MUKTESWAR TRIGUNAIT Vs. BARAKAR COAL CO LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Mukteswar Trigunait and others appeal against the judgment and decree dated 19 November 1930, of the the Additional District Judge of Manbhum whereby that officer gave the Barakar Coal Co., (now respondent) a decree against them for ejectment from a colliery property of 200 bighas situated in mauza Kailudih, P.S. Katras Z. Manbhum. It is common ground that Bhubaneswar Trigunait predecessor-in-interest of the appellants took settlement of the property from the Coal Co., in the year 1922 and was put in possession after paying a salami of Rs. 1,03,000 and promising to pay royalty on raisings subject to the minimum royalty of Rs. 2,000 a year.

(2.) A lease was drafted and sent to Bhubaneswar Trigunait for approval. He or his lawyer raised certain objections, as would appear from the cancellations on the draft lease (Ex. D). It would appear from his letter (Ex. 3.a) that Bhubanes. war Trigunait eventually accepted the terms proposed by the Coal Co. But no lease had been executed up to the date of Bhubaneswar Trigunait's death which occurred in July 1923. After that his successors (now appellants) paid little or no attention to the repeated reminders issued by the Coal Co., and to this day no lease has ever been executed. The minimum royalty was paid up to January 1927 after which no more payments were made.

(3.) On 23 August 1928, the Coal Co., filed a suit for ejectment on the ground that the lease had been forfeited, payment of the royalty being more than three months in arrears. As a matter of fact the payment was about fifteen months in arrears when the suit was filed. In the letter of proposal (Ex. 3) the Coal Co., had stipulated that the lease should reserve to the lessor the power of re-entry on non-payment of royalty or non-observance of any of the conditions or stipulations of the lease. In his reply (Ex. 3-a) Bhubaneswar Trigunait had accepted the proposal as it stood. In the draft lease (Ex. D) it was stipulated that such power of re-entry might be exercised if royalty was not paid on the due date.