NOBIN CHANDRA SHAHA Vs. KULA CHANDRA DHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The substantial question in these second appeals is whether the provisions of Section 29 of the Bengal Tenancy Act control Secs.30 and 31. These are three sections included within the enhancement of Secs.27 to 37 inclusive.

(2.) The point arises in this way. The plaintiffs sought to enhance the money rent of the defendants, who are occupancy raiyats, on the ground that the rate of lent paid by them was below the prevailing rate paid by occupancy raiyats for land of a similar description and with similar advantages in the same village or in neighbouring villages. The last previous enhancement some 12 years ago, was from annas 13 odd to Rs. 1-4 per bigha, as admitted by the plaintiffs, that enhancement obviously contravened the second condition, imposed by Section 29, that the rent must not be enhanced so as to exceed, by more than 2 annas in the rupee, the rent previously paid by the raiyat.

(3.) It is urged by the plaintiffs-appellants that Section 23 must stand by itself, being the section which provides for enhancement of rent by contract, and that Section 30 and the following sections, which contemplate a suit, must be considered to be self-contained. In other words, the Court should have regard to the rates actually paid by the raiyats for land of a similar description and not to the rates of rent lawfully payable by them.