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Judgment
Das, J.—The learned Deputy Collector was right in saying that there was no contract between the landlord and the tenants in this case to pay any definite rent for the disputed land; but he was wrong in dismissing the suit on the ground that he had no jurisdiction to apportion the rent in a case of this nature. Section 139, Clause (2) of the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act provides that all suits and applications for the determination of the rent payable by any tenant for agricultural land shall be cognizable by the Deputy Commissioner and shall be instituted and tried or heard under the provisions of the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act and shall not be cognizable in any other Court, except as otherwise provided in the Act.
The defendant, it is true, is not a raiyat but he is a tenure-holder, and if he is collecting rent in respect of agricultural land, then clearly a suit for the determination of the rent payable by him comes expressly under the provision of Section 139 of the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act. In order that Section 139, Clause (2) may apply, it is not necessary that the defendant should be an agricultural raiyat, but it is necessary that the rent should be payable for agricultural land.
Now the learned Deputy Collector does not say that the land in respect of which the apportionment of rent is claimed is not agricultural land. Agricultural land has not been defined in the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act and it would appear that this omission is intentional.
It is pointed out by Mr. Rampini in his well known work on the Bengal Tenancy Act that the question of determining to what classes of land the Act should be applicable was felt to be a difficult one and so it was left to the Courts to overcome the difficulties involved in its solution.
We are informed that the record of rights shows that there are numerous raiyats in these villages from whom the defendant collects rent. If that be so, clearly the land is agricultural land. At all events, if it is land to which the Chota Nagpur Act applies, there is no reason to fake the the view that it is not agricultural land.
I would allow the appeal, set aside the order of the learned Deputy Collector, and remand the case to him for disposal according to law.
Adami, J.
I agree.