C J SHILLINGFORD Vs. GENA TATMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal arises out of a suit which was instituted for the ejectment of a dismissed gorait from land which according to the plaintiff formed the goraiti jagir. The land in question is situated partly in mauza Bhamaraili and partly in village Hamsaili. The lower Appellate Court has found that each of these parcels of land was granted as service tenure to an ancestor of the defendant, and that the land in Hamsaili was definitely granted as remuneration for the office of gorait; that is to say, with regard to the land in Hamsaili, there was the grant of the office of gorait, the services of which were remunerated by this land, so that the grant of the office entitled the gorait to enter on the land.

(2.) As regards the land held by the gorait in Bhamaraili, the lower Appellate Court has been unable to find that it is land of this nature, considering that the tenure may represent a grant of land burdened with services or it may have been a grant in consideration of past services. The learned Subordinate Judge has found that the services in remuneration for which the land in Hamsaili was held are not of a public nature but are private and personal to the plaintiff. He has further found that the grant when made was of a permanent nature; that is to say, a hereditary right was created in the defendant's family to occupy this land rendering in return for it the services of gorait to the zamindar.

(3.) Mr. Upadhya on behalf of the plaintiff appellant argues that the lower Appellate Court was not justified in finding that there was any hereditary right in the defendant's family to succeed to the office of gorait, such as would give him a permanent right in the jagir except on proof of the actual misconduct or refusal to perform the duties of gorait. The plaintiff had issued a notice bringing to an end the gorait's term of office which the lower Appellate Court found was properly served; but the learned Subordinate Judge considered that before the gorait could be dismissed and his jagir resumed, it was necessary definitely to prove that he had not been willing properly to perform the duties of his office.