Spencer, J.

1. These suits were brought by certain mokhasadars in the Kistna District to eject their tenants; and the first question that came up for decision at the trial was whether the villages in question were portions of an estate within the definition of the Madras Estates Land Act. under Section 3 of that Act an "estate" means "consisting of one or more villages of any of the estates specified in Clause (a) which is held on a permanent under-tenure ". The three villages concerned in this suit, Goteru, Surampudi and Komara-varam are admittedly situated within the ambit of the Zemin-dari of Nuzvid. They were in existence before the Permanent Settlement of 1802. The District Munsif was of opinion that they were even more ancient than the zemindari in which they are situated. The question whether they are held on a permanent under-tenure from the Zemindar must depend on whether the revenue from these mokhasas was taken into consideration in computing the assets of the Zemindari at the time of the Permanent Settlement. As the question of the Civil Courts jurisdiction over these suits has been raised, we have no alternative but to decide it in these proceedings even though