SECRETARY OF STATE Vs. G KRISHNA RAO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The action out of which this appeal arises was brought by the respondent in the Court of the Subordinate Judge, Coimbatore, for an injunction restraining the Government of the Province of Madras from levying water cess from the plaintiff or his ryots in respect of a jaghir consisting of seven shotriem villages in the Coimbatore taluk. The learned Subordinate Judge dismissed the action, and his judgment was affirmed by the learned District Judge of Coimbatore. His judgment was reversed by the High Court of Madras, which granted the injunction on 28 July 1942, and against that judgment this appeal is brought. In this judgment, which was delivered by Somayya J., with whom Abdur Rahman J., concurred, the High Court said that the only question they had to decide was whether under the grant in question all the rights which the Government possessed (that is all the rights in the lands in question) had passed to the grantee and with this their Lordships agree. The appellant contends that all that was granted to the plaintiff's ancestor was the melvaram, or right to the revenue, from the lands, while the respondent's contention is that the grant carried not only the melvaram but also the proprietary interest in the land itself, and in the latter case there is no question but that water cess cannot be claimed by the Government.

(2.) It is not in dispute that the villages were originally granted as a shotriem inam to the respondent's great- grandfather Govinda Rao, as a reward for his services as Head Sarishtadar of the district. The grant itself could not be found, and indeed it seems that no formal cowle was ever issued. It appears that it had been the original intention of Government to grant the shotriem for three lives, but as Govinda Rao died before any cowle was issued it was confirmed for two lives in favour of Govinda's son Krishna Rao, the respondent's grandfather. The evidence begins with a letter (Ex. 1) from the Secretary of the Revenue Department to the Chief Secretary of Government dated 8 December 1825, transmitting a list of the villages selected by Govinda as a shotriem. The letter stated the aggregate survey value of the villages, not, it will be observed, the revenue derived therefrom, and concluded "the extent and value of these villages being moderate the Board beg leave to recommend that they be granted as a shrotriem on the usual conditions." The Secretary to the Government replied saying that the grant of the villages on shotriem tenure was approved and asking for the preparation and submission of the requisite deed so that it might be executed. On 22 December, 1825, the Secretary to the Board of Revenue wrote to the Principal Collector, Coimbatore, forwarding a copy of a draft of a cowle for jaghirs and asking him to prepare a cowle accordingly for the grant to Govinda Rao. Then, on 26 April 1832, the Secretary of the Board of Revenue informed the Chief Secretary that shortly before the death of Govinda Rao and at his request he had put his adopted son and next heir, Krishna Rao, in possession of the villages, and stating that the board believed that no cowle was issued to Govinda Rao but that it was to be gathered from the correspondence that the shotriem was granted for three lives or to the grantee and his next two heirs. The next document in order of date consists of entries in the register of inam in one of the shotriem villages dated 6 February 1864. The general class to which the inam belongs is stated to be "shotriem village"; it is set out that the shotriem being granted by the British Government is to be confirmed and that the present holder is willing to commute his present tenure into freehold by paying quit- rent. Then it is stated that the assessment of all the villages comprised in the grant including the value of the waste land is Rs.7000 and states how the value is calculated. On 6 May 1864, a title deed was granted to Krishna Rao by the Inam Commissioner. The deed is in these terms: Coimbatore (Seal-Inam commission-Madras.) No. 559. Title deed granted to Krishna Rao. 1. On behalf of the Governor-in-Council of Madras, I acknowledge your title to the shrotriem village of Maileripalayam and six other villages as per 4 side - taluk of Coimbatore, district of Coimbatore claimed to be of acres 8,680.98 (eight thousand six hundred and eighty) of dry land, and acres 12.89 of wet land and (one hundred and thirty) 130.99 acres of garden land besides poramboke. 2. This inam is subject to a jodi or quit-rent of Rs. 10 per annum, and is confirmed for two lives only, but it is not otherwise transferable; and on the expiration of the limited term above- mentioned it will lapse to the State. 3. On your agreeing to pay an annual quit-rent of Rs.1,182 (one thousand one hundred and eighty-two rupees), inclusive of the jodi already charged on the land as above stated, your inam tenure will be converted into freehold; in which case the land will be your own absolute property, to hold or dispose of as you think proper, subject only to the payment of the above-mentioned quit-rent. 4. If you should desire to commute the quit-rent for the payment of a sum of money, once for all, equal to (20) twenty years' purchase of the quit-rent, you will be at liberty to do so.

(3.) The next document in order of date is Ex. D which is headed "Revenue Board's proceedings dated 13th October 1887." How this document came into existence is somewhat obscure, but taken together with Ex. C, which is dated 29 May 1913, the position seems to have been this. In 1887, the Government were desirous of acquiring some of the shotriem lands. There was an award by the District Judge of a sum by way of purchase price for some of the lands which was paid on 29 March 1884. With regard to 233 acres, the amount offered by the Government was refused and that land was accordingly not bought but was ordered to be kept as an enclosure within the reserve of the forest. But in 1912 the Jaghirdars themselves proposed an exchange of these 233 acres for other land in the neighbourhood and to this the Government agreed. The document Ex. D is a copy of the Inam claims register and the importance of it is that it shows that the Jaghirdars' claim to proprietary rights over the village was admitted to the extent of 1273 acres and to 233 acres portion of 210 bullahs, though to the remainder of the 210 bullahs title was not admitted. Then when the suggestion for an exchange of these 233 acres was made the Jaghirdars expressly claimed melvaram and proprietary rights over them and Ex. C shows that on 29 May 1913, this claim was admitted and the exchange was effected, 240 acres being awarded to the claimants, as they were called, on the same tenure as the block surrendered.