BIJOY SINGH CHOPRA Vs. PYARI MOHAN KUNDOO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The whole of village Khankhanapore originally appertained to Touzi No. 897 of the Faridpore Collectorate. The zemindar was Mahim Chandra Roy. Ultimately at devolved upon his two grandsons Upendra Narayan Roy and Suprasonna Roy being the sons of Bepin Behary Roy. At a partition between them the said zemindary was allotted to the share of Upendra. It was sold in execution of a mortgage decree obtained against him to the Roys of Bhaggyakul. Admittedly a portion of the said village was acquired in 1897, by Government under the Land Acquisition Act and is now in the possession of the Bengal and Assam Railway as being part of the Railway track, of the station and its yard. There was another acquisition under the Land Acquisition Act in 1887 for the use of the said railway but the location of that piece of land is one of the questions raised before the lower Courts and has also been mooted before us.

(2.) At one time the river Padma was to the immediate east of the said village. It has now moved far away leaving a small silted up khal, or closed kole, which is now the eastern boundary of the village. The khal has no perennial connection with river and becomes dry or almost dry from Augrahayan to Jaistha. In the rainy season only it maintains connection with the river Padma and so becomes navigable by boats. To the immediate south of the railway land and to the west of a portion of the said khal and abutting thereon there is old market place. The hat sits twice a week, but the bazar is held daily. The market place is also called a Bandar as it abutted at one time on the river Padma and now abuts on a khal which in the rainy season (Assar to Kartic) is used as a boat passage for bringing merchandise for sale in the market place. The market place is called Fultala Hat-Bazar of Fultola Hat Bazar Bandar. The place is of importance, because it is a mart where merchants buy jute from the Beparis in large quantities. It is admitted that jute is brought there by boats during the rainy season (Assar to Kartic) and by carts and on horse back during the dry season (Augrahayan to Jaistha). The boundaries of the Fultola Hat Bazar Bandar are?north railway land, south some houses of tenants within the village Khankhanapore, east the said khal, west a road running almost parallel to and at some distance to the east of the railway track. The khal runs along the entire length of the village Khankhanaporo and beyond it. The boundaries of village Khankhanapore are as follows: north?village Saidpore, Krishnapore, Dayalbanda and Kaligunga, south?village Dhuldi, east?Char Khankhanapore, which is on the other side of the said khal, west?village Kasimnagar.

(3.) Kamala Kanta Kundu. was the father of plaintiff 1 and grand-father of plaintiff 2. He held the Fultola Hat Bazar Bandar on successive meadi ijaras. After his death his sons held the same on meadi ijaras up to 1900. On 5 Assin 1307 (?September 1900) Bepin Behari Roy, the then zemindar of the said zemindary and who was at that time the owner of the rest of the lands of village Khankhanapore, other than the lands acquired for the use of the railway, granted a be-meadi (permanent) ijara to Dinanath Kundu, a son of Kamala Kanta Kundu. It is admitted that Dinanath took the said be-meadi ijara on behalf of all his brothers. The rights conferred by and the terms of the be-meadi (permanent) ijara are to be found in a Kabuliat (marked Ex. 8) which Dinanath Kundu executed in favour of Bepin Behary Roy on that date. The plaintiffs have brought this suit on the basis of this be-meadi ijara.