CHADA MANGIAH Vs. SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA IN COUNCIL REPRESENTED BY THE COLLECTOR OF VIZAGAPATAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In these Letters Patent Appeals the question to be decided is, whether the plaintiffs are entitled, as claimed by them, to a refund of water-cess collected by the Government. Although some relief has been granted to them, all the Courts have unanimously upheld the right of the Government to levy the water-cess. For the plaintiffs, it is contended that this contention is wrong.

(2.) The land to which the appeals relate, is a part of a minor inam of the total extent of about 20 acres, situate in a ryotwari village known as Manyapu Uratla in Vizagapatam District. The inam in question bore the old Survey Nos. 143-a and 143-b, of which 143-a corresponds to the Re-Survey Nos. 143-1 and 143-3 and 143-b to the. Re-Survey No. 143-2. We are concerned here with the plot bearing Re-Survey No. 143-1 alone. The plaintiffs inam adjoins, and is roughly south-west of Gurampet Agraharatn, through which passes a channel known as Papanna Cherikalvai, marked ABDF in the sketch, flowing from west to east. Of this channel the part shown as DF is entirely within the limits of the Agraharam; indeed a small bit of the water-course to the west of D is also comprised within its limits. The main Channel ABDF bifurcates at the point B, which is admittedly on Government land. One of the branches flowing from B, as will be seen from what has been said, is BF. We are not concerned with the other branch which flows northward and is shown in the sketch as BC. The plaintiffs have, for irrigating their land 143-1, used the water of the channel marked DE (described as bodi ), which takes off at, and flows southwards from, D which, as already stated, is within the limits of the Agraharam. To complete the description, it remains to add that the Channel ABDF itself flows from a presumably larger channel on Government land and belonging to the Government, known as Nimmakattu Channel.

(3.) The plaintiffs asserted that their entire inam was mamool wet land irrigated from ancient times by the Channel DE; but there is a concurrent finding by both the Courts below that DE was excavated somewhere about the year 1913. It is however contended for them that their inam was confirmed in 1865 or thereabouts and that the entire land of 20 odd acres was shown as wet in the Inam Fair Register, from which Ex. B-l is an extract. The intm title deed has not been produced, but from the available papers, it appears that at the inam enquiry, the total assessment was computed at Rs. 14, on which basis, the quit-rent of Rs. 1-12-0 (being 1/8 of the assessment) was fixed. The argument is, that the land being shown as wet land, the assessment, with reference to which the quit-rent was imposed, should be assumed to be "wet" assessment; this being so, it is contended, that to allow a fresh levy of water-cess would be tantamount to a double levy.