LexThe Assam (Temporary Settled Areas) Tenancy Act, 1971
Assam · state statute
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this act122
ASSAM ACT X X II I OF 19 71
(R ec eive d th e ass en t o f th e P re si d en t on th e
3r d D ec em ber , 1971)
e
TH E ASSAM (TEM PO RA RI LY SE TT LE D ARE AS) TENA NC Y AC T
197 1 *
[P ublish ed in th e A ss am G az et te , E xt ra or di nar y, dat ed th e
10t h D ec em ber , 1971]
An
Ac t
to re gula te th e re la ti ons o f la ndlo rd an d te nant in th e te m
pora ri ly s et tl ed are as o f A ss am .
Preamb le Whe reas it is exp edie nt to regu to the rights
and liabilities of agr icultur al tenants and their
landlords in tempor aril y settle d land s in the State
of Assam ;
It is hereby ena cted in the Tw enty-se cond
Year of the Republic of India as follows: —
CH AP TE R I
P reli m in a ry
Short title , 1. fl) This Act may be calle d the Assam (Tem-
exten t and por aril y Settl ed Areas) Tenancy Act, 1971. commence-
m c u t' (2) It shall come into force at once.
13 ) It exten ds to,—
(a) the districts of Ka mrup, Nowgong,
Da rra ng , Sibsagar and La khimpur ;
(b) Silchar and Ha ilakandi Subdivisio ns
of the dist rict of Cacha r ; and
(c) tem por aril y settled areas of Gossain-
gaon , Sidli and Bijni Circles of
Ko kra jha r Subdivision in the dis
trict of Goalp ara and the tem pora
rily settle d areas of Ka rim ganj Sub
division.
(4) Th e Sta te Government may , by notifica
tion , exte nd the whole or any pa rt of the Act to
any othe r areas of the State :
Prov ided th at no such notification sha ll be
issued unless a notice of the inte nded extension is
previously published in the area conc erned and any
objection receiv ed is disposed of after due con side ra
tion .
123
*
x
Exception 2. Th e Act does not app ly to :—
fa) lan d included in any Reserved Fo rest;
(b) lan d owned by the Union or the Sta te
Gover nment or by Loca l au tho rity which
is used for any public purposes ;
(c) land reserved lor tne purpos e of profes
sional graz ing reserves, village graz ing
eserves, recrea tion grou nds, bu ria l or
cremation gro und, roa d, can al, dra in,
emb ank ment or thei r ma inte nan ce or for
any other public purposes ;
(d) land which is non-a gri cul tural an d situa
ted outside town-la nd area ;
(e) lan d comprised with in estates settle d for
special cultivation when, and only so
long as, such lan ds are used for purposes
of special cult ivation or for purpo ses
ancillary the ret o.
Explanation. — (I) This sub-clause includes land s
settled for the cult ivation of tea under the rules in
force from time to time such as fee. simple gra nts ,
reve nue rede emed gran ts, 30 years’ grants under the
New Lease Rules though now assessed with full
revenue and lease for special cultivation under settle
me nt rules fram ed from time to time under the
Assam Land and Revenue Regulation , 188 6.
(II ) Purposes ancillary for special cultivation sh ill
mean the following:
(i) lan d used for factory buildings ;
(ii) lan d used for staff buildings including
labour lines ;
'Hi) lan d used for roads, bridges and drains
with in the tea estates ;
(iv) lan d used for nurseries includin g shade
trees ;
(v) lan d used for hospitals, dispensaries, creche,
recreation club and play ground ;
(vi) lan d used for any other buildings made by
ma nag ement under any oth er law in
force ;
I of 1336
(vii) lan d used for seed 5‘ba ri” ;
123
Exception o. Th e Act does no t app ly to :—
fa) land included in any Reserved Fo rest;
(b) lan d owned by the Union or the Sta te
Gover nment or by Loca l au tho rity whic h
is used for any public purposes ;
(c) land reserved lor the purpose of profes
sional graz ing reserves, village graz ing
eserves, recrea tion grou nds, bu ria l or
cremation gro und, roa d, can al, dra in,
emb ank ment or thei r maintena nce or for
any other public purposes ;
(d) land which is non- agr icu ltural an d situa
ted outside tow n-la nd area ;
(e) lan d comprised with in estates settle d for
special cultivation when, and only so
» long as, such lan ds are used for purposes
of special cult ivation or for purposes
ancillary the ret o.
Explanation.— (I) This sub-clause includes lands
settled for the cult ivation of tea under the rules in
force from time to time such as fee. simple gra nts ,
reve nue rede emed gran ts, 30 years’ grants under the
New Lease Rules though now assessed with full
revenue and lease for special cultivation under settle
me nt rules frame d from time to time under the
Assam La nd and Revenue Regulation , 188 6.
