The jurisdiction of the Civil Court in thika tenancy disputes is barred by the West Bengal Thika Tenancy (Acquisition & Regulation) Act, 2001, and such matters fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Thika Controller.

JUDGMENT :

1. In the present application under Section 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has challenged the order dated 12-04-2018 passed by the Learned Civil Judge (Junior Division), 2nd Court, Sealdah in Title Suit No. 222 of 2017.

2. The petitioner submits that the plaintiffs/opposite parties filed the suit before the learned trial Court praying for decree for declaration and permanent injunction, claiming to be thika tenants in respect of the disputed property. On the prayer of the plaintiffs, the learned trial Court granted an order of adinterim injunction in their favour following which the defendant/petitioner appeared in the suit and filed an application under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, praying for rejection of the plaint. The defendant/petitioner's contention before the learned trial Court was that the property being a thika property, the Court had no jurisdiction to try the suit and determination of title in respect of the property was within the domain of the Thika Controller.

3. The plaintiffs/opposite parties support the order impugned and submit that the learned trial Court has rightly held that as the dispute in the suit was between a thika tenant and a third party who was claiming title in respect of the property, such dispute was triable by the Civil Court and there was no bar under the law to decide such a dispute.

4. It is clearly enumerated in Order VII Rule 11 of the Code that "the plaint shall be rejected in the following cases:-

(a)............................................................

(b)............................................................

(c).............................................................

(d) Where the suit appears from the statement in the plaint to be barred by any law."

5. The case of the plaintiffs/opposite parties, as made out in the plaint itself, is that they are thika tenants in respect of the disputed property by way of inheritance from their predecessor Dulari Bewa, since deceased, who was the original thika tenant in respect thereof and after promulgamation of the Calcutta Thika Tenancy (Acquisition & Regulation) Act, 1981, became direct tenants under the Government of West Bengal. The predecessor of the plaintiffs inducted several bharatiyas in the property and received rents in respect of structures erected by her thereon. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendant, claiming to be the owner of the property, asked the plaintiffs to vacate the property and threatened to dispossess them there from. The plaintiffs prayed for a decree for declaration that the defendant had no right, title and interest in respect of the property and also for a decree for permanent injunction restraining the defendant from dispossessing the plaintiffs from the property or disturbing their peaceful possession therein. Therefore according to the plaint case itself, the plaintiffs/opposite parties claimed to be thika tenants in respect of the disputed property.

6. In view of Section 27 of the West Bengal Thika Tenancy (Acquisition & Regulation) Act, 2001, the Calcutta Thika and Other Tenancies and Lands (Acquisition & Regulations) Act, 1981, was repealed with effect from the date of commencement of the West Bengal Thika Tenancy (Acquistion & Regulations) Act, 2001.

7. Section 5(3) of the Act of 2001 is set out:-

"If any question arises as to whether a person is a thika tenant or not or whether the land in question is thika land or not, the Controller, either on his own motion or upon receiving any information, may, after giving the persons interested an opportunity of being heard and after examining all such documents and particulars as may be considered necessary, enquire upon and decide such question."

8. In other words all incidents of thika tenancy is to be determined by the Thika Controller and no civil court shall have jurisdiction to decide or deal with any such matter which is required to be determined by the Controller. Such bar to jurisdiction of the Civi