Construction of sanad and revenue records confirms grant of land revenue only, preserving compensation under abolition law.

A sanad must be construed with its surrounding circumstances and contemporaneous official records, not by the description of the subject-matter alone. Here, the land description did not establish a grant of the soil, particularly where the statutory context, alienation register, earlier documents, and long-accepted revenue practice showed that only land revenue was granted. On that footing, the watan was held to be a watan of land revenue only, so compensation under section 6(2) of the Bombay Paragana and Kulkarni Watans (Abolition) Act, 1950 remained payable. The appeal failed and the decree for compensation in favour of the respondent was sustained.

---

---

Issues: Whether the watan held by the respondent was a watan of the soil or only a watan of land revenue, and whether compensation was payable under section 6(2) of the Bombay Paragana and Kulkarni Watans (Abolition) Act, 1950.

Analysis: The Sanad had to be read in the light of the surrounding circumstances and the contemporaneous revenue records. The description of the subject-matter as lands did not necessarily show a grant of the soil, especially where the statutory definition of land under Bombay Act 2 of 1863 included a share of land revenue and the grant appeared to have been made pursuant to an enquiry under that Act. The contemporaneous alienation register, earlier documents, and the long-accepted revenue practice consistently supported the conclusion that the grant was of land revenue only and not of the soil.

Conclusion: The watan was a watan of land revenue only, and the respondent was entitled to compensation under section 6(2) of the Act.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed and the decree for compensation in favour of the respondent was sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: A grant evidenced by a sanad must be construed with reference to its surrounding circumstances and contemporaneous official records, and where those materials show that only land revenue was granted, compensation under the abolition statute remains payable.

---