('ll) Purposes ancillary for special Ciiltivation shall
mean the following:
(i) lan d used for factory buildings ;
fii) lan d used for staff buildings including
labour lines ;
;iii) lan d used for roads, bridges an d drains
M within the tea estates ;
(iv) lan d used for nurseries includin g shade
trees ;
(v) lan d used for ho spitals, dispensaries, creche,
recreation club and play g rou nd ;
(vi) lan d used for any other buildings made by
ma nag ement under any oth er law in
force ;
I of 1336
(tii ) lan d used for seed S'bari” ;
12 5
(7) “ lan dlo rd” means a perso n imm ediately under
whom a ten an t holds bu t does not include any
Gov ern ment ;
(8) “m oney ren t” in relation to ren t payab le in
crop -sha re for the purp ose of deposit into c ou rt and
for calcula tion of arr ea r re nt in respect of rent pay
able in crop -sha re is the money valu e of the crop
deliv erable by a t en an t to his lan dlord and such money
value shall b e computed on the basis of the marke t
valu e o f tha t crop prev ailing at the time of harvestin g
in the locality con cern ed;”
(9) “notificatio n” means a notification published
in the Official Gazett e ;
(10; “ personal cultiva tion ” means cultivation
by the person himself, or by mem ber of his family or
by hired labo urers on fixed remunera tion payab le in
cash or kind bu t not in crop share, under personal
supervisions of the person himself or any member of
his family, provide d it is acco mpa nied by the
bearing of risks of cultivation by the owne r and by
residence in the village in which the lan d is situ ated
or nea rby village or town within a distance of 5 miles
during the gre ater pa rt of the agr icultur al sea son :
Provide d th at in the case of a perso n who is a
wido w or a mi nor, or is subject to any physical or
me nta l disability or is a mem ber of the Defence
forces of the India n Un ion or is a studen t below
the age of 21 years of an edu cati onal institut ion
recognised by the Sta te Governm ent, the lan d shall
be deem ed under pers onal cult ivation even in the
absen ce of such personal supervision ;
(11) “ prescribed” means prescribe d by rules frame d
under the Act ;
(12) “ princi pal crop” shall mea n only one c rop for
each agr icultur al year as may be agreed upon
mutually between the lan dlo rd and the t en an t:
Prov ided th at where there is no agr eem ent, the p rin
cip al crop shall b e only o ne agricu ltural crop grown in
each agricultura l yea r viz. , »ali or such local nam e
generally used in resp ect of paddy known as win ter
pad y and the harvestin g of which is done in the
months of December, J an ua ry and Febru ary , corres
ponding to Agrahayana,. Pausa a nd Magha 5
126
(13) “ re nt ” means wha teve r is lawfully pay able
or delivera ble by the ten an t to the lan dlo rd in cash
or in kind or partly in cash and pa rtly in kind
whe ther as a fixed qu antity of pro duce or as a share
of the produc e, on accoun t of use or occu pation of
the la nd or on acc ount of any ri gh t in the lan d held
by the te na nt ;
(14) “Revenue Officer” means any offic er, with
th at designation app ointed by the Sta te Gov ernm ent
for the purposes of this Act ;
fl5 ) ‘ ‘Revenue Co urt” means the Co urt of the
Deputy Commissioner, Settlem ent Office r or, of
such oth er officer as the Sta te Gov ern ment may invest
with the powers of Rev enue Co urt for the purposes
of this Act ;
(16) “ Revenue Rate” means in respect of every
parcel of lan d in an estat e settled tem por aril y at full
rate s, the rate at which revenue is for the yea r
actually p aya ble to Governm ent upon th at parcel of
lan d ;
(17) “ tenan t” means a perso n who cultivates or
holds the lan d of ano the r person, and is, or bu t for
a special con tract (express or implied) would be,
liable to pay rent for th at lan d to th at other person,
an d includes a person who under system generally
known as ‘Adhi’ (whethe r Guc hiadhi or Gu ti-a dhi),
‘barg a’, ‘chukti’, ‘bha g’ or ‘chukani’ cultivates the
lan d of anoth er person on condition of delivering a
share or qu antity of the produce of such lan d to
th at pe rso n:
Provide d that a person who cultivates or holds lan d
immediately under the Sta te Governmen t is not a
ten an t within the mea ning of this definition.
Explanation.—A perso n who holds lan d on con- t
dition of service to a temp le or religious institution
shall be deem ed to be the ten an t of the ma nag er of
such temple or religious institution ;
(18) “ town land s” means any land with in an A ss am Act
area dec lare d or deem ed to be a Mu nicipality or X V o f 1957,
notified area under th e Assam Municipal Act, 1956,
127
(19) Th e following words shall have the same
meaning as is assigned to them in the Assam La nd i o f 1386.
and Reven ue Regulatio n, 1886, or the Rules fram ed
th er eu nd er :—
Classes of
Tenants.
Acquisition
of
occu panc y
rights.
“ estates” , “ tem porarily -settled-estate” , “ land-
rev enu e” , “ pro pri eto r” , “ lan d hol der ” ,
“ sett lem ent-holder” , “ periodic lease” , “spe
cial cultiva tion ” , “ ord ina ry cul tivatio n” .
CH AP TE R II
C la ss es o f T en an ts
4. fl ) Th ere shall be, for the purpos e of this
Act, only the following classes of tenants, nam ely ,—
(i) Occupancy tena nt, th at is to say, a ten ant
hold ing immediately under a pro prietor,
land-h older or sett lem ent-ho laer othe r
than land -ho lder, an d hav ing a rig ht of
occu pancy in the land s held by him ,
(ii) non-occupan cy ten ant, th at is to say,
a ten an t holding imm ediately under a
pro pri eto r, land-h old er or settlem ent
holder other tha n land -holder bu t not
hav ing a rig ht of occupancy in the land
held by him , and
(2) Fro m the da te of com men cem ent of this Act,
any person who was reco rded in the record-of-rights
as a privileged ten ant undei the provisions of A s ja m A c t
the Assam (Te mporar ily Settled Districts) Ten anc y m o f 1935.
Act, 1935 shall henc eforward be recorded as an
Occ upa ncy Te na nt:
Provide d th at he shall, subje ct to the provisions
of section 28 of this Act, con tinu e to pay the ren t
at the same rate as before the commencement
of this Act.
