JOGENDRA LAL SARKAR Vs. MAHESH CHANDRA SADHU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The facts, so far as they are necessary for the purposes of the present appeal, are these: The suit out of which this appeal has arisen was for recovery of minimum royalty (from kist Bhadra 1319 B.S. to kist 15 Joistha 1325 B. 8.) and coal rent (from Aswin 1319 to Aswin 1324) for some coal lands which the defendants are alleged to be holding under the plaintiff under a darpatni lease.. The lease is dated Falgun 1314 (= February 1908) being in respect of the three annas four pies share of touzi No. 12 lot Churulia, to the extent of which share the plaintiff had then the interest of a patnidar in the said lot under the zemindar, the Burdwan Raj, and is one for a period of 999 years. The defendants were at the date of the lease the patnidars in respect of the remaining share in the lot. They subsequently purchased at an auction two-thirds of the plaintiff's patni interest. The suit accordingly was for the amount due to the remaining one-third of the three annas four pies share which still belongs to the plaintiff.

(2.) Of the defences that were taken all that is relevant at the present stage is that the plaintiff is only a patnidar and as such has no title to the underground, that the defendants were evicted by title paramount, namely the Burdwan Raj, who in February 1913 served a notice on the defendants or their sub-lessees informing them that they had no title to the underground and asking them to stop work in the underground and that accordingly the defendants were obliged to take a prospecting lease from the Burdwan Raj on 19 Magh 1323 B.S. (= February 1917).

(3.) The suit was instituted on 31 August 1918. Thereafter in October 1919, the defendants, it is said, have taken a regular mining lease of the underground from the Burdwan Raj. It is clear, however, that the incidents of this transaction can have no bearing on the rights of the parties as they were during the period in suit.