The Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act, 1908

The Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 
Bengal Act 6 of 1908  
 
 
 
[Dated 11th November, 1908] 
An Act to amend and consolidate certain enactments relating to the law of Landlord and 
Tenant and settlement of rents in Chota Nagpur. 
Whereas it is expedient to amend and consolidate certain enactments relating to the law 
of landlord and tenant and the settlement of rents in Chota Nagpur; 
And whereas the sanction of the Governor-General has been obtained under Section 5 
of the Indian Councils Act, 1892 (55 and 56 Viet, e. 14) to the passing of this Act; 
It is hereby enacted as follows :- 
 
Chapter I 
Preliminary 
1. Short title and extent. - (1) This Act may be called the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act, 
1908. 
[(2) It extends to [the North Chotanagpur, the South Chotanagpur and Palamau 
Divisions] including the areas or parts of the areas which have been constituted into a 
Municipality or a Notified Area Committee under the Jharkhand Municipal Act, 2002 
(Bihar and Orissa Act 7 of 1922) or which are within a cantonment.] 
2. Repeal. - (1) The Acts and notifications specified in Schedule A are hereby repealed 
in the Chota Nagpur Division. [* * *] 
[(2) The Acts specified in Schedule B are hereby repealed in the [district of Dhanbad 
and Patamda, Ichagarh and Chandil police stations in the district of Singhbhum.] 
3. Definitions - In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, 
 
(i) "agricultural year" means the year prevailing in a local area for agricultural purposes, 
and such year s hall be deemed to commence and terminate on such dates, 
respectively, as the [State] Government may, by [notification], direct: 
 
[Provided that where the State Government is the landlord, the year commencing from 
the first day of April shall be the agricultural year for the purposes of this Act;] 
 
(ii) "bhugut bandha mortgage" means a transfer of the interest of tenant in his tenancy; 
 
for the purpose of securing the payment of money advanced or to be advanced by way 
of loan; 
upon the condition that the loan, with all interest thereon, shall be deemed to be 
extinguished by the profits arising from the tenancy during the period of the mortgage;
(iii) "Board" means the Board of Revenue for [Bihar [* * *] 
[(iii-a) "bank" means,- 
(i) a banking company as defined in the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949); 
 
(ii) the State Bank of India constituted under the State Bank of India Act, 1955 (23 of 
1955); 
 
(iii) a corresponding new bank constituted under the Banking Companies (Acquisition 
and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 (5 of 1970); 
 
(iv) a Regional Rural Bank established under the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 (21 of 
1976); 
 
(v) the Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation constituted under the 
Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation Act, 1963 (10 of 1963); and 
 
(vi) the Agricultural Finance Corporation Ltd., a Company incorporated under the 
Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956);] 
 
(iv) "Certificate Officer" means the Certificate Officer as defined in [clause (3)] of Section 
[3] of the [Bihar and Orissa Public Demands Recovery Act, 1914 (B&O Act, 4 of 1914:] 
 
(v) "civil jail" means the civil jail of the district, and includes any place appointed by the 
[State] Government for the confinement of prisoners under this Act; 
 
(vi) "Commissioner" and "Judicial Commissioner" mean respectively the Commissioner 
and Judicial C ommissioner of Chota Nagpur; and include any other person specially 
[empowered] by the [State] Government to discharge the functions of the Commissioner 
or Judicial Commissioner, as the case may be in any particular area; 
 
(vii) "Deputy Collector" includes an Assistant Collector and any Sub-Deputy Collector, 
who is especially empowered by the [State] Government to discharge any of the 
functions of a Deputy Collector under this Act; 
 
(viii) "Deputy Commissioner" in any provision of this Act includes,- 
 
(a) any Revenue Officer or Deputy Collector, who is specially empowered by the [State] 
Government to discharge any of the functions of a Deputy Commissioner under t hat 
provision, and 
 
(b) any Deputy Collector to whom the Deputy Commissioner may by general or special 
order, tr ansfer any of his f unctions under that provision;
(ix) "enhancement" and "enhanced" do not include an increase of rent in respect of land 
held by 'Raiyat', in excess of the area for which rent has previously been paid by him, or 
in respect of the conversion of upland, whether within or without his holding into 'korkar'; 
but include any commutation of rent payable in money into rent payable wholly or partly 
in kind; 
 
(x) "estate" means land included under one entry in any of the general registers of 
revenue-paying lands and revenue-free lands prepared and maintained under the law 
for the time being in force by the Deputy Commissioner; and includes Government 'khas 
mahals' and revenue-free lands not entered in any register; 
 
(xi) "forest produce" includes the following, whether taken from a forest or not, that is to 
say,- 
 
(a) wood, charcoal, caoutchouc, catechu, wood-oil, resin, natural varnish,, bark lac, 
'mahua' flowers and myrobalans. 
 
