JUDGMENT Chamier and Piggott, JJ.
1. This was a suit by a plaintiff claiming to be the next reversioner under the Hindu Law to the estate of one Dewa. The said Dewa died leaving a widow, Umrao Kuar. This lady has executed a will bequeathing the property in her hands as widow of Dewa to one Tika Ram, son of Niadar, brother of the said Dewa. In the will there is a recital to the effect that the bequest is made in accordance with oral directions given by Dewa. The plaintiff sought a declaration that the will in question is void and ineffectual as against his interest, and that Tika Ram, who was impleaded as defendant No. 2, will acquire no rights under the said will. The court of first instance dismissed the suit upon a preliminary point, holding that there had been no alienation by Umrao Kuar of the property in her hands, and that under the circumstances the mere execution of a will would not afford a sufficient reason for granting a declaratory decree It supported itself by a quotation from Mulla's Principles of Hindu Law. The learned District Judge on appeal has reversed the finding on the preliminary point and remanded the case for trial on the merits. He bases his decision upon the reported case of Jaipal Kunwar v. Indar Bahadur Singh (1904) I.L.R. 26 All. 238. It is obvious that in that case their Lordships of the Privy Council maintained the decision of the courts in India with considerable reluctance, and carefully guarded themselves against being understood to hold that the execution of a will under such circumstances as the present would afford a cause of action for a declaratory suit on the part of the nearest reversioner. It is certainly not the practice of this Court to encourage such suits, vide Ram Bhajan and Ors. v. Gurcharan (1904) 1 A.L.J.R. 468. The learned District Judge moreover, while purporting to follow the Privy Council ruling quoted by him, has really departed from the spirit of that ruling by interfering with the decision of the court of first instance. We think that the learned Additional Subordinate Judge was right in refusing to grant the declaration sought by the plaintiff and gave good reason for his decision. We set aside the order of the court below and restore the decree of the court of first instance dismissing the suit. The defendants-appellants will get their costs in this Court and in the lower appellate court.