The ASSAM MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES ACT, 1949.

Preamble, 
ASSAM ACT XVII OF 1949 
THE ASSAM MANAGEMENT OF ESTATES ACT, 
1949. 
(Passed by the Assembly) 
(Received the assent of th·e Gove1·nor-General on 
the 25th October, 1949.) 
[Publish~d in the Assam Gazette of the 9th November, 1949.] 
An Act to provide for the management by the Court of Wards of 
estates and tenures of proprietors, land-holders or tenure-holders 
in the permanently-settled and tempo1atily-settled areas of the 
districts of Goalpara, Garo Hills, Kamrup, Nowgong, 
Darrang, Sibsagar, Lakhimpur and Cachar in the Province 
ef Assam. 
WHEREAS, for the purpose of improving the economic 
and $Ocial conditions of the agriculturists and for ensuring 
full and efficient use of land for agriculture, and for 
improvement, conservation and efficient management of 
forests, fisheries, hats, ba;:;ars and ferries, it is necessary to 
assume management of estates and tenures in the perma­
nently and temporarily-settled areas of Assam : 
ANn WHEREAS the previous sanction of the Governor 
under section 299(3) of the Government of India Act, 1935 
has been obtained to the introduction of the Bill ; 
It is hereby enacted as follows:-
clhort title, I. (1) This Act may be called the Assam Management 
extent and of Estates Act, 1949. commence-
ment, (2) It extends to the permanently-settled and tempo­
rarily-settled areas of the districts of Goalpara, Garo Hills, 
Kamrup, Nowgong, Darrang, Sibsagar, Lakhimpur and 
Cachar. 
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Provin­
cial Government may by notification appoint in this 
behalf. 
Definitions. 2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in 
the subject or context,-
(a) "Court of Wards" means the "Court of Wards" Bengal Act 
under the Court of Wards Act, 1879 (as amended by IX of 1879. 
Assam Acts) ; 
(b) "Deputy Commissioner" means the Deputy C(m­
missioner of the district in which the land in question is 
situated, and includes any Revenue Officer or Extra Assist­
ant Commissioner empowered by the Provincial Govern­
ment to dischaq;e any of the functions of the Deputy Com­
missioner under any provision of this Act ; 
(&) "estate" means lands (other than lands settled 
for special cultivation) included under one entry in any of 
the general registers of revenue paying and revenue free 
lands, prepared and maintained under the law for the 
time being in force by the Deputy Commissioner and 
Price 2 annas or 2d. 
2 
including Government revenue free lands not entered in 
any register and lands prospectively subject to the payment 
of revenue although no engagement has been entered into 
for -that amount ; 
(d) "LakhiraJ estate" means any estate exempt from 
assessment under any grant made by the previous rulers of 
the country and confirmed by or on behalf of the Govern­
ment; 
(e) "land-holder" means any person deemed to have Regulation 
acquired the status of a land-holder under section 8 of the I of 1886• 
Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886 ; 
(f) "land-lord" means a person immediately under 
whom a tenant holds, but does not include the Govern­
ment; 
( g) "permanently-settled estate " means any estate in 
the districts of Cachar, Gealpara and Garo Hills included 
in the decennial settlement of the Lower Provinces of Bengal 
or permanently settled at any subsequent date under any 
law for the time being in force ; · 
(h) "prescribed" means prescribed by the Rules made 
under this Act ; 
(i) "private land" means the proprietors' private land Assam Act 
as described in section 123 of the Goalpara Tenancy Act, 1 of 1929· 
1929, and section 143 of the Sylhet Tenancy Act, 1936: Assam Act 
provided that the proprietor for this purpose includes a II of 1936. 
