OAK, J. :- The question for consideration in these two connected appeals is whether the Municipal Board of Meerut is entitled to retain the price of certain manure, that was stored in the year 1947 on a piece of land at Meerut. In both the appeals the Municipal Board is the appellant; and Bir Singh and three others are the respondents.

2. One Amjad was the owner of the plot, on which the manure in question had been deposited. Bir Singh and other respondents are Ajmad's successors-in-interest. For many years the Municipal Board of Meerut (hereafter referred to as the Board) occupied the plot as Amjad's lessee or licensee. The Board used to deposit night-soil on this plot, the night-soil got converted into manure. In 1918 respondents filed a suit in the Court of Munsif, Meerut for Board's ejectment from the plot. That suit was dismissed by the trial Court, but decreed in appeal by the Judge, Small Cause Court, Meerut. The decree for possession was put into execution by the respondents in March 1947. The respondents obtained possession over the plot through Court on 2-4-1947.

3. At that time some manure was lying on the plot. The Board moved a series of applications to enable i