REDDY RAMAYA Vs. CHAUDHURI NAIK AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Plaintiff no.1 is the appellant against a confirming judgment.

(2.) Since the appeal is to be disposed of on a short point, the facts need not be recounted in detail. Suffice it to say that appellant and respondent no.5 as plaintiffs instituted the suit for permanent injunction. The defendants entered contest and filed a written statement denying the assertions made in the plaint. The case of the defendants was that they were bhag tenants under Smt. Baisyaraju Seeta Kalyana, vendor of the plaintiffs. They filed OLR Case No.190/86 under Secs.15(1) (b) , 22-A(5) and Sec.18 of the Orissa Land Reforms Act (in short, 'O.L.R. Act') . The case is pending. The suit is not maintainable under Sec.67 of the O.L.R. Act. An application under Order 14 Rule 2 (2) (b) C.P.C. was filed to decide the suit on the preliminary issue "whether the present suit is hit by the O.L.R. Act or not". Learned trial court answered the said issue in affirmative. The unsuccessful plaintiffs challenged the judgment and decree of the learned trial court before the learned Subordinate Judge, Chatrapur in T.A. No.5 of 1987, which was eventually dismissed.

(3.) The second appeal was admitted on the following substantial questions of law.