''tenure-holder''; 
(J) "proprietor" means a person holding in trust or 
owning for his own benefit any permanently-settled estate or 
any LakhiraJ estate, or a part of any such estate and 
includes the heirs and 'successors in interest of a proprietor, 
and where a proprietor is a minor or of unsound mind or 
an idiot, his guardian, committee or other legal 
curator; 
(k) "raiyat" means a person who has acquired from a 
proprietor, land-holder or tenure-holder a right to hold land 
for the purpose of cultivating it by himself or by the mem­
bers of his family or by servants or hired labour ; 
(l) "rent'' means whatever is lawfully payable in 
money or kind by a tenant on account of the use and 
occupation of the land held by him ; 
(m) "Revenue Officer" in any provision of this Act 
includes any officer whom the Provincial Government may 
appoint by name or by virtue of his offiGe to discharge any 
of the functions of a Revenue Officer under that provi· 
sion ; 
(n) "tenant'' means a person who holds land under 
another person and is, or but for a special contract would be, 
liable to pay rent for that land to that other person, but 
does not include a person who holds immediately undet' 
Government ; 
(o) "tenure" means the interest of a tenure-holder or 
an under-tenure -holder; 
(p) "tenure-holder" means a person who has 
acquired from a proprietor, land-holder or from another 
tenure-holder right to hold land for the purpose of collec­
ting rent or of bringing it wholly or partly under cultivation 
by ·establishing tenants on it, and includes the successor in 
interest of a person who has acquired such right and a per­
son who holds such right in trust _, and where a tenure-holder 
is a minor or of unsound mind or an idiot, his 
guardian, committee or other legal curator ; 
(q) "under-raiyat" means a person holding land 
mediately or immediately under a raiyat. 
~otifi~ation 3. ( 1) Notwithstanding any law for the time being in 
directing the force or the terms of any contract or grant, whenever it 
management h p · · 1 G h ,. h of any estate appears tot e rovmcia overnment t at, ror t. e purpose 
or tenure of improving the economic and social conditions of the 
under the agriculturist and for ensuring full and efficient use of land 
~u~ of for agriculture, or for improvement, conservation and 
ar 
5
' efficient management of forests, fisheries, hats, hazars and 
ferries, it is necessary to assume management of any estate 
or tenure of a proprietor, land-holder or tenure-holder, the 
Provincial Government may, by notification in the official 
Ga.zette, direct that the estate or tenure or the portion there­
of specified in the notification be mapaged by the Court of 
Wards: 
Applicabili· 
ty of Court 
of Wards 
Act. 
Provided that no such notification shall be issued in 
respect of any estate or tenure the total area of which does 
not exceed 400 bighas. 
(2) A copy of the notification shall be served upon 
the proprietor, land-holder or tenure-holder in the manner 
prescribed. 
(3) A copy of the notification shall also be published at 
a convenient place in the locality where the estate or tenure 
is situated. 
(4) The publication ofa notification under sub-section 
(1) shall be conclusive evidence that the direction has been 
duly given and that the assumption of management has 
been validly taken. 
4. When the Court Of Wards undertakes under section 
3 above the management of an estate or tenure, so much 
of the provisions of the Court of Wards Act, 1879 B 1 A 
(as amended by Assam Acts), rel a ting to the I~n~~ 187 ~
1 
management of immovable property and application • 
of the money received and disposal of the surplus shall 
apply to the management whenever undertaken under this 
Act. 
PrP-paration 5. (1) At any time after the assumption of manage­
~frecord·of· ment of any estate or tenure by the Court of Wards, the 
nghts. Provincial Government may make an order directing that a 
survey be made and a record-of-rights prepared by a Revenue 
Officer in respect of all or any lands in the estate or 
tenure or part thereof, whether such lands are let out, or 
occupied for agricultural purposes or not, or whether they 
an.: "private lands" of a propriet9r gr not, 
4 
(2) A notification in the official Gazette of an 
order under sub-section (1) shall be conclusive evidence that 
the order has been duly made . 
. (3) The survey shall be made and the record-of-rights 
prepared in the prescribed manner. 
