IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADRAS
Venkataramana Rao, J.
Tadepalli Ramiah alias Ramasastri
Versus
Madala Thathiah and Anr.
Decided On : 15.02.1937
mesne profits - Civil Procedure Code - Order 2 Rule 2, Civil Procedure Code - Ponnammal v. Ramamirda Aiyar (1914) 28 M.L.J. 127 : I.L.R. 38 Mad. 829 - Naba Kumar Hazra v. Radhashyam Mahis (1931) 61 M.L.J. 294 (P.C.) - Doraisami Aiyar v. Subramania Aiyar AIR1918Mad484 - In re Kantheeswaram Ekanathalingaswami Koil through its trustee M. Vedanayagam Pillai (1936)71MLJ677 - Rama Kallappa v. Saidappa Sidrama I.L.R. (1934) 59 Bom. 454 - Ram Karan Singh v. Nakchhed Ahir I.L.R. (1931) All. 951 - The suit is not barred by Order 2, Rule 2, Civil Procedure Code.
Fact of the Case:
The plaintiffs filed a suit for recovery of mesne profits. The Subordinate Judge ruled the action as barred by Order 2 Rule 2 Civil Procedure Code.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the suit was not barred by Order 2, Rule 2, Civil Procedure Code.
Issues: The main issues were the interpretation of Order 2, Rule 2, Civil Procedure Code and the applicability of previous decisions to the current case.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that a claim for possession and a claim for mesne profits are distinct causes of action, and the suit was not barred by Order 2, Rule 2, Civil Procedure Code.
Final Decision: The decree of the learned Subordinate Judge was reversed and the plaintiff was given a decree for Rs. 500 with interest at 6 per cent from the date of the plaint.
Venkataramana Rao, J.
1. This second appeal arises out or a suit instituted by the plaintiffs for recovery of mesne profits for faslis 1337 to 1339 from the defendants. The District Munsiff of Guntur gave a decree but it was reversed by the Subordinate Judge of Guntur on the ground that the action is barred by Order 2 Rule 2 Civil Procedure Code. The plaintiffs filed a suit (O.S. No. 1013 of 1927) on the file of the District Munsiff of Guntur for recovery of possession of the land in respect whereof the mesne profits are claimed. They also claimed in that suit mesne profits both past and future, but while giving a decree in plaintiffs favour, the District Munsiff did not pass a decree for mesne profits subsequent to suit and the reason given by him is thus stated in paragraph 30 of his judgment in the said suit:
No provision is made for recovery of subsequent profits, as it was represented that the 1st plaintiff had filed a suit in the Sub-Court, Guntur, for recovery of them.
2. The suit referred to in the said order was filed by the plaintiffs during the pendency of the above action in the Sub-Court, Guntur, for recovery of mesne profits for the said three faslis and for damages but after the decree in O.S. No. 1013 of 1927 the claim for damages was given up in consequence whereof the Sub-Court, Guntur, returned the plaint filed before it for presentation to the District Munsiff of Guntur on the ground that it had no jurisdiction to try the suit, and accordingly the plaint was re-presented and filed before the District Munsiff of Guntur and it was there numbered as O.S. No. 637 of 1931. It is this suit which has now come up in second appeal.
3. According to the decisions of our High Court, the suit would be sustainable, but the learned Subordinate Judge was of the opinion that the recent decision of the Privy Council in Naba Kumar Hazra v. Radhashyam Mahis (1931) 61 M.L.J. 294 (P.C.) was conclusive on the matter. The construction placed by him on the said decision was that a claim for mesne profits such as laid in the plaint in this suit arises out of the same cause of action for possession. He therefore felt himself compelled to decide against the plaintiffs. This view is also pressed by Mr. Jagannadha Das on behalf of the respondents before me and he contends that the Privy Council decision must be held to have overruled all the decisions of this High Court as well as the other High Courts on this point. It is therefore necessary to see if the decision of the Privy Council leads to the said result. On the careful reading of the said case it seems to me that no question of mesne profits was involved in the said case at all. The facts of the said case were as follows: A pleader who was appearing for judgment-debtors in a mortgage suit had the decree in the said suit purchased benami in the name of his wife and began to execute it. The judgment-debtors having come to know the said fact filed a suit to have it declared that it was really a purchase benami for the pleader and that the pleader was the real purchaser and prayed for appropriate reliefs in the action. During the pendency of the suit, the property was sold, in consequence whereof necessary amendments were permitted to be made in the plaint in and by which they were enabled to claim a conveyance of the said decree and the said property with necessary accounts and the plaintiffs in that suit were given a decree for possession and it was pointed out in the judgment of the Privy Council that the claim for accounts was abandoned. Subsequent to the decree for possession, some of the judgment-debtors instituted an action for recovery of rents and profits of the property received by the purchaser after the purchase and before the conveyance. The question was whether this claim was barred under Order 2, Rule 2, Civil Procedure Code. Their Lordships of the Judicial Committee were of the opinion that it was a relief which could have been claimed in the previous suit. The ba
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