KARUPPAIAH PILLAI AND ORS. Vs. PALANISAMY AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is filed against the judgment and decree dated 30.03.1999 made in A.S. No. 2 of 1997 on the file of the Additional District Judge -cum -Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, Pudukottai reversing the judgment and decree dated 27.02.1990 made in O.S. No. 153 of 1983 on the file of the District Munsif Court, Aranthangi.

(2.) The facts arising out of this second appeal, are as under:

(3.) It is stated in the plaint that the plaintiffs are the ryots of Edayathimangalam Village in Avadayarkoil Taluk and they have their lands among others under Ayacut of Edayathimangalam Eri. This Eri was previously a rainfed tank, however, drawing its supply from Vellar. A branch vari going by the Edayathimangalam Vari takes of from the Vellar river through Pannavayal Village and fill up the said Eri. Edayathimangalam has also been a rain fed village and it is only in recent times, the CEP has been taken to this Village. The water of the CEP is always in paucity at the tail end supply and Edayathimangalam itself never get filled up with the CEP water. Now more than 1400 acres are irrigated with water from this Edayathimangalam Eri. Being a jungle river, it has been customary for the villagers and ayacutdars to get water from this river whenever water is available by cross bonding the river to allow stagnation for a particular height to facilitate feeding the line Eris or water course to be taken to the village storage like tanks, streams or Eris. Recently, the Government had constructed a dam in Thandalai Village to supply for Manamelkudi and other villages. By cross bonding, the other villages in the lower riparian reaches are fed copiously. The Thandalai Dam has good stock and storage of water. Hence, the cross bonding is a regular feature almost every season, sometimes even more than twice or thrice. While the right of the plaintiffs' villagers to take water from Vallar river by such cross bonding has been in vogue from time immemorial just consistent with similar practice all along the upper reaches of the jungle river, the plaintiffs require a perspective right to get such water by the same method without any diminution to the supply and storage in their village Eri for their irrigation of their Ayacut lands. For ulterior reasons, the villagers of the lower down reaches around the Thandalai dam have been using their influence with the Revenue Department to demolish the cross bonding by the plaintiffs and preventing the plaintiffs to take water from the jungle river. An order was also passed on 27.12.1982 in Rc. No. 14688/82 A1, by the Assistant Collector, Aranthangi, that plaintiffs have no right to take water by cross bonding and the same was communicated to the lower cadre people and they sprung up into action on the next day to smash and demolish the cross bund of the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs also obtained an order of stay from the District Collector, Pudukottai. Finally, the District Collector dismissed the appeal filed by the plaintiffs on 20.07.1983. In these circumstances, the present suit is filed with the prayer as stated supra.