(3) From the da te of commen cement of this Act,
there shall be no new und er-t ena nt.
CH AP TE R II I
O cc upan cy Ten an t
5. (1) A person who for a per iod of not less than
3 years has continuously held lan d as a ten ant shall
hav e a rig ht of occupancy in th at land.
128
(2) Th e period of 3 years may be wholly or
par tly before or after the com men cement of this Act.
(3) A person shall be deem ed, for the purposes of
this section to have continuou sly held lan d under a
lan dlord notwithstanding th at the pa rticular lan d
lord un de r whom he held the lan d was differen t at
diff eren t times, provide d the lan d held by him was
the same.
(4) A pers on shall be deemed , for the purposes of
this section, to hav e held as a ten ant any
lan d held as a ten an t by a perso n whose hei r
he is.
(5) If a ten ant recovers possession of his
holding und er any law in force, any period during
which he might hav e been out of possession, shall
cou nt t owards the period specified in sub-se ction (1).
Incidence of 6. An occupancy ten ant shall hav e perm a-
occ upancy nent, herita ble and tran sfer able rig ht of use and
righ t. occupan cy in the lan d of his holding, subject to the
oth er provisio ns of thi s Act.
devolution 7. If a ten ant dies inte state in respect of
on dea th. a ri gh t of occu panc y, it shall, subject to any custom,
descend in the same ma nner as oth er immo vable
property.
Rig ht of 8. An occu pancy ten ant shall have a rig ht of
transfer, transfer in respect of his hold ing with prior permission
of the Gover nment in the ma nner prescribed. A
notic e of such transfer shall be served on the
lan dlo rd in the ma nner prescri bed:
Provide d th at an occup ancy tena nt shall not trans fer
his lan d to a non-a gricul turist.
Prohibition 9- From tne date of commencement of this Act,
of sub- an occu pancy ten ant shall hav e no rig ht to sub-let
letting. his land.
Righ t of use 10. An occu pancy ten an t may use the lan d of
of land , his tena ncy in any m anner w hich does no t m aterially
im pair the value of the lan d or ren der it unfit for
the purpos e of tena ncy.......... ' ■ • * “ ' • )
Rig ht in 11 • An occu pancy t enant shall be entitl ed, if there
trees. is no under-tena nt under him ,—
(i) to pla nt, (ii) to enjoy the flowers, fruits
and other product s of, (iii) to fell, and
(iv) to utilise and dispose of the tim ber
of any tree on such lan d :
Pro vided th at in doin g so he does no t contraven e
the provisio ns of any law :
129
Prov ided furt her th at he shall not be ent itle d
wit hou t lan dlo rd’s conse nt, to fell, utilise or dispose
of the tim ber of any tree which stood on the holding
before the creatio n of the tena ncy. Wh en the tenancy
is over 20 years old, all trees standing on the lan d
shall be pres ume d, until the con trar y is prov ed, to
have been pla nted or to have begun to grow during
the tena ncy.
Qbl i<a ti«n 12. Any occu pancy ten ant shall pay re nt for his
to p y fair hold ing at fair an d equ itable ra te, subje ct to the
max imu m rate o f ren t laid down under the provisions
of section 28 of this A ct :
Provide d th at if the ten an t has been hol ding his
lan d for a continuous p erio d of no t less th an 10 years
(i) at a rate o f rent never ex ceeding the reve nue rate
or (iij at less than the revenue-ra te in addit ion to
service to be rendered by hi m the n the rent at the
revenu e-rate shall be deem ed to be th e fair and equi
table rent,
Restriction 13. Re nt of an occupan cy tenant shall not be
^mentTf^ e r |h a n c e d except as provide d for in Ch ap ter VII
rent. of this Act.
Protection 14. An occu panc y ten an t shall not be liable
from eject- to e jectmen t from his hold ing except as p rov ided for
ment . in Ch apter IX of this Act.
CH AP TE R IV
N on -O cc up an cy Ten an t
Incidence o f 15. (a) A non -occ upancy ten an t shall have rig ht
the tenancy. o f p o s s e s sio n till he is lawfully ejecte d and
subject to the oth er provisio ns of the Act or any
custom the tenanc y shall descend in the sam e man
ner as oth er imm ovab le property.
(b) A non-occupan cy hold ing shall not be
tran sferable except for the purpose of mortga ge for
the pur pose of agriculture only in favour of the
Sta te Government, the Un ion Government, a
Co-o perative Society or an authorised ban k to
secure loan adv anc ed by such Government, Society,
or Bank and in the event of any def aul t in the
rep aym ent of such loan, it shall be lawful for the
Gov ernm ent, the Society or the bank as the case
may be, to cause the ten ant’s interest in the
lan d to be attach ed an d sold under the aut hority
provide d for in Section 49 of this Act and to
app ly the proceeds in pay me nt of such loan.
130
Prohibition
of
eub-letting.
Obligation
to pay
fair rent.
16. From the date of commen cement ot this Act,
a non -occ upancy te na nt shall have no rig ht to sub
let his land.
17 . A non -occ upancy ten ant shall pay ren t for
his holding at fair and equ itable rat e, subject to
the maxim um rate of re nt laid dow n un de r pro
visions of Section 28 of this Act.
Restrictions
on enhance
ment of
rent.
Protection
against
ejectment.
Prohibition
against
creating new
under
tenant
fenancy.
Acq uisit ion
of ownership
rights aad
interm ediary
rights by
tenants.
