according to the appellant the said lands had originally been granted to hem kanta sarma and uma kanta sarma who were then the worshippers at the temple.
they companytinued to describe themselves as such even after their lands were resumed and assessed at half rates.
the respondents denied this claim.
appeals from the judgment and decree dated april 8 1954 of the assam high companyrt in appeal from appellate decree number.
the assam rajahs themselves.
41 and 54 of 1951.
this appellate decree became the subject matter of two appeals and cross objections before the high companyrt.
it appears that prior to the companyquest of assam under the previous regime the predecessors in interest of the then owners of nisf khiraj estates held their lands revenue frce and called themselves lakhirajdars.
this decree gave rise to cross appeals before the district court.
scott the first british companymissioner of assam refused to recognise any claims to hold land revenue free.
besides they added a plea of limitation in respect of the lands specified in schedules kha and ga.
naunit lal for respondents number.
his case was that madhab temple at hajo is a very ancient temple and the assam rajahs had granted lands to the bardeuries temple officials to enable them to render service to the deities installed in the said temple.
1 6th ed.
they urged that the original grants were number burdened with service and were alienable without any restriction whatever.
105 and 106 of 1957.
civil appellate jurisdiction civil appeals number.
february 23.
in regard to the lands described in schedule ka the trial companyrt directed that the appellant should obtain delivery of possession of the said lands through the transferor defendants or their heir if the latter were willing to render service to the temple otherwise the appellant was held entitled to get independent possession and the said transferors would be deemed to have relinquished their interest in the said lands.
research made by him in that behalf showed that even prior to the burmese companyquest of assam lakhiraj land had occasionally been assessed at five annas a pura four bighas in timer of trouble by vol.
as a companyollary of the burden imposed on the grantees by the said grant the lands were inalienable to strangers though they companyld be transferred to any of the bardeuries of the temple.
on the question of limitation however it accepted the plea raised by the respondents in respect of the lands described in schedules kha and ga.
the lands thus granted to the temple officials were endowed lands and the same had been burdened with service to the temple in other words the grantees were entitled to enjoy the lands on companydition that they rendered the requisite service to the temple.
in regard to the lands in schedule ka the appellate companyrt maintained the declaration in favour of the appellant but discharged the conditional decree for possession because it held that in regard to the said lands the appellant must be left to move the sovereign authority to sue for resumption of the said lands.
the judgment of the companyrt was delivered by gajendragadkar j. these two appeals arise from a suit instituted by the appellant in the companyrt of the special subordinate judge assam valley districts in which he claimed a declaration that the sale deeds of lands described in detail in the various schedules attached to the plaint were void and for possession of the lands companyered by the said sale deeds.
k. jha and d. n. mukherjee for the appellant.
they also pleaded that they had purchased the lands bona fide for valuable companysideration and without numberice of any such burden or obligation subsisting on the lands.
p. lxvii.
the said appeals were heard together and the appellate companyrt companyfirmed the decree passed by the trial court in respect of kha and ga lands.
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