BINDESHWARI PRASAD Vs. NANHKU MAHTON

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These seventeen second appeals arise out of as many suits under Section 30, Ben. Ten Act. The landlord of village Onda claimed enhancement of rent on the grounds that the rate of rent was below the prevailing rate of rent and also that there had been a rise in the average local prices of staple food-crops during the currency of the existing rent.

(2.) Acceding to these pleas the Munsif enhanced all the rents with effect from Section 1334-F on finding first under Section 30(a) that there was in a neighbouring village a prevailing rate of rent of Rs. 8-2-0 per bigha which the defendants should be called upon to pay, and secondly under Section 30(6) that the rise of the price of the two staple food-crops warranted an additional one anna per rupee on the rent of dhanhar lands and an additional one and a half annas per rupee on the rent of bhit lands included in the holdings. He did not specify how the enhancement was to be effected where a holding consisted partly of dhanhar and partly of bhit lands.

(3.) Defendants appealed and plaintiffs preferred cross-objections against the order under Section 30(b). The appellate Court having found that if there was any prevailing rate it had not been correctly determined, disallowed the claim for enhancement under Section 30(a) but increased the rate of enhancement under Section 30(b) to the maximum of three annas one pie in the rupee in the three cases (corresponding to appeals Nos. 674, 676 and 683) which consist of dhanhar lands, to the maximum of four annas eight pies in the rupee in the two cases (corresponding to Appeals Nos. 678 and 680) which consist of bhit lands only and to four annas in the rupee in the 12 cases where the holdings contain both dhanhar and bhit lands. The landlords have now appealed against the rejection of the claim under Section 30(a) and there are cross-objections in the first seven appeals and in Appeals Nos. 682 and 683.