Particulars 6. When an order is made under section 5 for 
to be record· preparation of a record-of-rights, the particulars to be 
ed. recorded shall be specified in the order and may include 
either without or in addition ·to other particulars, !ome 
or all of the following, namely :-
(a) the name of each person in occupation of the 
land, whether as proprietor, land-holder, tenure·holder, 
raiyat or under-raiyat, 
(b) the class or classes to which each tenant belongs, 
(c) if the person in occupation is not a tenant within 
the meaning of this Act, the character of such occupation, 
(d) the situation and quantity and any index for 
identification of the land held by each tenant or other 
occupant, 
(e) the rent, if any, payable in the year in which the 
records-of-rights are prepared and in each of the 15 
agricultural years preceding it, 
( f) the special condition and incidents, if any, of the 
tenancy, 
(g) any rights-of-way or other easements over or 
appurtenant to the land for which the record-of-rights is' 
being prepared, 
(h) where lands are held by religious or charitable 
institutions, in addition to the above particulars, if any, the 
actual expenditure incurred in each of the 15 agricultural 
years preceding, for religious or charitable purposes as the 
case may be, 
( i) "private land" of the proprietors or tenure-holders, 
( j ) any other particulars prescribed by the Provincial 
Government. 
Preli~in_ary 7. (1) When a draft record-of-ri~hts has been pre• 
pubhcauon, pared, the Revenue Officer shall publish the draft in the 
amdendfirnen1 t manner prescribed and shall receive and consider any 
an na b' · h' h b d d · h · f publication o ~e~t10~s w ic may e ma ~ unng t e peno~ . o 
of record-of- pubhcat10n to any entry therem, or to any om1ss1on 
rights. therefrom. 
(2) When such objections have been considered and 
disposed of in the manner prescribed the Revenue 
Officer shall finally frame the record, and shall cause it to 
be finally published in the prescribed manner, and such 
publication shall be conclusive evidence that the record 
has been duly prepared under this Act. 
(3) Separate draft er final records may be published 
under sub-section. (I) or (2) for different local areas~ 
estate~ 1 tenures~ l\W.c:lings or parts t~e~eqf, . . 
.. 
s1Jmption 8. (1) When a record-of-rights ha8 been finally publbh-
1 « • ..,:,1 ~ 0 .~nal ed under section 7 above, the Revenue Officer shall, with-puouca.10n. . h . h p . . l G b m sue time as t e rovmc1a overnment may y general 
or spe'cial order direct, make a certificate stating the fact 
of such final publication and the date thereof, and shall 
date and subscribe the same with his name and official title. 
(2) The certificate of final publication, or in the absence 
of such certificate, a certificate signed by the Deputy Com­
missioner, stating that a record-of-rights has been finally 
published on a specified date, shall be conclusive proof of 
such publication and the date thereof. 
(3) Every entry in a record-of-rights finally published 
shall be evidence of the matter referred to in su::h entry 
and shall be presumed to be correct until it is proved by 
evidence to be incorrect. 
Correction 9. Any Revenue Officer specially empowered by the 
of. tbokna fi~e Provincial Government in this behalf may on application mis a es rn h' · . h' h 'b d · d fj record-of- or on is own motion, wit m t e prescn e per10 rom 
rights by the date of certificate of final publication of the record-of­
the Revenue rights under section 8, correct any entry in such record-of­
Officer. rights which he is satisfied has been made due to a.bona.fide 
mistake: 
Provided that no such correction shall be made if an 
appeal affecting such entry has been filed under section 11 
of this Act or until reasonable notice has been given to the 
parties concerned to appear and be heard in the matter . 
Proceedings 10. At any time within 4 months from the date of 
before a certificate of final publication of the record-of-rights under 
Revenue J d Officer. section 7, a proceeding may Je institute before the 
Appeal. 
Limit of 
Civil 
Court's 
jurisdiction 
in certaio 
µiatters. 
Revenue Officer for decision of any dispute regarding any 
entry which a Revenue Officer has made in or any omission 
which he has made from the record and the Revenue 
Officer shall hear and decide the dispute : 
Provided that the Revenue Officer may, subject to 
such rules as may be prescribed, refer any party to a com­
petent Civil Court for the adjudication of such dispute. 
