1 in cross examination the witness stated that mundas were number gonds but they were a separate caste and that he had never attended a patar marriage ceremony and was never invited by any patar on the occasion of shradh.
he did number appear to be companypetent to speak about the customs and usages of patars as distinguished from those of mundas.
goburdhun and r. goburdhun for the appellant.
he also said that puja was performed by his brother when barats of mundas returned to the village with patar wives.
2 in examination in chief was similar to the testimony of p.w.
sudhir kumar choudhury p.w.
harihar singh munda r.w.
he said that there was only one family of patars in his village that he was invited by that family on the occasions of marriage and shradh and that he did number knumber the gotra of that family.
the high court observed that the answers given by the witness in his cross examination indicated that he had numberfamiliarity with the customs of mundas.
in cross examination he admitted that those patars who were rich called brahmins to perform puja etc.
1 p.w.
kumar amarendra nath sah deo r.w.
ordinarily munda or those belonging to the younger branch form the bulk of the munda population.
in support of his case the 1st respondent relied upon 1 a judgment of the high companyrt of patna declaring that patars are mundas 2 khatian entries in which patars were entered as mundas 3 a certificate dated july 15 1941 given by rai bahadur sarat chandra roy many years before the date on which the dispute arose certifying that one kshetra mohan patar son of gobardhan patar of village kumar hapa than tamar district ranchi belonged to the patar munda tribe and 4 oral testimony of the witnesses who deposed that the 1st respondent was a munda.
bahadur patar r.w.
2 and p.w.
7 gave similar testimony.
the witness further stated that pahans officiate as priests at the time of marriage in the families of all the sub castes of mundas and brahmins do number officiate as priests on such occasions that patars also bury the bones of such dead bodies which are burnt at a place called susan or hargaddi and that they also worship the sun and other deities worshiped by mundas.
9 supported the testimony of witnesses r.ws.
but according to him patars from other villages came to worship goddess diuri of his village which was worshiped by mundas.
jamir munda r.w.
kshetra mohan patar r.w.
ram jatan patar r.w.
a b b/1 c. exhibit a is the certificate issued by rai bahadur sarat chandra roy certifying one kshetra mohan patar as belonging to the patar munda tribe.
he further stated that the daughter of his nephew satya narain was married with the nephew of khudi ram munda.
i was an employee of the seva mandal a fact which was admitted by p.w.
on ceremonial occasions.
exhibits b and b 1 are entries in the khatian and ext.
he gave details about the names of some of the patar girls married to munda boys in his village.
6 stated that there were two branches of mundas mundas and patar mundas.
w. 6 is the appellant himself.
813 g h civil appellate jurisdiction civil appeal number2039 of 1969.
he further stated that the customs followed by patars on the occasion of marriages in their families were the same as followed by mundas that patars as well as mundas buried the bones of the dead at sasandril that pahans generally officiated as priests at the ceremony of marriage among mundas and patars but those who were rich also called brahmins to officiate as priests on those occasions that the main festivals of mundas as well as patars were sarbul and buru puja and that mundas and parars both spoke mundari.
raghunath munda r.w.
4 who is a brahmin stated that there were mundas in tamar villages that his next door neighbor was a munda and that brahmins performed the marriage and shradh in the families of mundas.
in the view of the high companyrt reliance companyld number be placed upon the testimony of this witness.
he further stated that all the scheduled tribes of chhota nagpur drink hanria but the witness denied that the patars drink hanria.
this was however plainly companytrary to what the other witnesses had stated.
the statement of gandharb singh munda p.w.
he also spoke about the inter marriages between patars bhumijs and mahalis which were sub castes of mundas.
the witness admitted that he had number personally seen the performance of puja of rama and krishna in the house of the first respondent.
he also denied that the son of p.w.
i stated that there were several sects amongst the mundas and patar was one of such sects.
he spoke about the various sects of the mundas and also about the prevalence of some customs relating to marriages and other ceremonies of patars and mundas.
4 stated that there were two main branches of mundas one companysisting of mundas patars khangars and mahalis.
the judgment of the companyrt was delivered by shah j. at the mid term elections held in january 1969 anirudh patar the 1st respondent in this appeal was declared elected to the bihar legislative assembly from the tamar assembly companystituency number 296 scheduled tribes .
k. sinha s. thakur prasad and s. s. jauhar for respondent number 1.
abhimanyu singh munda p.w.
bhaiya ram munda an unsuccessful candidate at the election applied to the high companyrt of patna for an order setting aside the election on the plea that the 1st respondent was number a member of a scheduled tribe and was on that account number qualified under s. 5 of the representation of the people act.
in cross examination he said that in the area within the tamar police station mundas speak mundari whereas patars speak panch pargania.
he admitted that number mundas also celebrated sarbul.
daroo pahan r.w.
5 stated that in the khatian the caste of his father was entered as patar munda.
khudi ram munda r.w.
he stated that all the deities who are worshiped by hindus are worshiped in the family of the first respondent and that marriage and shradh ceremonies are performed in the family of the first respondent in the same way as they are performed in hindu families.
the first respondent has relied in support of his case upon exts.
he repeated what was stated by p.w.
5 stated that the first respon dent was a patar by caste and the customs of marriage and shradh amongst the mundas and patars were different.
he asserted that patars do number belong to a scheduled tribe he admitted however that he had never attended any ceremony of marriage or shradh or any other function in a patar family and that he companyld number competently speak about the ceremonial customs of patars.
2 is number a patar but a munda.
c is the judgment delivered by ahmad j. of the patna high court in a case relating to the acceptance of patars as mundas.
and the other companysisting of mankis thakurs bahuans and mundaris that pahans officiated as priests on the occasion of marriages in the family of patars and patars also derfomed sarna pula and celebrated sarbul festival that his nephew had married the daughter of a patar and that his present wife was also a patar.
he stated that khangars and patars are sub castes of mundas that some boys of mundas of his village had married patar girls that those boys with their patar wives were living in his village.
in cross examination he stated that he has never attended any patar marriage ceremony or shradh and that he had number seen any patar.
1951 to be chosen to fill a seat in the legislative assembly of bihar from a reserved companystituency for scheduled tribes.
appeal under s. 116 a of the representation of the people act 1951 from the judgment and order dated august 19 1969 of the patna high companyrt in election petition number9 of 1969.
their property without the permission of the deputy companymissioner that pahans perform ceremonies in the families of mundas but brahmins assisted by barbers perform religious ceremonies in the families of patars that mundas do number offer find in shradh patars do offer that the sun is the supreme deity for the mundas but patars worship rama and krishna and that mundas celebrate sarbul festival but patars do number.
