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To appreciate the first question it is necessary to notice a few facts. The appellant as khatedar of the land in dispute had filed a suit under s. 71 of the Act in the court of the Tahsildar, Tahsil Huzur, Bhopal for the ejectment of the respondents on the ground that they were his shikmi tenants. The said court held that the appellant was the khatedar of the land in dispute and the respon-

dents were his shikmi tenants. The present contention is that the said decree was given by a court of exclusive jurisdiction and, therefore, the respondents could not reagitate the same subjectmatter in a civil court. Under s. 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a civil court can entertain a suit of a civil nature except a suit of which its cognizance is either expressly or impliedly barred. It is settled principle that it is for the party who seeks to oust the jurisdiction of a civil court to establish his contention. It is also equally well settled that a statute ousting the jurisdiction of a civil court must be strictly construed. The question is whether a suit based on title of a khatedar and for possession is either expressly or by necessary implication barred by the provisions of the Act. The relevant provisions of the Act may now be read:

Section 200 (i) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, or in any other enactment for the time being in force no civil court shall entertain any suit instituted or application made to obtain a decision or order on any matter which the Government or any revenue officer is, by this Act, empowered to determine, decide or dispose of, and in particular and without prejudice to the generality of this provision, no civil court shall exercise jurisdiction over any of the following matters Cls. (a) to (u) No reliance is placed on the matters described in cls. (a) to (u) of' this section. But it is said that under the other provisions of the Act a revenue officer is empowered to determine, decide or dispose of a question of title of a person to a land as khatedar and, therefore, a suit in a civil court is barred in terms of s. 200(1). The first section relied upon in that context is s. 71, which reads: "A shikmi may be ejected by order of the Tahsildar if he fails to vacate land on the termination of his lawful possession or does anything in contravention of his agree- ment, if any, provided that no ejectment shall take effect before the commencement of the next agricultural year."' "Shikmi" is defined under the Act to mean a person who holds land from an occupant and is or but for a contract, would be. liable to pay rent for such land to that occupant, but does not include a mortgagee or a person holding land directly from Government. "Occupant" is defined to mean "a person who holds land direct from Government or would do so but the right of collecting land revenue having been assigned or relinquished." Section 71, therefore, presupposes the existence of a legal relationship of landlord and tenant and enables the occupant to evict his shikmi if he does not comply with one or other of the conditions mentioned therein; it does not comprehend a decision on a question of title. The question of title is a matter foreign to the scope of S. 71. If so, a suit in a civil court for a declaration of title and possession by a khatadar against a trespasser falls outside the -scope of S. 200(1) of the Act. The second limb of the contention turns upon a fasciculus of provisions relating to the preparation of the Record of Rights. The relevant provisions are as follows: Section 89. The Record of rights in each village shall comprise (1)........................................ (2) a register, to be called the "register of rights", showing all persons who are holders of land and the nature and extent of their interests and the conditions and liabilities, if any, attaching thereto.