11. An appeal shall lie-
( a) to the Deputy Commissioner against the order of 
the Revenue Officer under section I 0, provided that it is 
preferred within 30 days from the date of the order appealed 
against, and 
(b) to the High Court against the order, original or 
appellate, of the Deputy Commissioner, provided that it is 
preferred within 60 days of the date of the order appealed 
against. 
12. Except as provided for in this Act, no suit shall lie 
in any Civil Court in respect of any order directing the 
preparation of a record-of-rights or in respect of framing, 
publishing, signing or altering such a record or any part 
thereof. 
Recovery of 
expenses. 
13. (1) When the preparation of a record-of:.rights 
of any estate . or tenure has been directed or undertaken 
under this Act, the expenses incurred in carrying out the 
provisions for preparation of such record-of-rights or 
~uch part of the expenses as the Provincial Government 
may direct shall be defrayed by the land-lords, tenants and 
other persons having an interest in such estate or 
tenure in such manner as the Provincial Government may 
determine; 
(2) the Provincial Gove1 nment shall determine the ele­
ments which constitute the expenses mentioned in sub­
section ( 1). 
Termination 14. (1) The Provincial Government, when it 1s of 
of manage- · · h · · · h · ment op1mon t at It IS not necessary to contmue t e rnanagement · 
· of the estate or tenure, may by notification published ir:. 
the official Gazette direct that the said management shall 
be terminated. 
(2) On the termination of the said management the 
estate shall be delivered into the possession of the proprie­
tor, land-holder or tenure-holder, or if he is dead, of any 
person, who in the opinion of the Provincial Government is 
entitled to the said estate together with any balances which 
may be due to the credit of the said proprietor, land-holder _ 
or tenure-holder. 
(3) The delivery of possession of the estate under sub­
section (2) together with any balances which may be due 
to them shall be a full discharge of the Government from 
all liability in respect of such delivery, but shall not preju­
dice any rights in respect of the land and money, if any, 
which any other person may be entitled by due process of 
law to enforce against the person to whom possession or 
money is so delivered or paid. 
( 4) All acts done or purporting to be done by the 
Court of Wards during the continuance of the management 
of the estate or tenure shall be binding on the proprietor, 
land-holder or tenure-holder or any person to whom the 
possession of the estate or tenure has been delivered. 
Acqui!ition 15. If at any time it appears to the Provincial Govern­
or the estate ment that any estate or tenure, the management of which 
or te,nutre ort has been assumed by the Court of Wards under the provi-
any m eres . f h' A h . f . therein. s1ons o t 1s ct, or t e mterest o any other person 1n 
such estate or tenure, should in the public interest be 
acquired, it shall be lawful for the Provinciai Government 
to acquire the said estate or tenure or any interest therein 
under the relevant provisions of any Act for the time being 
in force. 
Recovery of 16. Any money payable to Government under any 
money pay- ' · f h' A h 11 b b able to Go- prov1s1on o t IS ct s a e recovera le -as arrears 
vernment. ef I.and-revenue. 
·-
L__ ___ _ 
utde.r rn~de 17. No order made, direction given or notification 
0 ~ direction issued or purporting to have been made, given or issued 
~h:~I'n 0~
1
t~ under sections 3 and 14 of this Act by the Provincial 
• called in Gover.nment shall be called in question in any Court. 
question in 
Courts. 
Bar to ~uir, 18. (1) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding 
prosecullon shall lie against any person for anythincr which is in good 
or legal pro- f . h cl . d d b - . o f h' A ceedings, a1t one or mten e to e done m pursuance o t is ct. 
etc. (2) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against 
the Crown for any damage caused or likely to be caused by 
anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done 
in pursuance of this Act. 
Power to 19. The Provincial Government may after previous 
make rules. publication in the official Gazette make rules to carry out 
the purposes and objects of this Act. 
A.G. P. (.Leg.) No. 30/49-500-5-4-1950, 
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