Revenue courts and suits cognizable by them.

Revenue courts and suits cognizable by them. (1) When a Revenue Officer is exercising jurisdiction with respect to any such suit as is described in sub-section (3) or with respect to an appeal or other proceeding arising out of any such suit, he shall be called a Revenue Court. (2) There shall be the same classes of Revenue Courts as of Revenue Officers under this Act, and, in the absence of any order of the State Government to the contrary, a Revenue Officer of any class having jurisdiction within any local limits under this Act shall be Revenue Court of the same class having jurisdiction within the same local limits. (3) The following suits shall be instituted in, and heard and determined by, Revenue Courts, and no other Court shall take cognizance of any dispute or matter with respect to which any suit might be instituted:- First Group (a) suits between landowner and tenant for addition to or abatement of rent under section 22 or for commutation of rent; (b) suits under section 29 for the determination of rent or other sum on the expiration of the term of an assessment of land revenue; Second Group (c) suits by a tenant to establish a claim to a right of occupancy, or by landowner to prove that a tenant has not such a right; (d) suits for ejectment of tenants; (e) any other suit between landowner and tenant arising out of the condition on which a tenancy is held; (f) suits for sums payable on account of village expenses; (g) suits by a co-sharer in an estate or holding for a share of profits thereof or for a settlement of accounts; (h) suits for the recovery of over-payments of rent or land revenue or of any other demand for which a suit lies in a Revenue Court under this sub-section; Third Group (i) suits by a landowner for arrears of rent or for the money equivalent of rent; and (ii) suits for sums payable on account of land revenue or of any other demand recoverable as an arrear of land revenue under any enactment for the time being in force. (4) Except as otherwise provided in this Act or by any rule made by the State Government in this behalf- (a) a Collector may hear and determine any of the suits mentioned in sub-section (3); (b) an Assistant Collector of the First Grade may hear and determine any of the suits mentioned in the second and third groups of that sub-section, and, if he has by name been specially empowered in this behalf by the State Government any of the suits mentioned in the first group; and (c) an Assistant Collector of the Second Grade may hear and determine any of the suits mentioned in the third group. (5) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3)- (i) where in a suit cognizable by and instituted in a Civil Court it becomes necessary to decide any matter which can under this sub-section be heard and determined only by a Revenue Court, the Civil Court shall endorse upon the plaint the nature of the matter for decision and the particulars required by order VII, rule 10, of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and return the plaint for presentation to the Collector; (ii) on the plaint being presented to the Collector, the Collector shall proceed to hear and determine the suit where the value thereof exceeds Rs. 1,000 or the matter involved is of the nature mentioned in first group of sub-section (3) of this section and in other cases may send the suit, to an Assistant Collector of the First Grade for decision.