MIR FAKIR MOHD. versus STATE OF WEST BENGAL

Citation: [1978] 3 S.C.R. 9 · Decided: 15-02-1978 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: R.S. SARKARIA · Disposal: Dismissed

Judgment (excerpt)

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MIR FAKIR MOHD. 
v. 
STATE OF WEST BENGAL 
February 15, 1978 
[R. S. SARKARIA AND P. S. KAILASAM, JJ.J 
9 
JVest Bengal Estate Acquisition Act, 1954 S. 6 (1)(/)-Bamboo garden 
-Or banana plantation whether an 'Orchard' wtthin the 1neaning of s. 6 ( 1) (f) 
of the Act entirlfng an intennediary, to retain the land as such. 
The petitioner's claim, by virtue of the· provisions of s. 6(1) (f) of the \Vest 
Bengal Estate Acquisition Act, 1954, for his entitlement, as an intermediary, to 
·retain the land in which he has raised in addition to mango and Jack fruit 
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trees, bamboo clumps and also banana-plants, was allowed by the Courts below 
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:but rejected by the Calcutta High Court in appeal hy the Stnte of West Bengal. 
The High Court held that though cultivated bamboo garden would fall \Yithin 
the definition of 'Agricultural land' in s. 2(b) of tho Act, it cannot in any view 
be called an 'Orchard' within the purview of s. 6(1) (f) of the Act. 
It further 
held that a banana plantation is not an 'Orchard' because banana plants are not 
·fruit-trees. 
Dismissing the special leave petition the Court, 
HELD: 1. In view of clause (p) of Section 2 of the West Bengal 
Estate 
Acquisition Act, 1954 read with s. 14K(e) of the West Bengal Land Reforms 
Act, the existence of cultivated fruit trees on a compact area, is central to the 
-connotation of 'Orchard'. A tree is "a perennial plant having a self-supporting 
woody main stem or trunk (which usually develops wood branches at some dis-
tance from the ground), and growing to a considerable height." [10.H, 11 A-B] 
(2) A plant to come within the connotation of 'tree' must have two essen-
. tial characteristics: (a) It must be perennial and not seasonal; and 
(b) 
Its 
main stem must be "woody" and not herbacious or pulpy. A banana plant 
lacks both these characteristics. Jt is not a perennial plant, but is more in the 
nature of seasonal crop lasting for one or one and a quarter years. Once the 
plant yields fruit, it becomes useless and does not yield any further fruit. 
Further, its stem is not "woody" but "fleshy'' or 'herbacious". A banana plant, 
therefore, cannot be regarded as a fruit-tree and a banana plantation is not an 
'Orchard' within the contemplation of s. 6(1 )(f) of the Act. [11 B-C. E] 
CtVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Special Leave Petition (Civil) 
No. 2107 of 1977. 
(From the Judgment and Decp~e dt. 21-7-76 of the Calcutta High 
Court in Appeal from Appellate Decree No. 1658 of 1965). 
Purshottam Chatterjee & Rathin Das for the Petitioner. 
S. C. Majumdar & G. S. Chatterjee for the Respondent. 
The order of the Court was delivered by 
SARKARIA, J. 
The principal question that has been mooted before 
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us in this petition for special leave to appeal under Article 136 of the 
Constitution, against an appellate judgment dated 21st July, 1976 of 
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the High Court at Calcutta, is, whether a bamboo garden or banana 
plantation is an 'Orchard' within the meaning of Section 6(1)(f), of 
the West Bengal Estate Acquisition Act, 1954 (hereinafter referred to 
2-211 SCI /78 
10 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1978] 3 s.c.R. 
A 
as the Act). The material portion of Section 6 of the Act reads as 
under: 
"6(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 4 
and 5, an intermediary shall except in the cases mentioned 
in the proviso to sub-section (2) but subject to other pro-
visions of that sub-section, be entitled to retain with effect 
B 
from the date of vesting-
c 
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E 
F 
G 
H 
( f) subject to the provisions of subsection 
( 3) 
Land 
comprised in tea garden or orchard or land used for the pur· 
pose of live stock breeding, poultry farming or dairy." 
The petitioner claims himself to be an intermediary. 
The High 
Court has held (reversing the judgments of the courts below) that a 
cultivated bamboo garden would fall within· the definition of 'Agricul· 
tural land' in Section 2(b) of the Act and cannot in any view be called 
an 'orchard' within the purview of Section 6(1) (f) of the Act. It 
further held that a banana plantation is not an 
'orchard' because 
banana plants are not fruit-trees. 
Mr. Purshotham Chatterjee, appearing for the petitioner contends 
that 'orchard' bas not been defined in the Act, and we must, therefore, 
interpret the expression 'orchard' in its popular sense and not in the 
strict botanical sense, as the High Court has doue. 
An 'orchard', It 
is argued, in the broad Dictionary sense, means a garden

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