18. Re nt of a non -occup anc y tena nt sha ll not be
enhance d exce pt as provide d for in Cha pter VIT
of this Act.
19. A non -occ upancy ten ant shall no t be ejected
except as prov ided for in Ch ap ter IX of this Act.
CH AP TE R V
Un de r- Tenant
20. On and from the date of com mencement
of this Act, the re shall be no new un de r-t en an t
hold ing lan d under an occu panc y ten an t or a
non-occ upancy te n an t:
Pro vid ed that any under-tena nt holding any
lan d prior to the enforcem ent of this Act, shall, how
ever, continue to hold the same o n the same term s and
cond itions as imm edia tely before the commencement
of this Act until he acqu ires the interm edi ary and
ownership rights of his holding und er the provisions
of Ch apter V I.
CH AP TE R VI
Re qu isi tio n o f in te rm ed ia ry an d ow ne rs hi p
* righ ts
21. Notwithst anding any thing to the contr ary in
any law, custom , or agre eme nt, an occupan cy ten ant
personally cultivating the land of his tenanc y, shall
be entitle d to acq uire the rights, titles and interests of
his land-lord , here inafter called ‘the owne rship righ ts’
according to the provisions of Section 2 3(1):
Pro vided th at where the hold ing of an occupancy
tena nt is being cultivated by an under-tenant as
defined in Th e Assam (Te mporar ily Settl ed District)
Tenan cy Act, 1935, from any da te prio r to enforce
me nt of this Act, such u nder-ten ant shall be ent itle d
to a cqu ire t he rights, titles’an d inter ests of his lan d
lord, her einafte r called ‘the inte rmediary righ ts’ and
also the ownership righ ts of the land owner o f the
holding according to provisions o f Section 23 ( I I ) :
■ 5
13 1
Provid ed fur the r that the ownership rights of any
land of a land- lord who is a widow or a minor or
physically or mentally disabled person or a mem ber of
the Defence Services shall not be liable to acquisition
under the provisions of this Ch apt er.
Ac qu isi tio n 22. The S tate Governm ent may at any time after
of own ersh ip the co mmence ment of this Act. by Notification declare
i n £ e d £ t h a t “
righ ts by (i) the rig hts, titles and interests of any or all
Gover nm ent land-lords in respect of any holding held and per-
for sonally cultivated by occupancy tenan ts, shall stand
ten an ts. transferred to and vest in the respec tive occupancy
tenants free from all enc umbrances created by the
land-lords ;
(ii) the right s, titles an d interests of any or all
land -lords in respect of hold ing held by occupancy
ten ant s or non-occupancy ten ant s but cultivated by
an un der-tenant as defined in the Assam (Tem po
rarily Settled Districts) Ten anc y A ct, 1935, from a
date prio r to commencement of this Act and the in
term ediary rights of the occupancy tenants or non
occupancy tena nts as the case may be, shall stand
transferred to and vest in the respective und er-tenants
free from all encu mbrance s c reated by the occupancy
tenants or non-occupancy tenants or the land -lords.
On such dec laration the provisions of Section 24
shall apply.
Acq uisi tion 23. (I) Any occu pancy tena nt personally cultiva-
°riehtsCrand t i n S h *s t e n a n c Y > desirous of acq uiring
interm ed iary the ownership rights of his la ndlo rd may at any time
rig ht s by make an application in writing to the Deputy Corn-
te na nt s. missioner an d on such application being made and
Compensation as provide d in Section 25 is det er
mined and paid by the occupancy ten ant, the
Deputy Commissioner shall decla re the said occup ancy
ten ant to have acq uired the ownership rights free from
all encu mbrance s.
(II ) Any under -ten ant, as defined in Th e Assam
(Te mporarily S ettled Districts) Ten ancy Act, 1935,
cultivating the hol ding of an occupancy tena nt or
non -occ upancy ten ant f rom a d ate prior to commence
ment of this Act, desirous of acq uiring the inter
mediary rights of his land -lord and the ownership
rights of the land -owner of his holding, may at any
time mak e an application in writing to the Deputy
Commissioner, and o n such application b eing made and
compensation as provide d in Section 24 is d etermined
and pai d by the under -tenan t, the Deputy Commis
sioner shall dec lare the said un der-tenant to have
acqu ired the interm edi ary rights of his land-lord and
the ownership right s of his hold ing free from all
encumbrances,
132
Comp en- 24. The tota l com pensation pay able for icq ui-
sat ion . r jn g t jje o w n crship rights as well as the interm ediary
rights if any, of any hol ding shall be an amoun t
equ al to 50 times the full rat e of ann ual land
revenue payab le for such lan d.
Ap po rti on - 25. (1) Whe re an occupancy ten an t is personally
cul tivatin g the holding, his land-lo rd shall be entitled
pen sa on. t Q r e c e ;v e e n t }r e a m oun t of 50 times of lan d
reve nue.
(2) Where an un de r-tenan t is cultiv ating from a
date prior to com men cement of this Act, the total
amoun t of comp ensation sha ll be app ortion ed as
follows : —
(a) towards acqu isition
of owne rship righ t.
(b) towa rds acquisition
of interme diary rights.
75 per cent of the total
compensa tion.
25 per cent of the total
comp ensation.
Procedure 2 6 . (1) In all cases of acqu isition under this
ofr co mp en- Chapter, the Deputy Commissioner shall give notic e
sat ion . the lan d-lord and all othe r persons having
interests in the land an d also fix a copy the reo
in a conspicuous plac e of his office. He shall
the rea fter make an enquiry as pres crib ed, hear
objections if any and the n make an ord er deter
mining the com pensation payab le for acq uisitio n ol
ownership righ ts as also interm edi ary righ ts if any
an d app ortion the same whe re necessary.
