LexNAVINCHANDRA BABUBHAI NAGARSETH AND ORS. versus BOMBAY REVENUE TRIBUNAL AND ORS.
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this caseJudgment (excerpt)
NAVINCHA:\DRA BABUBHAI -.;AGARSHETll AND
ORS.
v.
BOMBAY REVENUE TRIBU'.'iAL AND ORS.
January 21, 1966
[A. K. SARKAR, J. R. MUDHOLKAR AND0 R. S. BACllAWAT, JJ.]
Bombay Parona/ /nams Abolition Act (42 o/ 1953), ss. 5, 17(1) and
(5)-Gran/ oj land willi exemption regarding pay1nent of /and revenue-
Jnam abolished-lnamdar's right to co1npe11sation.
The appellanlS were holders of shares in Inam villages. On the loams
heing aboltshcd by Bombay Personal Inarns Abolition Act, 1953 they·
claimed compensation for their lnarns under s. 17 (I) of the Act.
By 1.
17(5). "Nothing is this section ahall entitle any person to compen'3tion o.i
the ground that any inam village or inarn hind which has (sic.) wholly or
pan.iaHy exempt from 1hc payment of Jand revenue has been under the
provisions of thi.s Act made subject to the payment of full assessment in
.accordance with the provisions of the Code." Section S of the Act providod,
"'(i) All inam villages or inam lands are and shall be liable to the
payment of land revenue in accordance with the provi~ions of
the Code ancl rules made thereunder and the provisioos of
the ('.ode and the rules relating to unalienated land ahall apply
10 such lands.
A
B
c
D
(12) (a) An inamdar in respect of the inam land in his actual pos-
session or in pOfisession of a person holding from him olher
E
than an inferior holder, referred to in clause (b), below or
..
,.
•
.,
f
(b) an inferior holder holding inam
land on payn1ent of annual
a"essment only shall primarily be liable to the State Govern-
ment for the payment of land revenue, due in respect of such
..
land held by him and shall be entitled to all the righta and
~
shall be liahle to all obligations in rospect of ouch land as an
occupant under the Code or the rules made thereunder or any
F
other law for the time being in force."
HELD (Per Sarkar J.) (I) On a construction of the Sanad by which
the inams were granted, the grants were of villag6 and cxtmp1ion from
land revenue as mentioned in s. 17(5).
What the tenant.. paid to the
lnamdars wa..~ not somclhing which was due to the Government which the
Inamdars kept to then1,elves but v:a<; rent due to the Inamdars.
[414 G;
415 CJ
G
Even afler the survey in the lnam villages in 1900 under the Bombay
Land Revenue Code. 1879 the lnamdars remained the grantees of the
soil exempt from payment of revenue and the tenants remained liable, a'
before, to pay rent to the Inamdars.
[415 B-F]
(2) Section S of the Act does not show that the lnamdurs were claim-
ing compC!l'iJtion for rhc loss of money that they U'\Cd t~ collect from the
inferior holders. the ri'.!ht 10 \vhich collec11on \Vas ahohshcd by the Act
II
and therefore s. 17 ( 5 1 did not apply to thorn. The fact that un<ler s. 5
the
1Jnamdar h<t" nl)t himc;elf been made liable for the revenue in respect
of lhc land held hy th~ inferior holders. made no difference.
By s. S an
41:?
A
B
c
D
E
'
G
NAVINCHANDRA v. REVENUE TRIBUNAL (Sarkar,!.)
413
Inamdar has been deprived of his right to the assessment from the inferior
holders and the infeoor holders have been made liable to pay that .. sea-
ment to the Government.
Therefore, in actual result, the Inamdar baa
been deprived of his right to the assessment because the land ha.. been
made subject to the payment of land revenue and he was, therefore covered
by s. 17(5). [416 E-0]
Per Mudholkar, J. :
Section 5 (I) of the Bombay Personal Inams
Abolition Act, 1953, creates liability to pay land revenue to the Govcra-
ment with respect to inarn lands, in accordance with the provi!ioo• of the
Bombay Land Revenue Olde, 1879.
Where lands wero in poss"5sioo of
inferior holders s. 5(2) (b) places the liability on the inferior holdera. The
loss resulting to the inarndara is the direct consequenco of the operation
of these provisions.
Therefore s. 17(5) of the Act bars the claim for
compensation for loss of the right of the appellants to recover from the
inferior holders land revenue assessed on the lands in their possession.
[419 C-E]
Per Bachawat. J :
The grants of the villages,
on the construction
of the deeds
were
grants of villages with partial exemption from payment of land revenue
:wd were personal inams of the category specified ins. 2(l)(c)(i). The
introduction of the survey settlement made no difference in the character
01 the inams. After the Abolition Act, the lands no longer enjoyed either
total or partial exemptioExcerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.