(b) trees and leaves, flowers and fruits and all other parts or produce not hereinbefore 
mentioned of trees, 
 
(c) plant not being trees (including grass, creepers, reeds and moss) and all parts or 
produce of such plants, 
 
(d) wild animals and skins, tusks, horns, bones, silk, cocoons, honey and wax, and all 
other parts or produce of animals, and 
 
(e) peat, surface-oil rock and minerals (including iron-stone, coal clay, [sand and lime- 
stone] [* * *] when taken by any person for his own use [* * *]; 
 
(xii) "holding" means a parcel or parcels of land held by a Raiyat, and forming the 
subject of separate tenancy; 
 
(xiii) "korkad" means land by whatever name locally known such as 'babhala khandwat, 
'jalsasan' or 'ariat', which has been artificially levelled or embanked primarily for the 
cultivation of rice, and,- 
 
(a) which previously was  jungle, waste or uncultivated, or was c ultivated upland, or 
which, though previously cultivated, has become unfit for the cultivation of transplanted 
rice, and 
 
(b) which has been prepared for cultivation by a cultivator (other than the landlord), or 
by the predecessor-in-interest (other than the landlord); [* * *]; 
 
(xiv) "landlord" means a person immediately under whom a tenant holds, and includes 
the Government;
(xv) "movable property" includes standing crops; 
(xvi) "mundari khunt-kattidari tenancy" means the interest of a "Mundari khunt-kattidar"; 
(xvii) "pay", "payable" and "payment", when used with reference of rent, include 
"deliver", "deliverable" and "deliver"; 
 
(xviii) "permanent tenure" means a tenure which is heritable and which is not held for a 
limited time. 
 
(xix) "praedial conditions" means conditions or services appurtenant to the occupation 
of lands other than the rent, and include rakumats' payable by the tenants to landlord 
and every 'mahtut mangan' and 'madad', and every other similar demand, howsoever 
denominated, and whether regularly recurrent or intermittent; 
(xx) "prescribed" means prescribed by [State] Government by rule made under this Act; 
(xxi) "proprietor" means a person owning, whether in trust or for his own benefit an 
estate or a part of an estate; 
 
(xxii) "registered" means registered under any Act for the time being in force for the 
registration of documents; 
 
(xxiii) "rent" means whatever is la wfully payable in money or k ind by a tenant to his 
landlord on account of the use of occupation of the land held by the tenant and includes 
all dues (other than personal services) which are recoverable under enactment for the 
time being in force as if they were rent; 
 
(xxiv) "resumable tenure" means a tenure which is held, subject to the condition that it 
shall lapse to the estate of the grantor and be resumable by him or his successor in 
title,- 
 
(a) on failure of male heirs of the body of the original grantee in the male line, or 
 
(b) on the happening of any definite contingency other than that referred to in sub- 
clause (a) of this clause; 
 
(xxv) "Revenue Officer" in any provision of this Act, means any officer whom the [State] 
Government may appoint to discharge any of the functions of Revenue Officer under 
that provision; 
 
(xxvi) "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 person; 
 
(xxvii) "tenure" means the interest of a tenure-holder, and includes an under tenure, but 
does not include a "Mundari khunt-kattidari" tenancy,
(xxviii) "village" means,- 
 
(a) in any local area in which a survey has been made and a record-of-rights prepared 
under a ny enactment for t he time being in force the area included within the same 
exterior boundary in the village map finally adopted in making such survey and record, 
as subsequently modified by the decision (if any) of a Court of competent jurisdiction, 
and 
 
(b) where a survey has not been made and a record-of-rights has not been prepared 
under a ny such enactment, such area as the Deputy Commissioner may, with the 
sanction of the Commissioner by general or special order, declare to constitute a village 
: 
 
[Provided that, when an order has been made under Section 80 directing that a survey 
be made, and record-of-rights prepared in respect of any local area, estate, tenure, or 
part thereof the [State] Government may, by notification declare that in such local area, 
estate, tenure or part thereof, 'village', shall mean the area which for thee purposes of 
such survey and record-of-rights may be adopted by the Revenue Officer subject to the 
control of the Commissioner as the unit of survey and record;] 
 
