RAMASWAMI AIYAR; SESHAPPIER Vs. SSUNDARAM AIYAR AND MANAGER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These twenty connected second appeals arose out of suits brought by 20 sots of tenants against the Receiver and Manager of the Tanjore Palace Estate for recovery of the excess amount alleged to have been exacted" as swatantrams (beyond the legitimate vents) by the defendant in Fasti 1320, these swatan trams being alleged to be not part of the legitimate melvaram due for the landlord s share.

(2.) Section 143 of the Eatates Land Act says "that landlords shall not exact from the ryots under any name or under any pretence anything in addition to the rent lawfully payable. All stipulations and reservations for such additional payment shall be void". Then Section 144 provides that every ryot from whom any sum of money or any portion of the produce of the land has been exacted by the landlord in excess of the rent lawfully payable, shall be entitled to recover by a suit before the Collector, in addition to the amount or value of what has been so exacted, such sum be way of penalty which the Collector deems fit, not exceeding double the amount of value so exacted and not exceeding also one hundred rupees. The Deputy Collector in whose Court these, suits were instituted held that the amounts paid by these twenty sets of plaintiffs under four of the five heads of swatantram did not constitute part of the legitimate rent, and that they were exacted from the plaintiffs for Fasli 1320 by the defendant and lie, therefore, decreed the return of these illegal fees-along with the of the respective amount (so illegally collected) by way of penalty.

(3.) The learned District Judge on the appeals by the defendant held (a) that those four items formed part of the legitimate rent because, whatever names be used for the foes in question, they were originally part of the demand made upon the tenant for the occupation of the land;" (b) and even if they were not originally part of the rent, they were made such by the contracts between the parties, such contracts being embodied in the registered documents, Exhibit II series, which are the muchilikas executed for the seven Fastis 1318 to 1324 by the tonants to the defendant. The. District Judge, therefore, dismissed all the suits with costs. Hence these second appeals by the plaintiff s.