BIRENDRA KISHORE MANIKYA Vs. AKRAM ALI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff is the Maharaja of Hill Tipperah. He also owns what the plaint describes as "a vast zamindari," that is, Chakla Roshanabad in the British district of Tipperah. The suit giving rise to this second appeal was brought by the Maharaja to have his zamindari title declared in respect of a tank and its banks and for khas possession and mesne profits. In the alternative, plaintiff claimed to have the lands assessed with fair rent. The defence was that the tank had been niskar (rent-free) since the time of the defendant s ancestor in virtue of a sanad chiti, dated the 14th Magh 1259(26th January 1850),granted by the predecessor of the plaintiff.

(2.) The first Court dismissed the suit on the ground of limitation; and, on appeal, the District Judge has arrived at the same conclusion.

(3.) The plaintiff appeals. This is one of many appeals involving the same question--the right to assess the niskar tanks in the chakla. We have heard the arguments in this appeal and in appeals from Appellate Decree Nos. 1963, 2515 and 2523 of 1910, which may be regarded as test cases, the result of which, it is said, will govern both the other connected appeals pending in this Court, as also the thousands of suits and appeals that are awaiting disposal in the lower Courts in the districts of Tipperah and Noakhali.