Lord Atkin—

This is an appeal from the High Court at Bombay, which dismissed an appeal by the plaintiff, the present appellant, from a decree of the Subordinate Judge of Belgaum and allowed a cross appeal by the defendants, the respondents. The respondents did not file a case or appear before this Board. The plaintiff is the Sirdesai of Vantmur and he brought the present suit to recover possession of lands which, as he alleged, his predecessor-in-title had given to the defendants' predecessor-in-title in the year 1841, as remuneration for services as a shiledar or mounted follower. The defendants' claim was that the land was granted to their predecessor, and that the tenure was heritable and permanent so long as the holder was prepared to render the necessary service. It was common ground that since about 1868 the plaintiff and his predecessors had been receiving nokriansha, or a yearly payment in lieu of service, from the defendants and their predecessors, and a further or alternative question arose as to the amount of the nokriansha which was the subject of the defendants' cross-appeal. The substantial question is whether the land was resumable at the will of the plaintiff whether