(2) (a) If the acquisition be under sectio n 22, the
Deputy Commissioner sha ll pay the a mo unt as
det erm ined from the fun d pla ced at his disposal
within a per iod of 3 mo nths from the date of his
passing orders under sub-se ction (1) above.
(b) If the acquisition be un de r the provisions of
Section 23, the Deputy Commissioner shall direct
the occ upancy tena nt or under-tenant as the case
may be to deposit the am ou nt wit hin a period of
one mo nth from th e date of th e ord er under sub-section
(1) abov e and pay the com pensation within a period
of three months from the d ate of the said ord er und er
sub-section (1).
(3) In all cases of acquisition un de r section 22,
the occu pancy ten an t or under-tenant as the case
may be, shall pay to the Government in 5 equa ted
annual inst alm ents the com pensation as determin ed
by the Deputy Comm issioner, the first instalment
pay able bein g due on the expirv of 3 months from
the d ate of his o rder.
133
Where any instalment of compensation is not
deposited in the Tre asury within 30 days from the
da te of its becoming due, the Deputy Commissioner
shall proc eed to recov er the instalm ents as if it
were an arr ea r of lan d revenue.
(4) (a) In case of acquisition under section 22,
on deposit of the first inst alm ent of compensation as
assessed, the De pu ty Commissioner shall issue to the
erstwhile ten an t a certif icate o f ownership rig ht and
also correct the reven ue records.
(b) In case of acquisition und er section 23, on
deposit of the compensatio n as assessed, the Deputy
Comm issioner shall issue io the erstwhile ten an t a
„ certificate of ownership rig ht and also correct the
reven ue records.
(5) In case of disp ute as to the person or persons
who a re entitled to receive the amoun t of compensation
money, the am ou nt shall be kept in deposit in a
Governme nt trea sury and the dispute shall be referred
to the Civil Court hav ing jurisd iction and the
amount shall the n be paid in terms of the final
decision of the court.
CH AP TE R VII
R en t
liab ili ty to 27. Notwithst anding any thing con tain ed in anv
pay rent, j a W j c u s t o m o r agreem ent no ten an t shall be liable
to pay ren t wheth er in cash or in kind at a rate
exceeding the maxim um rat e of rent as provided for
her ein after following.
Maximum 28. Th e maximum rat e of ren t payable by
ate of rent. a n occupancy or n on-occupancy ten an t shall be as
follows: —
fa) in case of cas h ren t, not exceed
ing 3 times of the land reve nue payable
for such lan d,
fb) in case of crop-re nt, a rat e of ren t
no t exceeding one-fifth of the pro duc e
of the prin cipal crop grow n in each
agricultura l yea r:
* Prov ided th at where the cro p fails due to
na tura l calamities and/o r pay men t of the crop
sha re is no t possible due to" circumstances
bey ond the contr ol of the tena nt, a sum equa l
% to double of an nu al land reve nue payable by his
imm ediate land -lord for such hold ing shall be fair
re n t:
Prov ided furt her th at ate nant desiring to pay
his rent in cash in lieu of cro p-rent may, after
giving a writte n notice of not less th an 30 days to the
land-lord, pay the money value of the crop deli*
verable by him to his lan dlo rd, computed on the ba sis
of the market valu e of the prin cipal crop prevail
ing at the tim e of harv esting at the locality
conc erned.
134
Grounds for 29. Subject to the maxim um limits laid down in
mc nt of rent. s e c t l o r i 28 of this Act, the ren t of a ten ant shall be
liab le to enh anc ement on one or mor e of the follow
ing gro und s, nam ely: —
(i) th at the produc tive powers of the lan d
held by the ten an t have been increased
by fluvial action ; or
(ii) th at the pro duc tive powers of the lan d
hel d by the tena nt hav e been increased
by any impro vem ent effected by or at
the expense of the lan dlo rd ; or
(iii) th at the are a of the tena nt’s hol ding has
been increased by alluvion or otherwise ;
or >
(iv) t ha t the reve nue rate pay able by the land
lord to the Sta te Governme nt in respect
of the hol ding of the tena nt has increased.
i
Procedure 30 . A lan d-lord of any hold ing desiring an en-
for enhance- han cem ent of ren t on any ground mentio ned in
ment of rent. g e c tjo n 29 m a y apply to the Dep uty Commissioner
stating the specific gro und on which the claim for
enh anc ement rests. Th e Deputy Commissioner shall
ther eup on mak e the necessary inquiry, and may, for
th at purp ose, cause an inspe ction of the lan d by
a Revenue Officer, an d shall thereafter pass such
orde rs as deemed fit subject always to the
maxim um r ate of re nt la id down in section 28 of
this Act:
Provide d th at —
(1) Wh ere an enh anc em ent is claimed under sec
tion 29(i) , the Deputy Comm issioner shall no t take
into accoun t any incr ease in pro duc tive powers
due to fluvial action, which is merely tem porary
or casual ;
(2) Wh ere the enh anc em ent is claim ed under
section 29(ii), the Deputy Comm issioner shall have
reg ard to act ual increase in pro ductive powers
caused by the imp rovement, the cost of imp rove
ment, and also the increase or decrease, if any,
in the cost of cultiva tion for utilising the imp rove
ment.
