PARAMESWARAN PILLAI Vs. KUMARAN NAIR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Civil Revision Petition filed by the defendant is against the decree in a Small Cause Suit for recovery of mesne profits due to plaintiffs 1 to 7. A decree was obtained in O. S.893 of 1120 for recovery of possession of the property comprised in Survey No. 219/6 etc. with mesne profits. The plaintiffs got a sale deed in respect of the properties and also the rights under the decree in O. S.893 of 1120. The decree in O. S.893 of 1120 made the defendants therein liable for mesne profits at the rate of 30 parahs of paddy every year. The decree in O. S.893 of 1120 was passed only on 31st October 1957 and according to the plaintiffs, it is possible for them to recover mesne profits in the execution proceedings only for a period of 3 years from 31st October 1957. The present suit was filed for one year's mesne profits from 31st October 1960 to 31st October 1961. The suit was decreed by the learned Munsiff. The revision petitioner raised before me two contentious. The first contention was that the sale deed in favour of the plaintiffs is benami for the defendants in O. S.893 of 1120 and he is therefore not entitled to make any claim for mesne profits. The second contention was that the suit is not triable as a Small Cause Suit. I shall first dispose of the second contention raised by the learned advocate for the revision petitioner. The submission of the learned counsel for the revision petitioner was that the suit is one excepted from the cognizance of a Court of Small Causes on account of S.12 (1) read with Art.32 of the Schedule of the Kerala Small Cause Courts Act. Art.32 of the Schedule is in the following terms: