SETURATNAM AIYAR Vs. VENKATACHALA GOUNDEN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE consolidated appeals are from three decrees of the High Court at Madras dated February 18, 1917. The decrees had modified three appellate decrees of the District Court of Trichinopoly, which, in turn, had modified three original decrees of the Court of the District Munsif of Kulitalai. The three suits thus came before the High Court in second appeal, so that the Court had no jurisdiction to interfere with any finding of fact by the District Court; its only power to determine issues of fact was that created by Section 103 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

(2.) EACH of the suits is for the recovery of possession of agricultural land in a ryotwari tract, and has been instituted by the plaintiff as the Government pattadar. The number of the defendants in the several suits is 165, 103, and 30. They are not, however, in joint possession; on the contrary, they have separate holdings, and should have been separately sued.

(3.) THE land in suit is of three classes--garden, dry and pasture. In the Court of the Munsif it was held that the plaintiff's claim to recover the garden land was barred by the plea of estoppel, but that his claim to the rest must succeed as no right of permanent tenancy was established.