[(xxix) "village headman" means the headman of a village, or of a group of villages, 
whether known as 'Manki', or 'Pradhan' or 'Manjhi' or otherwise, or by an equivocal 
designation such as 'thikadad' or 'ijaradar': 
 
Explanation. - In the definition "village" includes a portion of a village; and 
 
(xxx) "Permanent Settlement" means the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, Bihar and 
Orissa made in the year 1798.] 
Chapter II 
Classes of Tenants 
 
4. Classes of tenants - There shall be, for the purposes of this Act, the following 
classes of tenants, namely :- 
 
(1) tenure-holders, including under-tenure-holders; 
(2) Raiyat, namely :- 
(a) occupancy-raiyats, that is to say, Raiyats having a right of occupancy in the land 
held by them, 
 
(b) non-occupancy Raiyats, that is to say, Raiyats not having such a right of occupancy, 
and
(c) Raiyats having khunt-katti rights; 
 
(3) under-raiyats, that is to say, tenants holding, whether immediately or mediately, 
under raiyats; and 
 
(4) Mundari khunt-kattidars. 
 
5. Meaning of a "tenure-holder" - "Tenure-holder" means primarily a person, who has 
acquired from the proprietor, or from another tenure-holder, a right to hold land for the 
purpose of collecting rents or bringing under cultivation by establishing tenants on it, 
and includes,- 
 
(a) the successor-in-interest of persons, who have acquired such a right, and 
 
(b) the holder of tenures entered in any register prepared and confirmed under the 
Chota Nagpur Tenures Act, 1869 (Ben. Act 2 of 1869), 
 
but does not include a Mundari khunt-kattidar. 
6. Meaning of " Raiyat" - (1) "Raiyat" means primarily a person who has acquired a 
right to hold land tor the purpose of cultivating it by himself or by members of his family, 
or by hired servants or with the aid of partners; and includes the successor-in-interest of 
persons who have acquired such a right, but does not include a Mundari-khunt-kattidar. 
Explanation. - Where a tenant of land has the right to bring it under cultivation, he shall 
be deemed to have acquired a right to hold it for t he purpose of cultivation, 
notwithstanding that he uses it for the purpose of gathering the produce of it or of 
grazing cattle on it. 
(2) A person shall not be deemed to be a Raiyat unless he holds land either 
immediately under a proprietor or immediately under a tenure-holder or immediately 
under a Mundari-khunt-kattidar. 
(3) In determining whether a tenant is a tenure-holder or Raiyat, the Court shall have 
regard to,- 
 
(a) local custom, and 
 
(b) the purpose for which the right of tenancy was originally acquired. 
 
7. Meaning of  "Raiyat having khunt-katti rights". - (1) "Raiyat having khunt-katti 
rights" means a Raiyat in occupation of, or having any subsisting title to land reclaimed 
from jungle by the original founders of the village or their descendants in the male line, 
when such Raiyat is a member of family which founded the village or a descendant in 
the male line of any member of such family : 
Provided that no Raiyat shall be deemed to have khunt-katti rights in any land unless he 
and all his predecessors-in-title have held such land or obtained a title thereby virtue of 
inheritance from the original founders of the village. 
(2) Nothing in this Act shall prejudicially affect the rights of any person who has lawfully 
acquired a title to a khunt-kattidari tenancy before the commencement of this Act.
8. Meaning of - "Mundari-khunt-kattidari" - Mundari-khunt-kattidar means a Mundari, 
who has acquired a right to hold jungle land for the purpose of bringing suitable portions 
thereof under cultivation by himself or by male members of his family, and includes,- 
 
(a) the heirs male in the male line of any such Mundari when they are in possession of 
such land or have any subsisting title thereto, and 
 
(b) as regards any portions of such land which has remained continuously in the 
possession of any such Mundari and his descendants in the male line, such 
descendants. 
 
