PANNA LAL GHOSE Vs. ADJAI COAL CO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal arises out of a suit for damages for underground trespass committee and coal extracted by the Defendants Nos. 1 to 6, and for a permanent as well as a temporary injunction and for other reliefs. The facts which Jed up to the institution of the suit are these: The plaintiffs are the Adjai Coal Co., Ltd. Before the Company was incorporated as a joint stock company with limited liability, some of the members thereof had formed a syndicate known as the Adjai Coal Syndicate. On the 6 August 1891 the syndicate obtained an amalnamah from the patnidars of village Raipur Nandi by which the latter agreed to grant the syndicate a mining lease in respect of 500 bighas of coal lands in the village and within certain boundaries and upon certain terms and conditions. The patnidars were divided into 2 groups, namely, the Laiks and the Chakrabartis, the former having a 12 annas share and the latter the remaining 4 annas. Of the Laiks Kaliprasanna had a 6 annas share, Bejoy Gobinda 1 anna 6 pies, Earn Sankar and Ram Bishnu 1 anna 6 pies, Khetramani 1 anna 6 pies and Bimala Sankar, Gouri Sankar and Durga Sankar 1 anna 6 pies. Of the Chakrabartis Sib Narain had a 2 annas share and Khudiram the remaining 2 annas.

(2.) The patnidars subsequently refused to execute the mining lease and upon that the syndicate instituted a suit for specific performance, being Suit No. 339 of 1892. Certain petitions of compromise were filed in the said suit by which the patnidarg consented to have a survey and demarcation made by a civil Court Amin in respect of such lands amounting to 500 bighas in area, as would be selected by the syndicate, out of the lands of the amalnamah, to have a plan made thereof and to grant the syndicate a mining lease in respect of the same; and on the 11 July 1893 the Court ordered a decree to be drawn up embodying those terms. The civil Court Amin, who was deputed to do the work in pursuance of the above agreement, filed his report on the 5 September 1893, and on the 16 September 1893 the Court disposed of certain objections to the report and drew up a decree which bore both the dates, viz., 11 July 1893 and 16 September 1893. The decree stated that in accordance with the terms of the petitions of compromise the syndicate would gat settlement from the patnidars in respect of 500 bighas of land out of the lands in the schedule to the plaint as demarcated by the black lines in the Amin's map, and further that out of the said 500 bighas of land. 253 bighas 11 cottas was cultivated land and the remainder, namely, 246 bighas 9 cottas was pat it land.

(3.) On the 20 March 1897 an amendment was made in the decree by inserting therein that the plan prepared by the civil Court Amin should be considered a, part of the decree. In accordance with the aforesaid decree, the Court, on the 24 September 1897, executed leases in favour of the syndicate on behalf of the patnidars Guru Prasanna Chakraburty, the son of Sib Narain Chakraburty (owner of 2 annas share), Bimala Sankar, Gouri Sankar and Durga Sankar Laiks (owners of 1 anna 6 pies share), Bejoy Gobind Laik (owner of 1 anna 6 pies share), Ram Sankar and Ram Bishnu Laiks (owners of 1 anna 6 pies share) ami Khudiram Chakraburty (owner of 2 annas share). Khetramani Debi (owner of 1 anna 6 pies share) having died, her three daughters executed similar leases in respect of her share, two of the daughters on the 9 January 1900 and the third daughter on the 26 February 1900. Kali Prasanna Laik (owner of 6 annas share) had died before the decree was drawn up and certain proceedings took place between his sons Kristodhan and Sudhakrishna on the one hand and the syndicate on the other, the result of which was that the suit in so far as it was against them was revived, and on the 31 December 1901 a decree was passed from which it appears that there was a compromise between the parties under which the syndicate bad obtained leases from the said Kristodhan and Sudhakrishna according to the plan of the civil Court Amin. This lease appears to have been executed on the 23 September 1901 and it was in respect of the 6 annas share of the executants in the 500 bighas of land demarcated in the Amin's map as aforesaid.