been proved through the evidence of the scribe' PW 1 Thakur Chet Ram. By the execution of the third grant dated 24th Maghar 2003, Bikrami, the half share granted to the Rani Sahiba Katochi under the first grant of 14th Maghar 1999, Bikrami, was transferred to the plaintiff with the Rani Sahiba's consent. Thus, the plaintiff became the sole gran- tee of the entire area of 1720 acres but as he was a minor his interest was looked after initially by his father who expired in April 1947 and thereafter by his mother Rani Sahiba Katochi as his natural guardian. After the execution of the first grant of patta the plaintiff's father made an Order No. 5158 of even date directing his revenue officers to effect consequential changes in the mutation. Exh. P-6 is a copy of the mutation entry which contains the following endorsement:

"According to Shri Sarkar's order No. 5158 dated 14.7.99 (equivalent to 28th November, 1942), the mutation, granting permanent ownership, without condition, of khata khatauni Nos. 1/1 to 20 and 2/21 to 25, plots 106, measuring 263.4 (219.7 plus 43.17) and part of uncultivated Jagir the reve- nue and swai of which has been remitted is sanctioned in favour of Rani Sahiba Katochi and Rajkumar Rajinder Singh Sahib in equal shares in its present form."

The mutation entry Exh. P-6 does not mention the khasra numbers of the 106 plots. Khata khatauni No. 1/1 to 20 comprise 82 plots showing an area admeasuring 219.7 bighas as cultivated and 200.8 bighas as uncultivated whereas khata khatauni No. 2/21 to 25 comprise 24 plots showing an area admeasuring 5.6 bighas as cultivated and 38.11 bighas as uncultivated. The mutation entry, besides mentioning the area of 263.4 bighas, also speaks of 'part of uncultivated Jagir the revenue and swai of which has been remitted'. Even according to the Division Bench of the High Court it is not in dispute that the measurement of 106 plots is much more than 263.4 bighas. This stands corroborated by the note of Mr. Raina, the then Conservator of Forests, Shimla Circle dated 24th July, 1960 which discloses that the disputed plots over which the plaintiff has made a claim admeasure about 1819 acres. By the second grant of 29th Phagun 1999, Bikrami, the plaintiff's father granted certain additional land, namely, Basa Sharotkhala Pargana Bhatoligarh, jointly to the plaintiff and his mother Rani Sahiba Katochi. This grant refers to the first grant of 14th Maghar 1999, Bikra- mi. The third grant of 24th Maghar 2003, Bikrami, was exe- cuted by the plaintiff's father with a view to making the plaintiff the sole beneficiary under the first two grants by deleting the name of Rani Sahiba Katochi as a joint grantee with her consent. There is no dispute that under the afore- said three grants taken together the properties mentioned therein were bestowed upon the plaintiff exclusively and the Rani Sahiba Katochi had no share therein, nor did she, at any time, make a claim thereto. After the execution of the third grant an order No. 258 dated 3rd December, 1946, Exh. P- 14, was made by the plaintiff's father directing that all the lands and 'bases' granted under the Patta of 24th Maghar 2003, Bikrami, exclusively to the plaintiff should be shown in his sole name in the records by deleting the name of Rani Sahiba Katochi therefrom. On the death of the plaintiffs father in April 1947, the Political Agent, Punjab Hill States, Shimla, wrote a letter Exh. P-50 dated 9th August, 1947 expressing dissatisfaction with the non-implementation of the Patta and directed speedy implementation thereof. In paragraph 3 of the said letter it was stated as under:

The learned Trial Judge on a close scrutiny of the oral and documentary evidence placed on record came to the con- clusion that (i) the plaintiff's father, who in internal matters had sovereign powers, had bestowed the lands in dispute as a perpetual and unconditional grant on the plain- tiff and the mere fact that in the mutation entry the area was shown to be 263.4 bighas did not imply that the grant was limited to that much land only. He held that (ii) in the State of Bushahr only cultivated land was generally measured and forest lands remained unmeasured and, therefore, the area of only revenue yielding cultivated land was mentioned in the mutation entry but that did not mean that the grant was confined to that area only. He also held that the subse- quent grant of 25.10.2003 Bikrami was executed by the plain- tiff's father with the concurrence of Rani Saheba Katochi, with a view to conferring exclusive proprietary rights in the entire grant on the plaintiff. Further according to the learned Trial Judge, the evidence, considered as a whole, fully established that (iii) the grant was not repudiated but was given effect to by the Political Agent, Shimla, as well as by the revenue authorities of Bushahr State and was recognised by the Dominion of India at the time of the State's merger. He found that in the statement of the Zamin- dars of Village Addu, Exh. P-26, it was specifically admit- ted that the forest comprised Khasra Nos. 34, 141, 222 and 606 Khewat No. 1, Khatauni No. 2 and was 'owned' and was 'in possession' of the plaintiff. (iv) Assuming that the lands in dispute formed part of forests leased to the Government of Punjab, the learned Judge held that the Raja was not precluded from making the grant and the grants made in favour of the plain- tiff were perfectly legal and valid. After the lease was terminated by mutual consent of the Governments of Himachal Pradesh and East Punjab, the Himachal Pradesh Administration treated the plaintiff as the owner and permitted him various acts as owner and person in possession. Notifications were issued under Section 4 of the Himachal Pradesh Private Forest Act, 1954 declaring the disputed lands as private forests. He held that the notification issued under Section 29 of the Indian Forest Act had no application. According to him, except for an area of 11 biswas occupied by roads of the Forest Department, the plaintiff was in possession of the remaining forest lands. The learned Trial Judge, there- fore, held that the suit was neither barred by limitation nor on account of Section 34 of Specific Relief Act, 1963. The other technical objections to the maintainability of the suit were spurned and the learned Trial Judge decreed the suit as stated earlier-

The first patta was executed by the plaintiff's father on 14th Maghar 1999 Bikrami whereby he bestowed certain lands jointly on the plaintiff and his mother. The original patta is admittedly not traced. The plaintiff's father had by his order No. 5158 of even date directed corresponding mutation entries to be made in the relevant records. The endorsement found in the copy of the mutation entry Exh. P-6 extracted earlier bears testimony to this fact. This entry shows that the Raja had granted permanent ownership, without condition, of Khata Khatauni Nos. 1/1 to 20 and 2/21 to 25, comprising 106 plots, admeasuring 263.4 bighas and 'part of uncultivated Jagir' the revenue and swai of which was remit- ted. Therefore, the doubt regarding the making of the grant of 14th Maghar 1999 Bikrami stands repelled. The existence of this grant is further fortified by the mention thereof in the subsequent two grants dated 29th Phagun 1999 Bikrami and 24th Maghar 2003 Bikrami. There can, therefore, be no doubt regarding the execution of the patta of 14th Maghar 1999 Bikrami.