KURUVILLA GEORGE Vs. SARAMMA JOHN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) We see no reason to interfere.

(2.) The 1st respondent owns about an acre of paddy land which is separated from a block of paddy fields about 112 acres in extent by a thodu, regarding the size or nature of which, there is no evidence in the case. The appellant is a cultivator and therefore the "proprietor" within the meaning of (Kerala) Act 20 of 1967 of some land in the 112 acre block, and the questions that arise are:

(3.) We think the learned single judge has rightly answered both questions in the affirmative. The purpose of the Act, as disclosed by the preamble, is "to provide for facilitating the execution of certain works connected with irrigation, flood control, or drainage for purposes of agriculture to be done by the joint labour of cultivators". Having regard to this purpose we think that the words, "contiguously situated are used in S.2(b), not in the sense, "touching, in actual contact'' which is the strict meaning of the word, "contiguous" but in the sense, "neighbouring, situated in close proximity though not in contact" which also is a meaning given in the dictionaries although the Oxford English Dictionary qualifies this latter usage with the pejorative, "loosely". We think that what the words mean is that there must be sufficient proximity between the fields to enable "irrigation, flood control or drainage for purposes of cultivation" to be advantageously done in the normal course by the joint labour of the cultivators. Ordinarily we would have insisted on more information about the size and nature of the intervening thodu before pronouncing whether the 1st respondent's field is contiguous with the 112 acre block so as to form part of the same padasekharam and attract words, 'wherever cultivation in any padasekharam or in any field in any such padasekharam is likely to be affected due to want of proper irrigation or drainage facilities" with which sub-s.(4) of S.4 opens. But, in this case, there is no difficulty since it is the admitted case that, until 1966, the water collecting in the 1st respondent's field was being drained into the 112 acre block by means of a thoombu or pipe laid across the thodu it would appear, below the bed of the thodu which is on a higher level than the adjoining fields so that water cannot, in the natural course, flow into it from the fields and was being pumped out with the water otherwise collecting in that block.