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High Court Of Calcutta
Mookerjee & Susanta Chatterji, JJ.
Sadhan Ch Samanta
Vs.
Jaladi Bala Dassi
C. O. 2393 of 1985
Decided On : March 19, 1986
PRE-EMPTION - WEST BENGAL LAND REFORMS ACT, 1955 - SECTION 8 - JOINDER OF PARTIES - RIGHT OF PRE-EMPTION - DEPOSIT OF CONSIDERATION MONEY - INTERPRETATION - APPLICABILITY - REJECTION OF APPLICATION.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioners, Sadhan Chandra Samanta and others, filed a Revisional Application challenging the Order of the Additional District Judge, Midnapore, which modified the Order of the Munsif and allowed the pre-emption application of Jaladi Bala Dassi, while dismissing the application of Kinkar Khamrui.
Finding of the Court:
The Court held that the joinder of two pre-emptors in one application under Section 8 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 was not mis-joinder and did not affect the merits of the case or the jurisdiction of the Court. The Court also held that the deposit of consideration money and compensation thereon need not necessarily be made within four months or three years from the date of transfer, as the provisions of Section 8 did not make it imperative to do so.
Issues: 1. Whether the joinder of two pre-emptors in one application under Section 8 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 was mis-joinder. 2. Whether the deposit of consideration money and compensation thereon was required to be made within four months or three years from the date of transfer.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The Court relied on the provisions of Order 1 Rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (substituted by Section 52(1) of Act 104 of 1976) and held that all persons may be joined in one suit as plaintiffs where any right to relief in respect of or arising out of the same act or transaction or series of acts or transactions alleged to exist in such persons whether jointly, severally or in the alternative, and if such persons brought separate suits, any common question of law and fact would arise. In the present case, the Court found that the transfer in favor of the stranger purchasers gave rise to a right of pre-emption in favor of the owners of adjoining plots, and if separate applications were filed, common questions of law and fact would have arisen. Therefore, the Court held that there was no mis-joinder of parties. 2. The Court relied on the Division Bench decision in the case of Jotish Chandra Sardar vs. Hiralal Sardar (J. I. R 1971 (1) Calcutta 213) and held that Section 8 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 did not contain any provision similar to sub-section (2) of Section 26f of the Bengal Tenancy Act, which made it imperative to deposit the consideration money and compensation thereon at the time of making the pre-emption application. The Court held that sub-section (1) of Section 8 indicated the condition upon which the transfer in favor of the pre-emption is to be made rather than the manner in which the application under Section 8 is to be made. Therefore, the Court held that the deposit of consideration money and compensation thereon need not necessarily be made within four months or three years from the date of transfer.
Final Decision: The Court dismissed the Revisional Application filed by the petitioners, Sadhan Chandra Samanta and others, and also dismissed the Revisional Application filed by Kinkar Khamrui for non-prosecution.
1. THE present Revisional application is directed against the Order dated 30th day of July 1985 passed by the Learned Additional District Judge, Third Court, Midnapore in Miscellaneous Appeal No. 48 of 1983 arising out of the Order doted 19th March 1983 passed by Munsif of Garbeta in Pre-emption case No. 17 of 19 78.
2. THE Opposite Party No. 1 Smt. Jaladi Bala Dassi wife of late Upendra Nath Khamrui and the Opposite Party No. 2 Shri kinkar Khamrui son of Late Upendra Nath Khamrui jointly filed an application under Section 8 of the West Bengal Land Reforms act, 1955 being Case No. 17 of 1974 in the Court of the Munsif at Garbeta for Pre-emption alleging that Plot No. 149 appertaining to Khatian No. 164/1, in Mouza Srimanipore measuring 1. 50 acres was contiguous to Plot No. 150 and Plot No. 330 on the north belonging to Smt. Jaladi Bala Dassi and Plot No. 136 on the West belonging to Shri Kinkar Khamrui. It was further alleged that the Plot No. 149 belonged to Pachkari Goswami, radha Govinda Goswami and Amar Krishna Goswami and by a Registered Deed of Sale dated 5th June 1974, they had sold the properties to Sadhan Chandra Samanta and others, the present petitioners, on a consideration of Rs. 6,999/ -. The petitioners were admittedly stranger purchasers and the Opposite Parties nor. 1 and 2 were related to one another as mother and son. On 19th February, 19 77 the said Jaladi Bala and Kinkar Khamrui had applied for amendment of the Pre-emption application which was disallowed by the Learned Munsif on 2 6th August, 1977. Against the said Order Hon'ble High Court at Calcutta was moved and C. R. No. 2 82 8 of 1 977 was obtained on 2 4th May, 1978. The said Rule was disposed of and leave was granted to withdraw the said Pre-emption Case and to file the same against subject to limitation. The matter went back and on August 8, 1978 the pre-emptors filed the application along with a prayer under section 5 of the Limitation Act. The Learned Munsif allowed the said application under Section 5 read with Section 14 of the Limitation Act, condoned the delay and then disposed the application for Pre-emption on its merits in favour of the pre-emptors. Being aggrieved the petitioner preferred Misc. Appeal No. 4 8 of 1 983. By his order dated August 29, 1983 the learned Additional District Judge disposed of the appeal by remanding the case for Re-trial by the Learned Munsif. Again a Revisional Application was moved in the Hon'ble High Court which was registered as Civil Order No. 3045 of 1983; the same was disposed on July 2, 1984 by the Hon'ble Mr. Justice Anil kumar Sen and the Hon'ble Mr. Justice Prabir Kumar Majumdar. The order of the Additional District Judge was set aside and the matter was remanded for disposal by considering the claim pre-emption on its merit. By Order dated July 30, V985, after remand, the Appeal was dismissed, subject to the modification of the Order of the Learned Munsif to the extent that the petition under Section 8 of the West Bengal Land Reforms act in favour of Jaladi Bala Dassi was allowed and the prayer for Pre-emption on behalf of Kinkar Khamrui was dismissed. Against the said final Order dated July 30, 1985. Sadhan Chandra samanta and others have since come up. The said Kinkar Khamrui has also filed a Revisional application being aggrieved by the said Order of the Learned Additional District Judge.
Mr. Rabindra Nath Mitra, learned advocate on behalf of the petitioners, has made two-fold submissions in support of this Revisional Application. First, he had submitted that the application for pre-emption filed jointly by the pre-emptors was not maintainable in law. The Learned Additional District judge had proceeded on erroneous assumption that there was no dispute or conflict between the two. The two petitioners had separate and distinct causes of action. They could not have jointly claimed right to pre-empt the impugned transfer in favour of the present petitioner this who as owners of the two differe
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