Gr ounds for 31 . The r e n t o f a ten an t shall be liab le to
re i)?Ctl °n °* r e duction on one or more of the following grou nds,
tam ely :—
(i) th at the productive powers of the land held
by the tena nt have been decreased due to
any action of the land-lord or due to any
cause b eyond the control of the ten ant
during the currency of the present
tenanc y ; or
135
(ii) th at t he area of the te na nt’s holding has been
decreased by diluvion, or by acqu isition
for public purpose ; or
(iii) tha t the reve nue rate payable by his l an d
lord to the S tate Governm ent in resp ect of
the tena nt’s holdin g has decreased.
reduction of
rent
Procedure for 32. A te nin t desiring any red uction of ren t
or any one or more of the grounds mentioned in
section 31 may apply to the Dep uty Commissioner
stating the specific gro und on which the c laim for
redu ction rests. Th e Deputy Commissioner shall
ther eup on mak e the necessary enquiry an d may, for
this purp ose, cau se an inspection of the lan d by
a Revenue Officer, and shall the rea fter pass such
ord ers as dee med fit.
Date of
eifect. 33. Enhan cem ent or reduction of ren t, as the case
may be, will take effect from the date of the or der of
the Dep uty Comm issioner.
is^d ue fo r*1* Cash-re nt shall become due for pay.,
pay ment. ment a fortnig ht ear lier th an the c orre spondin g lan d
reve nue whi ch is p ayable by his land-lord becomes due
for pa ym ent, or where such land-l ord is not liable to pay
the revenu e, would have beco me pay able had it been
assessed to reve nue.
(2) Cro p-rent shall become due for delive ry
wit hin 60 days from th e date of harv esting the c rop.
Arrea r of 35. Re nt not pai d when it falls due shall be
r e n t- dee med to be an arr ear .
36. No arr ea r of rent shall be realisable othe r-
wise tha n by a ren t-su it filed in the com petent Civil
Court . Th e pro ced ure for such ren t-su it shall be
accord ing to the provisio ns of the Civil Pro ced ure
Code, 1908 and the plain t shall, in add itio n to
ma tters mentio ned in rules 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 and
sub-rule (2) of Rule 9 of Or der V II in the first
Sche dule to Code of Civil Proced ure , 1908, specify
the are a of the lan d to which the suit relates and
where fields are numb ere d in the village pap ers,
the numb er and are a of each field an d, in
suits for arrear s, the am ount of the yearly ren t
which is payable. Wh ere the lan d to which the suit
relates does not form one or more fields num ber ed
in the village papers the plain t shall con tain a
sufficient description of the lan d and its boundaries.
13 6
R en t re- 37. (i) Every ten an t who pay his re nt shall
eeipt . be ent itle d to obtain forthw ith hona his lan d-lord a
wr itt en rece ipt signed by th e landlord or his autho
rised agent.
(ii) Th e receipt shall con tain a description of
the l an d for w hich the rent has bee n paid , the total
amount of rent du e, the amount of ren t in cash or
the qua ntity of ren t in kind th at has been paid and
the yea r for which it has been pa id.
(iii) If a rec eip t does not contain substan tiall y
tfie above par ticula rs, it shall be presume d, un til the
con trary is shown, to be a full acq uittan ce of the
ren t due from the ten ant.
(iv) When a land-l ord or his age nt, with out
reas onable cause, fails to deliv er to the tena nt a
rec eip t as requ ired by th e foregoing sub-sections, the
land -lord shall be liable to pay as compensation to
the ten ant a sum not exceeding two hu nd red rupe es
for each default.
De posit of 38. (1) Whe n a lan dlo rd refuses to accept any
mone^rent r e n t w l , e n ten der ed to him by a ten ant or when
the ten ant is in bo na jid e do ubt as to who is
entitled to receive the ren t, the ten ant may make
an application to the Rev enue Officer in the prescr ib
ed ma nner seeking permission to deposit the cash
rent or money re nt as the case may be alon g w ith
the cost of transmission, and fee for notice.
(2) Th e Revenue Officer, if satisfied after enqu iry
in the prescribed ma nn er, as to the bo na jid e o f the
circu msta nces prev enting the ten ant from paying the
rent to his land-lord, shall accept th e amo unt tender ed
an d issue a receipt there of. Th e rece ipt shall be
deem ed to be a valid discharg e of the ren t actually
depo sited by the ten an t.
(3) In cases of refusal to acce pt the ren t the
Revenue Officer sha ll rem it the rent deposited by
the ten an t by Money Order to the last known
address of the laivdd ord .
(4) In oth er cases the Revenue Officer shall
cause a notice about the fact of deposit of ren t in
his office fixed in a conspicuous place and also
to be served on any person whom he has reason to
believe, is entit led to deposit. He shall thereafter
proc eed to he ar the perso n or persons interested
in the manner pres crib ed and if there is no dispu te,
the Rev enue Officer shall cause imm ediate prym en t.
137
In cases of dispute as to the perso n or person s who
are ent itle d to receive the ren t, the amount shall
be kept tn depo sit in a Governm ent Treasury and
the disp ute shall be referr ed to a Civil Cou rt
having jurisd icti on and the amoun t shall then be
paid in terms of the final decision of the Court.
CH AP TE R V II I
J * Sa le fo r ar re ar un der dec re e
Atta chm ent
and proc la
mation of
sale.
h ldiii for ^9. Wh ere the unsatisfied rent-de cree relates
arr ea?o f° t o arrear rent in resp ect of a holding of any occu-
rent in cer- pan cy ten an t, he shall not be liab le to eject-
tain cases, ment for such arr ear. But his holding shall be liable
to sale in execution of the unsatisfied re nt-dec ree and
the lan d-l ord shall, inste ad of filing a suit for
ejec tment, sub mit an app lica tion , accomp anie d with
the ren t-decree to the com petent Civil Co urt for
att ach ing and pu tti ng the hold ing of the defa ulting
ten an t to sale, and the decree for re nt shall
be satisfied out of the proce eds of the sale.
