(1.) In these appeals there arises the question of the interpretation of Section 38 (a) of the Bengal Tenancy Act in which an. occupancy raiyat holding at money rent is authorised to institute a suit for the reduction of his rent on the ground that the soil of the holding has without the fault of the raiyat become permanently deteriorated by a deposit of sand or other specific cause, sudden or gradual. In appeals Nos. 1507 and 1510 this is the only question. In appeals Nos. 1508 and 1509, which both relate to Khata No. 127 it is the most important question, the other question being whether the landlord is entitled to enhancement under Section 30(b) of the Bengal Tenancy Act and if so, how much.
(2.) Appeals Nos. 1507 and 1510, which relate to khatas Nos. 124 and 126 respectively, will first be considered. The Court below have found that approximately one-eighth and one-tenth respectively of the area has permanently deteriorated by reason of reh (alkali) and deposit of sand and they have allowed reduction of rent proportionate to the area permanently deteriorated. The pleas advanced by Mr. B.P. Sinha on behalf of the appellants are that the deterioration has not been shown to be new, that by the deduction there has been a complete remission of the rent of lands which have permanently deteriorated so that they are held rent-free, and that the holding being at a consolidated rent an average cannot be struck for all the lands constituting the holding and a reduction granted in proportion to the deteriorated area.
(3.) Now there is nothing in Section 38(a) to support the objection that the permanent deterioration must be new otherwise than in the sense that it must have occurred subsequent to the settlement of the existing rent. On the facts there seems to be no doubt that the relevant deterioration took place after the existing rent was settled. Again in calculating the amount of the reduction to be allowed under Section 38(a) the Courts below appear to have adopted the principle laid down in Section 52(4) of the Act for reduction of rent on the score of decrease in the area of a holding which, as here, is held at a consolidated or lump, rent, that is to say, an aggregate rent, the components of which cannot be distinguished by reference to the fields constituting the holding.