Judgement

Appeal (No. 149 of 1924) from a decree of the High Court (September 16, 1921), reversing a decree of the District Judge of Dharwar.

The suit was brought in 1913 by the appellant, whose ancestors had received in 1748 a jaghir grant of a village named Hebli; he and his kinsmen are herein referred to as the Jaghirdars. The plaintiff sought to establish that he and his kinsmen defendants 12 and 13 (now respondents 8 and 9) were, and that the defendants (now represented by respondents 1 to 6, and referred to as the Nadgirs) were not watandar patils and kulkarnis of the above village, that 120 mars of land mentioned in the watan register were not watan land, and were not liable for the remuneration of the patils and kulkarnis, that the register might be cancelled accordingly, and that Rs.969 paid to the Government by the appellants in 1913 might be refunded. The Secretary of State for India in Council was a defendant, but was not a party to the appeal.

The facts appear from the judgment of the Judicial Committee.

The District Judge held that the claim to cancel the watan register was barred by s. 4 of the Bombay Revenue Jurisdiction Act, 1876, but in other respects decided in f