(2) Not withstand ing any thin g contain ed in the
Civil Pro ced ure Code , 1908, or any oth er law for the
time bein g in force, the proced ure for att ach ing and
selling the hold ing of the defa ulting tena nt shall
be according to the provisio ns here inafter following.
40. Th e competen t Civil Court, on rec eip t of the
applica tion of the la nd lo rd , shall issue an order
of attachm ent of the holding an d also a
pro clamation of sale of the same.
41. Th e proclamation of sale shall be pub lished
in the following m an ne r:—
(a) by affixing a copy the reo f in a con
spicuous pla ce on the lan d of th e hol din g,
and
(b) by affixing a copy thereo f in a conspi
cuous plac e of the issuing Co urt , and
(c) by sending by regis tered post to the
defaulting ten an t a copy of the ord er of
att achm en t and a copy of the pro clama
tion of sale.
Manner o f
pub lica tion
of sale pr o
clam ation.
138
Date of sale 42 . Th e sale shall not tak e place until after the
exp iration of at least 30 days from the date on which
all the thr ee conditions of Section 41 are fully
com plied with :
Pro vided th at no such sale shall take place until
after a notice has been served on the jud geme nt
deb tor.
Sale 43 . On the da te of the sale, it shall be pu t up to
auction and sold to the highest bid der who shall pay
one-four th of the purchase money on the spot and
the bala nce within 15 day s:
Pro vided that, if the def aul ting ten ant or an
interested person pays the arrear under the decree
toge ther with the cost, if any of the sale before the
day fixed for sale, then, the sale shall be stayed and
the lan d released from att ac hm en t:
Pro vided fur the r that in the case of a holding of
an estat e per tain ing to a religiou s inst itut ion, if the
highest bid be th at o f a member of a diffe rent reli g
ion from the one to which the ins titu tion belongs
the lan dlo rd shall have the o ption, to be declared in
writing to the Co urt with in 30 days of the sale, of
purchasing the hold ing at the highest bid.
thePsal^ °f proceeds of the sale, afte r defraying the
proceeds. c o s t ° f t ^l e s a ^e ® *u e t o Gov ernm ent, if any , shall be
disposed of in the following m an ne r:—
fa) Th ere shall first be paid to the decree
holder the cost, if any , incurred by him
in brin ging the hold ing to sale ;
(b) the re shall next be pai d to him the
am ou nt un de r the decree ;
(c) the balan ce, if an y, shall the n be pa id to
the defaultin g ten an t. e
of ^s al e 45. Th e defa ultin g ten ant or any interested per-
dePosit o f s o n m a Yj w hhin 30 days of the date of the sale
dec reta l app ly to the Cou rt conducting the sale to set aside
am ount. the sale on depositing in the Court , (a) the decretal
amount together with cost of th e sale for pay men t to
the decree-holder, anct (b) a sum equ al to 5 p er cent
of the purch ase money for paymen t to the auc tion
purcha ser as a penalty, and (e) the cost of th e sale,
if any, pay able to the Gov ernm ent, and the Cou rt
shall the reu pon set aside the sale and shall cause the
amounts un de r (a), (b) and (c) above to be paid
to t he respective persons or authorities .
139
Setting aside 46. Th e defaultin g ten ant, the decree-h olde r or
°r Sa lnd°of a n y o t b er interested persons may , wit hin 60 days of
irr egula rity, t b e date of the sale, app ly to the Co urt to set aside
etc. the sale on the g round of mate rial i rregularity, or fra ud
or m istake in pub lishing or conducting the sa le :
Provide d th at no sale shall be set aside on this
gro und unless the applican t proves to the satisfac
tion of the Court th at he has sustained substantial
injury by reason of such irre gularit y or mistake.
“ Confirmation 47. If there is no app lica tion to set aside the sale
of the sale. u n 3e r sections 45 an d 46 or if any such appli
cation has been disallowed, the Court shall make a n
ord er confirming the sale which shall, thereu pon ,
» become absolute.
Auction pur - 48 . Th e auction purchaser shall take the hold-
"ak^the s u bJ e c t t o l a w fu l e ncumbrance s, if any, inclu ding
hold ing* sub-gr a n t ° f lau d f° r public worship , public crem ation
j ect to cer- gro und or pub lic bur ial ground.
t ain enc um
brances.
Recovery of 49. Nothing in this Act shall pre ven t a hold ing
etct abyl 0?h e a n occupan cy ten ant or a non -occ upancy
above pro- ten ant bein g sold in the ma nner laid down
cedure. abov e un der orders of the Deputy Commissioner for the
recov ery of (i) a loan advanc ed by the Sta te Gov ern
me nt, th e Unio n G overnm ent or a Co -ope rativ e Society,
or fii) any oth er G overnm ent due s, but the re nt of the
hold ing shall rem ain the first cha rge on the sale
proceeds after defra ying the cost of the sale.
