Dispossession contemplated under Article 3 of Schedule III to the Bengal Tenancy Act is dispossession qua landlord or acting as landlord.

( 1 ) WE heard this appeal on Feb. 4, 1972 when no one appeared for the respondents. By our judgment and decree on the same date we allowed the appeal. The plaintiff's suit for declaration of title and recovery of possession of the suit lands was decreed.

( 2 ) THE respondent No. 2 thereafter filed an application under Order 41, Rule 21 of the Civil P. C. for a rehearing of the appeal on the ground that no notice of the appeal was ever served on him. He could not take steps for his appearance and arrange for his representation at the time of hearing. On this application under Order 41, Rule 21 we issued a Rule and ultimately made it absolute. The judgment and decree which we passed on Feb. 4, 1972 were set aside.

( 3 ) THE appeal has now been heard at length. The dispute relates to about 6. 89 acres of land under Khatian No. 238 in mouza Chowtara, Police Station Dhania-khali, in the district of Hooghly. One Bholanath was a tenant in respect of this land under Satis Giri, the Mohunt of the Hrishikesh Ashram of Tarake-swar. On the 22nd December, 1932, Bholanath sold some portions of the land to the defendants Nos. 7 and 8. The defendants Nos. 3 to 6 are the heirs of Bholanath and the defendant No. 1 is the present landlord.

( 4 ) IN 1937, the landlord filed a rent suit against the defendants Nos. 3 to 8. This was Rent Suit No. 999 of 1937. The suit was decreed on Feb. 2, 1938. Before the decree was put into execution, the plaintiff purchased the suit plots from the defendants Nos. 7 and 8 with notice to the landlord. The date of the plaintiff's purchase is the 19th Dec. , 1938.

( 5 ) THEREAFTER, on the 12-3-1941, in the rent execution case No. 763 of 1940 the suit lands were put to sale by auction. In this sale the defendant No. 1 became the auction purchaser.

( 6 ) PURSUANT to the auction purchase, delivery of possession of the suit lands was given to the defendant No. 1 on the 8th Dec. , 1941. The defendant No. 1 obtained possession through Court, and thereafter settled the suit lands to the defendant No. 2.

( 7 ) THE plaintiff, who is the appellant before us, on the 28th Sept. , 1951, filed Title Suit No. 230 of 1951 in the Munsif's Court at Chinsura. In the plaint, inter alia, declaration of title and recovery of possession were claimed.

( 8 ) ON the 24th April, 1954, the Second Munsif of Chinsura disposed of this title suit. He held that "the plaintiff's title to the suit land acquired by Exhibit 3 has remained unaffected by the sale in execution of the decree in Rent Suit No. 999 of 1937 of the First Court of Munsif, Hooghly". But he dismissed the suit on the ground of limitation. According to him, to a suit of this nature Article 3 in Schedule III of the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885 applies. This Article is as under : description of suit. Period of Limitation. Time from which period begins to run. To recover possession of land claimed by the plaintiff as a raiyat or under-raiyat. Two years The date of dispossession.

( 9 ) THE plaintiff preferred an appeal which was marked as Title Appeal No. 187 of 1954. On the 4th Feb. , 1958, the Additional Subordinate Judge of Hooghly dismissed the appeal. The Appellate Judge did not disturb the Munsif's finding on the question of title. He agreed with him on the question of limitation. He was also of the view that Article 3 in Schedule III to the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885 stood in the way of the plaintiffs obtaining a decree.

( 10 ) ON the 29th April, 1958, the present appeal was filed. On May 5, 1965 P. N. Mookerjee, J. referred the appeal to a Division Bench as it raised important question of law.

( 11 ) THE only point that arises for consideration is whether the plaintiff's suit for declaration of title and recovery of possession would be governed by Article 3 in Schedule III to the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885 or by the ordinary laws of limitation. In other words, whether the period of limitation would be two years or 12 years. If the period of limita