Lord Dunedin :-

The respondent is zamindar of certain lands in the village of Satrampadu. The lands were let on 11th August, 1903, on a five years' lease to the appellants. At the expiry of the term the lease was prolonged for a further period of three years. At the expiry of the three years the respondent wished to resume possession, but was met by the assertion that the appellants had a permanent right of occupancy in virtue of the provisions of the Madras Estates Land Act which was passed in June, 1908 and came into force on 1st July of the same year. This suit was then raised to recover possession and to get mesne profits.

The provision of the Act on which the appellants rely is the sixth section which says that every ryot now in possession or who shall hereafter be admitted by a landholder to possession of ryoti land not being old waste, situate in the estate of such landholder, shall have a permanent right of occupancy in his holding. "Estate" is defined as meaning (in addition to certain definitions which would not apply in the present question) : "any permanently settled estate or temporarily settled zamindari." The respondent says that his estate does not fall within this de