Chapter III 
Tenure-Holders 
9. Tenure-holder when not liable to enhancement of rent - No tenure-holder who 
holds his tenure (otherwise than under a terminable lease) at a fixed rent which has not 
been changed from t he time of the Permanent Settlement shall be liable to any 
enhancement of such rent, anything in the Bengal Decennial Settlement Regulation, 
1793 (VIII of 1793) Section 51 or in any other law, to the contrary notwithstanding. 
[9A. Enhancement of rent of tenure-holder or village headman. - (1) Where the rent 
of a tenure-holder or village headman is liable to enhancement during the continuance 
of his tenancy, such enhancement shall be made only by an order of the Deputy 
Commissioner passed upon an application made to him, or by  an order of Revenue 
Officer passed under Chapter XII or Chapter XV. 
(2) An  enhancement, progressive or o therwise, may subject to any valid contract 
between the parties, be ordered up to the limit of the customary rate payable by person 
holding similar tenancies in the vicinity, or when no such customary rate exists up to 
such limits as is  fair and equitable. In determining what is a  fair and equitable rent, 
regard shall be had to the origin and history of the tenancy. 
(3) When the rent of a tenure-holder or village headman has been enhanced, it shall not 
again be enhanced for a period of fifteen years except by an order of a Revenue Officer 
passed under Chapter XII or Chapter XV. 
(4) Nothing in this Section shall apply to a temporary tenure-holder, or a tenure-holder 
the rent of whose tenure is subject to variation in accordance with principles expressed 
in the contract whereby the tenure was created.] 
10. Certain bhuinhars not liable to enhancement of rent - No bhuinhar whose lands 
are entered in any register prepared and confirmed under the Chota Nagpur Tenures 
Act, 1869 (Ben. Act 2 of 1869) shall be liable to any enhancement of the rent of his 
tenure. 
11. Registration of certain transfers of tenures - (1) When any tenure or portion 
thereof is transferred by succession, inheritance, sale, gift or exchange, the transferee 
or his successor in title shall cause the transfer to be registered in the office of the 
landlord to whom the rent of the tenure or portion is payable. 
(2) The landlord shall, in the absence of sufficient reason to the contrary, allow the 
registration of all such transfers.
(3) Whenever any such transfer is registered in the office of the landlord he shall be 
entitled to levy a registration fee of the following amount, namely :- 
 
(a) when rent is payable in respect of the tenure or portion-a fee of two per centum on 
the annual rent thereof provided that no such fee shall be less than one rupee or more 
than one hundred rupees, and 
(b) when rent is not payable in respect of the tenure or portion-a fee of two rupees. 
(4) If an application for the registration of any transfer of a tenure or portion thereof 
under sub-section (1) is not made within a period of one year from the date of transfer, 
and if the registration fee, authorised by sub-section (3) is not paid or tendered within 
that period, the transferee or his successor-in-title shall not be entitled to recover, at any 
time after the expiry of the said period by suit or other proceeding, any rent which may 
have become due to him, as the owner of such tenure or portion, between the date of 
the transfer and the date of the application for registration. 
(5) Nothing in this Section shall,- 
 
(i) validate a transfer of any tenure or portion thereof which, by the terms upon which it 
is held, or by any law or local custom, is not transferable, or 
 
(ii) affect the right of the landlord to resume a resumable tenure. 
 
12. Procedure on refusal of landlord to allow registration of transfer of tenure. - If 
any landlord refuses to allow the registration of any such transfer as is mentioned in 
Section 11, the transferee or his successor-in-title may make application to the Deputy 
Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner shall thereupon, after issuing notice to be 
served on the landlord, make such inquiry as Tie considers n ecessary; and if, no 
sufficient grounds are shown for t he refusal, shall pass an order declaring that the 
transfer shall be deemed to be registered. 
[13. Division of Tenure  and distribution of rent. - (1) A division of any tenure or 
portion thereof or a distribution of the rent payable in respect of any tenure or portion 
thereof shall be binding on the landlord if the transferor sends to the landlord by 
registered post a notice of such division or d istribution containing the prescribed 
particulars: 
Provided that the landlord may, if he objects to the said division or distribution of the 
rent, make an application to the Deputy Commissioner for fair division or distribution of 
rent within the prescribed period from the date of the service of notice. 
(2) On  the receipt of an application under the proviso to sub-section (1), the Deputy 
Commissioner shall in the prescribed manner serve on the parties including the landlord 
a notice of the date on which he intends to hear the application after hearing the parties 
and holding such inquiry as he thinks proper, the Deputy Commissioner shall divide or 
distribute the rent of the tenure in such manner as he deems fair and equitable. 
(3) The order of the Deputy Commissioner under sub-section (2) shall take effect from 
such date as may be specified in the order.]
14. Annulment of encumbrances on resumption of resumable tenure - (1) Upon the 
resumption of a resumable tenure, every lien, sub-tenancy, easement or other right or 
interest created, without the consent or permission of the grantor or his successor-in- 
interest by the grantee or any of his successors, on the tenure, or in limitation of his own 
interest therein, shall be deemed to be annulled, except the following, namely:- 
 
(a) any lease of land whereupon a dwelling house, manufactory or o ther permanent 
building, has been erected or a permanent garden, plantation, tank, canal, [bandh, ahar 
other work of irrigation] place of worship, or burning or burying ground has been made, 
or wherein a mine has been sunk under lawful authority; 
 