CH AP TE R IX
Ej ec tm en t
Forf eiture ot 59. jf a ten ant sublets or transfers the whole or
sub lettmg1 1 any pa rt of his holding otherwise tha n in accordance
and transfer, with the provision of this Act, then the tenan t’s inte rest
thereon shall be forfeited ; and
(a) if the transferee is an agricu lturist, he
shall be deemed to hav e become a
ten ant under the land -lord under the
same term s and conditions as th e tran sfer or;
140
(b) if the tran sferee is a non -agricu ltur ist then
suc h transfer sha ll be void and the De puty
Commissioner may , aft er such enquiry as may
be prescr ibe d, and afte r ejecting any persons
in possession, place a ny landless agr icu lturist as
a non-occ upancv tena nt of the l an dl or d.
(ho unds of 51. An occupancy ten an t shall not be ejec ted
c ect me nt, j^y ]a n cp o r d from his h olding except in exec ution of
a decree for ejectment passed on the gro und th at he
has u sed the lan d comprised in his h old ing in a ma n
ner whic h renders it unfit for the purp ose of the
ten anc y.
(2) Any ten ant, not being an occupan y tenant,
shall not be ejected from the land of his tenanc y
exce pt in exec ution of a decree for ejectment passed on
any one or more of th e following grou nds, name ly! — ■
(a) th at he has used the lan d comprised in his
holding in a ma nn er which rend ers it unfit
for the purposes of the tena ncy ;
(b) that he has broken a con dition of his ten
ancy consistent with the provisions of
this Act, and on the breach of which he
is, un de r the terms of the contract
betw een him self and his land-lord, liable
to be ejected ;
(c) th at he has failed to pay the arr ea r of
r e n t; and
(d) th at th e land is bo na fid e req uired by the
lan d-l ord for his personal cultiv atio n. No
suit for ejectment on this ground shall be
enterta ined before the expiry o f 12 months
or after the expiry of 15 months for the
date of creation o f ten an cy :
Provided tha t if the t enan t has elsewhere got
no lan d o r has lands less th an 10 bighas in
area , then h e shall not be ejected on this
ground unless he has been left with so
much are a as will make the total of his
hold ing equ al to 10 bighas:
14 1
Prov ided fur the r th at if the lan dlo rd does not
cultivate the lan d perso nally within one
year of the date of ejection of the tenant -
then the ten ant shall be restored to his
possession.
Righis of 52. Every ten ant who is ordered to be ejecte d
ejected ten- f r o m h; s hold ing shall be entitled to compensation
imp rov em ent- ‘ o r improvements lawfully mad e by him or his
predecessors in inte rest in resp ect of his hold ing and
the Co urt’s order for ejectment shall be mad e
conditional on pay me nt of the compensa tion.
In estim ating the comp ensation to be pa id for
imp roveme nt, reg ard shall be had to the following:—
(? ) the am ount by which the produce of the
hold ing or the valu e of the produc e or
the value of the hold ing has increased by
the imp roveme nt ;
(b) the condition of the imp rovement an d
the pro bab le du rat ion of its effects ;
(c) the lab our and cap ital involved in m aking
the imp roveme nt ;
(d) redu ctio n or remission of ren t or othe r
adv antage given by the lan dlo rd to the
ten an t in cons ideration of the imp rove
me nt ;
fe) in case of reclam atio n or irri gation, the
len gth of time during which the tena nt
has had the benefit of the im pro veme nt
a: an un enha nce d ren t.
pect of crops,
dwelling
house, etc.
Rights of 53. Th e following provisions shall app ly in the
ejected ten- case of every ten an t ejected from a ho ld in g: —
ants in res-
(a) Wh ere the ten ant has, before the da te of
his ejectment, sown or pla nte d crops
in any lan d comp rised in the hol din g, he
shall be entitled at the option of the
landlo rd, either to retain possession of
th at land till the harvest for the pur pose
of tend ing and gat her ing in the crops or
to ' receive from the landlo. d the value of
the crops as estimated by the Cou rt
executing the ejectment decree. If the
lan dlord elects to allow the ten ant to
retain possession of ‘he land till the
harv est, the ten ant shall be liable to
pa y to the lan dlo rd, during the period
of such retent ion of possession such ren t
as the Co urt exec uting the ejec tment
decree deems reasonable.
(’ b) Wh ere the tena nt has, before the date of
his ejectm ent, prepare d for sowing any
lan d of his holding bu t has not sown or
pla nte d crops therein, he shall be ent itle d
to receive from the lan dlo rd the value *
of the lab ou r an d cap ital expended by
him in pre parin g the lan d, as estim ated
by the Co urt executing the ejectmen t
decree, toge ther with reasonable inte rest <
on th at value,
fc) In the case of an occu pancy ten ant
comp ensation shall also be pay able for
trees standing on the lan d which the
occu panc y ten an t is entitle d to cut and
appro pri ate .
fd) No ten an t shall be ejected from his
dwelling site, except after giving the
ten an t an option to purchase the dwelling
site, and if the dwelling house was
constructed at the lan dlord’s cost, then also
the dwelling house, at the prevailing
ma rke t value. If there is any disp ute as
to the value, then the Co urt executing
the ejec tment decree shall determ ine the
value after making such enq uiry as it
deems fit.
Pro ced ure of 54. (1) No ten an t shall be ejected from his
eje ctm ciit. hold ing except in execution of an ejec tment decree
passe d by a com petent Civil Co urt ; and the rele
van t provisio ns of the Civil Pro ced ure Code,
1908, shall app ly to such proceeding.
(2) No suit for ejectment of a ten ant on the
ground s men tion ed in Section 51 (1) (2) fa) and
(b) shall be ent ertain ed unless the lan dlord has first
serv ed a notice on the tena nt requ irin g him to remedy,
or to pay compensation for the mExcerpt shown. Open the full act in Lexace.