Declaratory relief under Section 42 requires a present legal character or property right; it cannot bypass an existing adjudication.

A declaratory decree under Section 42 of the Specific Relief Act is available only where the plaintiff presently has a legal character or a right to property. Because the plaintiffs had no such present title and the will of Bachu Singh had already been affirmed in testamentary proceedings, the declaratory suit was treated as an attempt to evade that adjudication. The claim was therefore held misconceived and incompetent, and declaratory relief was refused for want of the requisite legal character or property right.

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Issues: Whether the plaintiffs were entitled to a declaratory decree under Section 42 of the Specific Relief Act.

Analysis: A declaratory decree under Section 42 is available only to a person entitled to a legal character or to a right as to property. The plaintiffs had no such present title while the will of Bachu Singh stood affirmed in the testamentary proceedings. The suit was, in substance, an attempt to evade or annul that adjudication through a declaratory action, which could not be maintained in the absence of the requisite legal character or property right.

Conclusion: The suit was misconceived and incompetent, and the plaintiffs were not entitled to the declaratory relief sought.

Ratio Decidendi: A declaratory suit cannot be used to circumvent an existing adjudication, and relief under Section 42 of the Specific Relief Act is available only where the plaintiff presently possesses the legal character or right to property asserted.

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