JATINDRA NATH NANDI Vs. KRISHNADHAN NANDI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This rule was obtained by the defendants against an order of a learned Subordinate Judge valuing the suit instituted by the plaintiffs for purpose of jurisdiction of the Court.

(2.) In order to understand the question which was pressed before us, it is necessary to state the case made by the plaintiffs opposite-parties in their plaint. The plaintiffs' case is that the predecessors of the parties endowed certain properties in favour of the deity Sree Sree Iswar Sridhar Jiu and in course of succession the plaintiffs are now entitled to participate in the sheba and puja of the deity. It is alleged that by mutual arrangement the sheba and puja of the deity is performed by turns, the shobaits having respective palas of their own. The plaintiffs' allegation is that the defendants arc not allowing them to enjoy the privilege of worshipping the deity and performing the sheba and puja of the deity during the pala of worship. They therefore brought this suit for the purpose of declaring that the plaintiffs and the pro forma defendants are entitled, to the pala of worship for six months from Baisakb to Aswin. They also prayed for an injunction res. training the principal defendants from interfering with their enjoyment of the disputed pala of worship and from not giving them facilities for that purpose. There is no allegation that the plaintiffs have been dispossessed from the debottar properties nor is there any prayer for recovery of possession of the said properties.

(3.) In the Courts below this suit had a chequered career over the simple question of valuation of the relief, The plaintiffs valued the relief at Rs. 100 and the plaint was filed in the Munsiff9 Court. On the objection of the defendants, the matter was ultimately remitted to a commissioner for valuing the shebaiti right. The commissioner valued the shobaiti right at Rs. 9,247-8-0. The learned Munsif accepted this valuation and directed the plaint to be returned for presentation to the proper Court as the learned Munsif was not competent to try suits up to that value. On appeal the learned Subordinate Judge was of opinion that the suit was valued at Rs. 1,747-8-0 and was therefore within the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Munsif.