D. SHANMUGHA RAJA, PROPRIETOR OF SIVAGANGA ESTATE, BEING MINOR, REPRESENTED BY DEWAN BAHADUR V. PONNUSWAMI PILLAI, MANAGER Vs. A.R.M. SUPPIAH SERVAI AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE plaintiff who is the appellant is the proprietor of the Sivaganga Estate represented by his manager. He sued for a declaration that the property, described in the schedule to the plaint, situated in Oorawayal village belonged to him and was in his enjoyment, for a permanent injunction restraining the defendants from trespassing upon its limits and cutting off the trees therein and for damages and other reliefs. He alleged that the village was situate in his estate and that the tank and forest of the village belonged to the estate. In paragraph 6 of his plaint, he alleged that the property described in the plaint schedule had been declared by the Government to be a " Reserved Forest" and that the Zamindar for Sivaganga had been appointed Forest Officer in respect of the said forest. The defendants denied the plaintiff's title and also took objection to the maintainability of the suit. This latter plea was contained in paragraph 11 of their written statement which runs as follows:

(2.) ON appeal by the defendants, the learned Subordinate Judge of Devakottai without going into the merits of the case, held that the plaintiff was not entitled to claim a declaration that the property belonged to him and also found that the suit brought by him as proprietor of the Sivaganga estate was not maintainable. He accordingly dismissed the suit and the plaintiff has therefore filed the above second appeal.

(3.) THE learned advocate for the respondents tried to maintain the position that after the issue of a notification under the Madras Forest Act, the Zamindar as zamindar ceased to have the right to the possession and management of the suit forest and that he was not entitled to maintain a suit as a zamindar and as owner.