SAMANTA RADHA PRASANNA DAS Vs. BARENDRA KRISHNA DAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by defendant 1 against the decision of a learned Judge of this Court who upheld the concurrent decisions of the Courts below decreeing the suit of the plaintiff in the following circumstances. The plaintiff took a permanent lease from the predecessor of defendant 1 in the year 1914 by a registered document. The parties were under the impression that the area of the land which was being leased was about 950 acres of land and as a large portion of that land was jungle land it was provided in the lease that if the land leased should be found, on remeasurement, to be less than 950 acres it should be made good by the lessor, but in ease more lands were found within the boundaries specified in the document the lessee would be bound to pay salami and rent at the rate of Rs. 2 per acre mentioned in the lease besides cess.

(2.) In the year 1924 the estate of the appellant was taken over by the Court of Wards. In February 1925, the settlement proceedings began under the authority of the Government who directed the preparation of a settlement roll, as a settlement of land revenue was about to be made. In accordance with the provisions of the Orissa Tenancy Act settlement roll was prepared for the lands in the possession of the plaintiff under the lease of 1914. The entry in the rent roll shows that the plaintiff was found in possession of 1279 acres of land within the boundaries as specified in the lease of 1914 and these lands were stated to be liable to pay rent at the rate of Rs. 1-0-4 per annum per acre. The plaintiff was also found in possession of 260 acres of land outside the boundaries of the lands leased and liable to pay rent at the same rate.

(3.) In the year 1927, the Court of Wards started proceedings under Section 61, Orissa Tenancy Act by which they, on behalf of defendant l, claimed to eject the plaintiff on the ground that he had no right to reclaim the waste lands, 589 acres. The parties appear to have compromised their dispute by a petition dated 17th October 1927, by which among other terms it was agreed that out of the disputed 589 acres of land, 329 acres of land were within the boundary mentioned in the patta of 1914 and, therefore, the plain, tiff was liable to pay rent at Rs. 2 per acre besides salami. With regard to the remaining 260 acres of land the plaintiff agreed to pay rent at the rate of Rs. 1-0-4 per acre.