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The appellant did not seek permission of the Court to file a rejoinder to the pleas of the respondent, but must be taken to have denied them. it appears that in the trial her stand was that this was not a Sarvadumbala inam but a karnikam service inam, i.e., an inam in lieu of wages for village service, which was resumed by the Zamindar of Pithapuram, who granted a jeroyti patta (Ex. A-5) on September 1, 1925 to Vakkalanka Venkata sub. barayudu, the predecessor of the appellant. The question which was thus tried by the District Munsif, Amalapuram, embraced an issue as to whether the suit land was a Dumbala Dharmila inam before 1925 and had continued till the Estates Abolition Act was passed and enforced, or whether it was a Karnikam service inam granted by the Zamindar of Pithapuram, who could and did resume it in 1925 regranting the land to Vakkalanka Venkatasubbarayudu. It is clear that if the suit land was a Dharmila Dumbala inam, the appellant would have bad only melwaram rights, which she must be deemed to have lost under the Estates Abolition Act, and consequently the respondent would now be considered to have become a ryot. If the suit land was a Karnikam service inam, then the resumption by the Zamindar of Pithapuram in 1925 would be valid and the regrant to Venkatasubbarayudu would make him a tenant and the respondent, a sub-tenant liable to ejectment according to the terms of the kadapa executed by him. Unfortunately, by reason of the fact that the pleas on the subject of Dharmila inam were exclusively raised in the written statement, which pleas were not traversed by the appellant, the issue framed was :

The appellant examined four witnesses and respondent, seven in support of their respective cases. The High Court and the two Courts below did not rely upon the oral testimony at all. In view of this, it is not necessary to refer to the evidence of these witnesses, except where the proof of a document is to be considered. The decision in this case therefore, depends upon the documents produced by the two parties in proof of their own contentions. These documents stand divided two kinds : (a) those in which the inam is described as Dharmila inam and (b) those in which it is described as Karnikam service inam. Some of these documents do not appear to have been properly proved. There are, besides, many documents which were filed in the case but which are difficult to connect with the land in dispute. The last category will obviously have to be excluded from considera- tion. The most important document, of course, is the jeroyti patta (Ex. A-5) granted by the Zamindar of Pithapuram on September 1, 1925, because if the. land was held for Karnikam service from the Zamindar, then it is admitted that it could be validly resumed and re-granted by the Zamindar. The attempt of the respondent, therefore, which succeeded before the High Court but which had failed before the two Courts below was to show that the land was a Sarvadumbala inam, which could neither be resumed by the Zamindar of Pithapuram nor regranted by him. The learned single Judge in the High Court treated the finding, that prior to 1925 what existed was a Karnikam service inam, as a finding of law open to him to consider in second appeal. After a painstaking examination of the documents filed by the parties, he came to the conclusion that there was no such thing as a Dharmia Karnikam service inam. He held that the Zamindar had no power to resume this land under the second proviso to s. 17 of the Madras Proprietary Estates' Village Service Act, 1894 (11 of 1894) or to re-grant it on jeroyti patta. In this appeal, it is argued, at the outset, that the learned single Judge, in substance, reversed a finding of fact and that he was not entitled to do so under s. 100 of the Code of the Civil Procedure.

Before considering this evidence, it is necessary to refer to the provisions of the three statutes, which will clear the ground for our findings. The Madras Permanent Settlement Regulation of 1802 (Madras Regulation 25 of 1802) was passed to fix for ever a moderate assessment of public revenue not liable to be increased under any circumstance, to ensure to the proprietors of lands the proprietary right of the soil. Under that Settlement, instruments fixing the demand were to be delivered to the proprietors, and they, in their turn, were to execute Kabuli at accepting the assessment. Where a part of the Zamindari etc. was sold either in invitum or by private negotiation, the assessment on the separated lands bore the same proportion to the actual value of the separated portion, as the total permanent jama on the Zamindari bore to the actual value of the whole Zamindari. The Zamindars, were required to furnish true accounts for this purpose. Section II of the Regulation provided that the Zamindars or landholders should support the regular and established number of karnam in the several villages of their respective Zamindaries. These karnams were to obey all legal orders, but were removable only by a sentence of a Court of Judicature. Simultane- ously, the Madras Karnams Regulation of 1802 (Madras Regulation 29 of 1802) was passed to provide for the efficient establishment of the office of a karnam, so that authentic information and accounts might be had. This Regulation provided for the establishment of karnam for each village if the revenue was 400 pagodas or more, but it was possible for a karnam to be appointed for two or more villages where the revenue was less. The office was hereditary except for proved incapacity of the successor. Lists of karnams and of villages under each had to be deposited in the Collectorate. Elaborate provisions were made for the duties of the karnams, the accounts and registers they had to maintain, to the accuracy of which the karnams were compelled to swear. In 1894, the Madras Proprietary Estates' Village Services Act, 1894 (11 of 1894) was passed to make, better provisions for the appointment and remuneration of the karnams among others. The Act was extended to certain classes of village officers by whatever designation known locally-- viz., (1) Village Accountants.

The section dealt with. the enfranchisement of two kinds of lands : (a) lands granted the State to be enfranchised by the State, and (b) : lands granted by the proprietor to be enfranchised by the proprietor. Previously, in fixing. the peishkush of the Zamindar, due regard was given to the expenses of the office of a karnam, and they were excluded from the assets of the Zamindari. An adjustment of the peishkush was allowed by the Act.

From the above, it will be seen that after the passing of Act II of 1894 the karnams were to be paid in cash and the Act enabled the enfranchisement of lands granted on favourable terms to the karnams. The lands granted by the State were to be enfranchised by the State and those granted by the Zamindar by the Zamindar. The learned single Judge was of the view that the lands granted or held by way of remuneration for the performance of the village office such as that of a karnam could only be enfranchised by the State Government and not by the Zamindar; who had nothing to do with such lands. The action of the Zamindar in this case in 1925 to resume the lands and to re-grant them by a jeroyti patta was thus said to be entirely without jurisdiction. It was held that if these lands were originally Dharmila inams, they could not be resumed by the Zamindar, nor re-granted, and the learned Judge was of the further view that there was no such thing as a karnam service inam.