GIRWARDHARY SINGH Vs. BACHU SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question that arises in this second appeal is whether a Civil Court has jurisdiction to set aside a partition made by the Revenue authorities on the ground of a defect in, or erroneous exercise of, jurisdiction without any issue of fraud or wrongful loss caused to the parties by reason of such error. The following synopsis will show the course the case took in the Revenue Courts. On the 16 August 1900, an application was made for partition of the estate and on the 13 January 1901, a partition was ordered to be made. Early in 1902, the raibundi was approved and in April of that year the proprietors came, in under Section 51 of the Bengal Estates Partition Act (1897) and applied to have the partition made by arbitrators three of whom were named.

(2.) It appears that the Collector nominated only two of these persons in his order of reference dated the 30 April 1902, but all three acted as arbitrators and it is conceded before us that no question of jurisdiction now, arises upon this point. On the 31 January 1903, the arbitrators submitted their award and the Deputy Collector remitted it to them on the 11th July 1903 for a general re-consideration of the takhtabandi.

(3.) The arbitrators refused to re-consider their award and the Deputy Collector then proceeded to effect the partition himself as if he was acting under Chapter VIII of the Act. His report was completed and submitted to the Collector on the 23 December 1903, on which date the Collector issued notice to the parties and after hearing them and reading all the papers, he held that the Deputy Collector was not justified in withdrawing the case from the arbitrators and making the partition himself. He should have at once submitted the completed partition contained in the award to the Collector for approval under Section 55 of the Act and the Collector would have handed it on to the Commissioner for confirmation unless he saw sufficient reason for disallowing it on either of the grounds mentioned in Section 55. He accordingly approved the partition made by the arbitrators under Section 55 and forwarded the papers to the Commissioner for confirmation under that section.