Kedar Nath vs Shiam Lal

Niamatullah, J.—This is an appeal against an order u/s 5, Clause (2), Agriculturists'' Relief Act. The Court from whose order this appeal has been filed was the Court of Small Causes. It directed that the decree might be paid in certain instalments and the complaint is that these instalments do not extend over a sufficiently long period. The question before us, in the first place, is whether an appeal lies to this Court. It has been held that the Court of a Civil Judge is immediately subordinate to the Court of the District Judge; but the argument here is that this is a Court of Small Causes and no appeal from it lies to the District Judge. It is therefore urged that the Court of Small Causes is immediately subordinate to this Court which may interfere with its decision by way of revision.

We do not think that this is the proper criterion for deciding what is meant by subordination according to the terms of the Agriculturists'' Relief Act. u/s 3, Civil P.C., the Court of Small Causes is subordinate to the District Court. We think that that is the sense in which the term ''subordinate'' must have been used in the Agriculturists'' Relief Act. We there-fore hold that the appeal lay not to this Court but to the District Court. We return the memorandum of appeal for presentation to the proper Court.