The judgment of the Court was as follows :

The present petitioners as plaintiffs instituted a suit against the State of West Bengal and another in the Munsiff's Court at Bongaon, District 24-Parganas, inter alia, for a declaration of their title to 40 decimale of land in plot No. 422, L.S. Kbatian No. 1550 of mouja Manigram under the Police Station of Bongaon, District 24-Parganas and for permanent injunction to restrain the defendants from interfering with their possession therein. The defendant, in the said suit filed separate written statements contesting the plaintiffs' claim. The trial Court originally framed nine issues in the said suit. Subsequently two additional issues were framed, one of them being whether or not the suit was barred under the provisions of Section 57B of the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act which was inserted in the statute during the pendency of the case.

2. The learned Munsif by his order, dated October 31, 1973 stayed the suit as be was of the opinion that 'operation of the amended Section 57B comes incidentally in the suit'. Subsequently, the learned Munsif vacated the stay order and directed that the question whether the suit was not maintai