Transfer of suits and proceedings from Civil Court to the Special Tribunal.

Balakrishna Ayyar, J. —

Rani Subbalakshmi Nachiar, claiming to be the hereditary trustee of certain kattalais attached to some temples in what was formerly the Zamindari of Urkad, filed several suits in the Court of the District Munsiff of Ambasamudram, to recover what she claimed were arrears of rent from the defendants. According to her, the kattalais which she represented are entitled to full rights in the suit lands, that is to say, both to the melvaram and to the kudivaram. The defendants, in their turn, pleaded that they are entitled to permanent rights of occupancy in the lands. The following questions, therefore, arose for the determination.

(1) Whether the plaint schedule lands and other lands form a part of the estate of the Zamindari of Urkad which has been notified and taken over by Government under the Abolition Act?

(2) Whether they are not minor inam lands?

(3) Whether the defendants had acquired permanent occupancy rights in the suit lands?

(4) Whether the lands have all along been treated as ryoti lands?

Issues raising these points were framed in the suits. The defendants filed Interlocutory Applications in the Court of the District Munsif of Ambasamudram praying that since these questions had been raised the suits should be transferred to the Estates Abolition Tribunal, Madurai, under section 11 (1) of Madras Act XXX of 1956. The District Munsiff dismissed the petitions. The petitioners thereupon came to this Court in revision.

The learned Chief Justice, who heard the revision petitions, was inclined to allow them. But then, after he had dictated the order he proposed to make it was brought to his notice that a different view of the matter had been taken by Ramachandra Iyer, J., in C.R.P. No. 168 of 1958 and by Basheer Ahmed Sayeed, J., in C.R.P. No. 1657 of 1957. Having regard to this difference of opinion, and, in view of the importance of the question raised, the matter has been posted before a Division Bench.

It is necessary to add that the State of Madras filed a petition to be brought on record, in view of the fact that the question raised is one of considerable importance and likely to affect a number of other cases. That petition was allowed and we have had the benefit of the arguments of the learned Advocate-General on behalf of the Government.

The contentions raised before us call for an analysis of the general scheme and scope of Madras Act XXX of 1956. That Act was intended to make special provision for the determination of two questions.

(1) Whether an area is or is not an estate or part of an estate as defined in section 3 (2) of the Estates Land Act.,

(2) Whether an area is or is not an inam estate as defined in section 2 (7) of the Abolition Act. Section 3 (1) confers a right on any persons interested in the matter to make an application for the determination of either of these questions. The application has to be made to the Tribunal constituted under the Act. Under sub-section (2) of section 3 the application has to be filed within three months of the occurrence of one of the following events: —

(1) the date on which Act XXX of 1956 came into force;

(2) the date of the publication of an order under section 3, sub-section (2) of the Rent Reduction Act; or

(3) the date of the notification under section 1, sub-section (4) of the Abolition Act. Section 4 gives the State Government one year’s time to appeal from a decision that may have been given by any Court or Tribunal or a Settlement Officer. If the decision has been given by the Settlement Officer, the appeal would lie to the Tribunal. If the decision has been given by a Court or Tribunal constituted under the Abolition Act then the appeal would lie to the Special Appellate Tribunal, which would be a Bench of this Court constituted under section 7 of the Act. Section 6 prescribes the procedure to be followed by the Tribunal. Section 7 provides for appeals to the Special Appellate Tribunal. Section 8 raises a presumption on the question, whether any inam

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