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APPENDIX B.
103
among them as a widow's estate, with restrictions as to powers of adoption, alienation, or waste. She is an heir to her husband to the fullest extent, or, in other words, she requires no permission of her husband to adopt, and no ceremonies of any kind for the purpose need be performed, except such as her pleasure or whim may dictate to give publicity to the event, und she can do what she pleases with the estate which has descended to her ; vide I. L R., 1 All., Page 688; I. L. R. 27 Cal., page 379. Two remarks must be made as to the above. One is that the learned Chief Justice expressly holds that the Jainas are not governed by Hindu Law in matters of succession and inheritence and that a Jaina widow has the fullest rights over her property. The second is that additional weight and sanctity attach to the pronouncement, as the Chief Justice (Mr. Pyarelal, Barrister-at-law) is himself a Jaina of the Meerut district and an old and revered leader of the
community. , 23. In Civil Regular Appeal No. 98 of 1877, before Commissioner of Jabalpure, the parties were Porwads, like the parties before me. The judgment in that case contains the following :
"A Commission has now been issued by the Lower Court, under which enquiries have been made from the Porwad Jainas of Saugor, Jhangi and Banda. Some Damoh witnesses produced by the plaintiff were also examined. These last excepted, all the evidence is against the plaintiff. They all agree that a Jaina Porvad widow, being childless, can alienate immoveable (property) for religious purposes."
All these cases amply and satisfactorily prove at least an usage that a childless Jaina widow has rights over her husband's property.
The second objection of the plaintiff 18 that the oldest of the instances is only 10 years old.