[(aa) any right of [the Government] in any land within a cantonment;] 
 
(b) any right of a Raiyat or cultivator in his holding or land, as conferred by this Act or by 
any local custom or usage; 
 
(c) any right to hold land occupied by sacred grove; 
(d) any Mundari khunt-kattidaritenancy; 
[(dd) any Bhuinhari tenure, as defined in the Chota Nagpur Tenure Act, 1869 (Bengal 
Act 2 of 1869)]; [* * *] 
 
(e) any right of a [village-headman] in his office or land; [and] 
[(f) any easement of necessity], 
(2) Nothing in clause (a) of sub-section (1) shall confer on any grantee of a resumable 
tenure or any of his successors any right over mineral which he does not otherwise 
possess. 
15. Saving of rights of landlord - The mere registration of a transfer under Section 11, 
or the mere receipt of a registration fee thereunder, or the passing of an order by the 
Deputy Commissioner under Section 12, shall not be deemed to imply a consent to, or 
permission to make, the transfer, within the meaning of Section 14; and the landlord 
shall not be bound by the terms or conditions of any such transfer. 
 
Chapter IV 
Occupancy-raiyat 
General 
16. Continuance of existing occupancy rights - [(1) Every 'Raiyat', who immediately 
before the commencement of this Act, has by the operation of any enactment or by local 
custom or usage or otherwise, a right of occupancy in any land, shall when this Act
comes into force, have right of occupancy in that land, notwithstanding the fact that he 
may not have cultivated or held the land for a period of twelve years.] 
[(2)] The exclusion from the operation of this Act by a notification under subsection (2) 
of Section 1 of any area or part of an area, which is constituted a Municipality under the 
provisions of [the Jharkhand Municipal Act, 2002 (B&O Act 7 of 1922) or which is within 
cantonment, shall not affect any right, obligation or liability previously acquired, incurred 
or accrued in reference to such area.] 
17. Definition of 'settled Raiyat'. - (1) Every person who, for a period of twelve years, 
whether wholly or partly before or after the commencement of this Act, has continuously 
held as a 'Raiyat' land situate in any village, whether under a lease or otherwise, shall 
be deemed to have become on the expiration of that period a settled 'Raiyat' of that 
village. 
(2) A person shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Section, to have continuously 
held land in a village, notwithstanding that the particular land held by him has been 
different at different times. 
(3) A person shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Section, to have held as a 
'Raiyat' any land held as a 'Raiyat' by a person whose heir he is. 
(4) Land held by two or more co-sharers as a 'Raiyati' holding shall be deemed, for the 
purposes of this Section, to have been held as a 'Raiyat' by each such co-sharer. 
(5) A person shall continue to be a settled 'Raiyat' of village as long as he holds any 
land as a 'Raiyat' in that village and for three years thereafter. 
(6) If a Raiyat recovers possession of land under Section 71, or by suit, he shall be 
deemed to have continued to be a settled 'Raiyat', notwithstanding his having been out 
of possession for more than three years. 
(7) If, in any suit or proceeding, it is proved or admitted that a person holds any land as 
a 'Raiyat', it shall, as between him and the landlord under whom he holds the land, be 
presumed, for the purpose of this Section, until the contrary is proved or admitted, that 
he has twelve years continuously held that land or some part of it as a 'Raiyat'. 
18. Bhuinhars and Mundari khunt-kattidars to be settled Raiyats in certain cases - 
The following classes of persons shall be deemed to be settled 'Raiyats' for the 
purposes of this Act, in regard to the land in their villages which they cultivate as 
'Raiyats' (other than their own 'bhuinhari' or 'Mundari khunti-kattidari' land, and other 
than landlords privileged lands as defined in Section 18 and the provisions of sub- 
sections (3) to (6) of Section 17 shall apply to such persons as if they were 'Raiyats', 
namely :- 
 
(a) where any land in a village, other than land known as 'manjhihas' or 'bethkheta', is 
entered in any register prepared and confirmed under the Chota Nagpur Tenures Act, 
1869 (Ben. Act 2 of 1969)-all members of any 'Bhuinhari' family, who hold and have for 
twelve years continuously held, land in such village, and 
 
(b) where any village contains lands not forming part of Mundari khunti-kattidari tenancy 
and an entry of Mundari khunt-kattidari or of Mundari khunt-kattidars in such village has 
been made in any record-of-rights as finally published under this Act or under any law in 
force before the commencement of this Act-all male members of any Mundari khunt-
kattidar family who hold, and have for twelve years continuously held land in such 
village. 
 
19. Settled Raiyats to have occupancy-rights - Every person who is a settled Raiyat 
of a village within the meaning of Section 17 or Section 18 shall [subject to the 
provisions of Section 43] have a right of occupancy in all [* * *] for the time being held by 
him as a Raiyat in that village. 
[20. Effect of acquisition of occupancy-rights by landlord. - (1) When the immediate 
landlord of an occupancy holding is a proprietor or a permanent tenure-holder and the 
entire interests of the landlords and the Raiyat in the holding become united in the same 
person by transfer, succession, or otherwise, such a person, shall hold the land as a 
proprietor or permanent tenure-holder, as the case may be, and shall not hold it by any 
subordinate right whatsoever; but nothing in this subsection shall prejudicially affect the 
rights of any third person. 
(2) If the occupancy-right in land is transferred to a person jointly interested in the land 
as proprietor or permanent tenure-holder; such person shall hold the land as proprietor 
or p ermanent tenure-holder, as the case may be, and shall not hold it by - any 
subordinate right whatsoever. Such transferee shall pay to his co-sharers a fair and 
equitable sum for the use and occupation of the land, and if he sub-lets the land to a 
third person, such third person shall be deemed to be a tenure-holder or a Raiyat, as 
the case may be, in respect thereof. 
Illustration. - A, a co-sharer landlord, purchases the occupation holding of a Raiyat X.A 
sublets the land to Y who takes it  for t he purpose of establishing tenants on it: Y 
becomes a tenure-holder in respect of the land. Or A sub-lets it to Z who takes it for the 
purpose of cultivating it himself: Z becomes a Raiyat in respect of the land. 
In determining from time to time what is a fair and equitable sum under this sub-section, 
regard s hall be had to the rent payable by the occupancy-raiyat at the time of the 
transfer, and to the principles of this Act regulating the enhancement or reduction of the 
rent of occupancy-raiyats. 
(3) A person interested in any estate, tenure, village or land, whether solely or jointly 
with others, as a temporary tenure-holder, Ijaradar, or farmer of rents, or as  a 
mortgagee in possession, shall not during the period of his lease or mortgage, acquire 
by purchase or otherwise a right to hold any land comprised in his lease or mortgage in 
any other capacity than as such lessee or mortgagee and every interest acquired by 
him in such land during the period of his lease or mortgage, shall upon the termination 
of such lease or mortgage, cease to exist; provided that if he has settled the land with 
third person as a tenure-holder or a Raiyat, not being prohibited from so doing by the 
terms of his lease or mortgage, the rights of such third person shall not be affected by 
the mere termination of the lease, but such third person shall be deemed to be a tenure- 
holder or a Raiyat, as the case may be, in respect of the land. 
(4) This Section does not prohibit and shall be deemed never to have prohibited the 
acquisition of a right of occupancy in a parcel of land- 
 
(a) by a village headman if by local custom or usage he has a right to acquire a right of 
occupancy in land of the class to which that parcel belongs, or
(b) by a temporary tenure-holder who, before becoming such, was himself a resident 
cultivator of the village, in such parcel has been converted by him into Korkar or has 
been acquired by him by succession or inheritance.] 
 
Explanation. - A person having a right of occupancy in land does not lose it by 
subsequently becoming jointly interested in the land as a proprietor or permanent 
tenure-holder or by subsequently holding the land in ijara or farm or as a temporary 
tenure-holder or mortgagee. 
 
Incident of Occupancy Right 
 
21. Rights of occupancy-Raiyat in respect of use of land. - [(1)] When a Raiyat has 
a right of occupancy in respect of any land, he may use the land,- 
 
(a) in any manner which is authorised by local custom or usage, or 
 
(b) irrespective of any local custom or usage, in any manner which does not materially 
impair the value of the land or render it unfit for the purposes of the tenancy. 
 
[(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any entries in the record-of-rights or any local 
custom or usage to the contrary, the following shall not be deemed to impair the value 
of the land materially or to render it unfit for purposes of the tenancy, namely,- 
 
(a) the manufacture of bricks and tiles for the domestic or agricultural purposes of the 
Raiyat and his family; 
 
(b) the excavation of tanks or the digging of wells or the construction of bandhs and 
ahars intended to provide a supply of water for drinking, domestic, agricultural or 
piscicultural purposes of the Raiyat and his family; and 
 
(c) the erection of buildings for the domestic or agricultural purposes or for the purposes 
of trade or cottage industries of the Raiyat and his family. 
 
(3) If an occupancy-Raiyat, who pays for his holding rent in any of the ways specified in 
sub-section (1) of Section 61, excavates a  tank on such holding for any purpose 
mentioned in clause (b) of sub-section (2), the landlord's share shall be nine-twentieths 
and the Raiyats share shall be eleven-twentieths in the produce of such tank.] 
[21A. Rights of occupancy-Raiyat in trees. - Notwithstanding anything contained in 
Section 24, when a Raiyat has a right of occupancy in respect of any land,- 
 
(a) if the rent of such land is paid in cash, or if such land is a rent-free holding or a part 
of such holding, the Raiyat may,- 
 
(i) plant trees and bamboos on such land and cut, cut down and appropriate the same; 
(ii) cut, cut down and appropriate any trees or bamboos s tanding on such land;
(iii) appropriate the flowers, fruits and other products of any trees or bamboos standing 
on such land; 
(iv) rear lac and cocoons on trees standing on such land and appropriate the same : 
[Provided that if there is any specific entry in the latest record-of-rights regarding any 
tree or bamboo which was s tanding on any such land before the date of the final 
publication of such record-of-rights to the effect that any right in such tree or bamboo 
belongs to any person, other than the proprietor of the estate comprising such land or 
the tenure-holder of such land, the right of the Raiyat in such tree or bamboo specified 
in sub-clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv), shall be exercised in accordance with, and subject to 
any entry;] 
 
(b) if the rent of such land is paid in any of the ways s pecified in sub-section (1) of 
Section 61, the landlord and the Raiyat shall have equal shares in the timber and the 
landlord's share shall be nine-twentieths and the Raiyats share shall be eleven- 
twentieths in the flowers, fruits and other products of all trees or bamboos growing on 
such land whether pl anted before or after, t he commencement of the Chota Nagpur 
Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 1947 (Bihar Act 25 of 1947) and the Raiyat shall be entitled 
to plant any tree or bamboo on such land, but neither the Raiyat nor the landlord shall, 
without the consent of the other be entitled to cut down or appropriate any such tree or 
bamboo; 
 
Provided that if neither the landlord nor the Raiyat agrees to the cutting down of the tree 
or bamboo and either of them considers such cutting necessary one or the other may 
apply for permission to the Deputy Commissioner who, after making summary inquiry 
and hearing the parties, if any may, subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, either 
grant the permission or refuse it, and his decision shall be final.] 
22. Protection of occupancy-Raiyat from eviction except on specified grounds. - 
An occupancy-Raiyat shall not be ejected by his landlord from his holding, except in 
execution of a decree for ejectment passed on the ground,- 
 
(a) that he has used the land comprised in his holding in a manner which is not 
authorised by Section 21 [or 21-A]; 
 
(b) that he has broken a condition, consistent with the provisions of this Act, on breach 
of which he is, under the terms of a contract between himself and his landlord, liable to 
be ejected. 
 
23. Devolution of occupancy right on death - If a Raiyat dies intestate in respect of a 
right of occupancy, it shall, subject to any local custom to the contrary, descend in the 
same manner as other immovable property : 
Provided that in any case in which, under the law of inheritance to which the Raiyat is 
subject, his other property goes to the [Government], his right of occupancy shall be 
extinguished.
[23A. Registration of certain tra nsfers of occupancy holdings. - (1) When an 
occupancy-holding or any portion thereof is transferred [by sale, gift, will or exchange in 
accordance with the provisions of this Act], the transferee or his successor in title may 
cause the transfer to be registered in the office of the landlord to whom the rent of the 
holding or portion thereof as the case may be, is payable. 
[(2) The landlord shall allow the registration of all such transfers and shall not be 
entitled, except in the case of a transfer by sale or gift, to levy any registration fee. In the 
case of a transfer by sale or gift, the landlord shall be entitled to levy a registration fee of 
the following amount, namely:-] 
 
(i) when rent is payable in respect of the holding or portion, a fee of [five percentum] on 
the annual rent thereof: 
 
[Provided that, such fee shall not be less than rupees two and fifty paise or more than 
rupees two hundred and fifty; and] 
 
(ii) when rent is not payable in respect of the holding or portion, a fee of [rupees two and 
fifty paise.] 
 
[(3) A  registering officer sh all not register-any instrument purporting or o perating to 
transfer an occupancy holding or portion of an occupancy holding by sale or gift unless 
there is paid to him in addition to any fee payable under the Act for the time being in 
force for the registration of documents, a process fee of the prescribed amount and the 
registration fee payable under sub-section-(2), together with the costs necessary for the 
transmission of the registration fee to the landlord: 
Provided that a gift to the husband or wife of the donor or to a son adopted under the 
Hindu Law or to a relation by consanguinity within three degrees of such donor shall not 
require any registration fee to be paid to the landlord as provided in sub-section (2).] 
(4) When the registration of any such instrument is complete, the registering officer shall 
send to the Deputy Commissioner the registration fee and the costs necessary for the 
transmission of the same to the landlord ana notice of the transfer and registration in the 
prescribed form, and the Deputy Commissioner shall cause the fee to be transmitted to 
and the notice to be served on the landlord named in the notice in the prescribed 
manner. 
[(5) If any landlord refuses to allow the registration of any such transfer as is mentioned 
in sub-section (1), the transferee or his successor-in-title may make an application to 
the Deputy Commissioner, and the Deputy Commissioner shall thereupon, after causing 
notice to be served on the landlord, make such inquiry as he considers necessary, and 
[shall if he is satisfied that the transfer is not contrary to the provisions of this Act], pass 
an order declaring that the transfer shall be deemed to be registered, and may also 
pass such order as he thinks fit in respect of the costs of any such inquiry.] 
24. Obligation of occupancy-Raiyat to pay rent - An occupancy-Raiyat shall pay rent 
for his holding at a fair and equitable rate. 
[24A. Division of holding by partition and distribution of rent thereof. - (1) When 
an occupancy holding has been the subject of partition by an order of a Court 
otherwise,-
(a) the division of the said holding made in accordance with such partition shall be 
binding on the landlord; 
 
(b) if notice in writing of the partition and the distribution of the rent has been served on 
the landlord in the prescribed form and in the prescribed manner, such distribution of 
the rent shall be binding on the landlord : 
 
Provided that the landlord may, if he objects to such distribution by an order of a Court 
or otherwise, if the parties to the distribution of the rent of the holding. 
(2) When an occupancy holding has been the subject of partition by an order of a Court 
or otherwise, if the parties to the partition are unable to distribute the rent of the holding 
by agreement, any of them may apply to the Deputy Commissioner to distribute the rent 
of the holding. 
(3) (a) On receipt of an application under the proviso to clause (b) of subsection (1) or 
under sub-section (2), the Deputy Commissioner shall serve on the parties interested, 
other than the applicant, a notice of the date on which he intends to hear t he 
application. 
Explanation. - For the purpose of this clause, the landlord shall be deemed to be a party 
interested in an application under sub-section (2). 
 
(b) After serving the notice required by clause (a) and hearing the parties and holding 
such inquiry as he thinks fit, the Deputy Commissioner shall distribute the rent of the 
holding in such manner as he considers fair and equitable and his decision shall be 
final. 
 
(4) The order of the Deputy Commissioner under sub-section (3) shall take effect on an 
application under t he proviso to clause (b) of sub-section (1) from the date of the 
partition and, on an application under su b-section (2) from such date as the Deputy 
Commissioner may specify in his order. 
(5) The Deputy Commissioner shall have power to award costs to any party to any 
proceeding under this Section, and any sum ordered to be paid as costs shall be 
recoverable from the party by whom it is payable as a public demand payable to the 
Deputy Commissioner. 
(6) The Deputy Commissioner shall pay any sum recovered as costs by him under sub- 
section (5) to the party to whom such costs are payable.] 
 
Enhancement of Rent 
 
25. Presumption that rent of occupancy-Raiyat is fair and equitable. - The rent for 
the time being payable by an occupancy-Raiyat shall be presumed to be fair and 
equitable until the contrary is proved. 
26. Confirmation of rents enhanced prior to commencement of this Act. - When 
the rent of an occupancy-Raiyat whose rent is liable to enhancement has been 
enhanced before the commencement of this Act otherwise than under Section 24 of the 
[Chota Nagpur Landlord] and Tenant Procedure Act [1879] (Ben. Act I of 1879), such 
enhanced rent shall be deemed to be lawfully payable,-
(a) if it has been actually paid continuously for seven years before the commencement 
of this Act; and 
 
(b) if it is not proved to be unfair and inequitable: 
 
Provided that where the rent lawfully payable by an occupancy-Raiyat for his holding 
has been made an issue in any suit for arrears of rent, and the Court has arrived at a 
finding on that issue, the rent to be found shall be deemed to be lawfully payable by the 
Raiyat or the holding. 
27. Methods in which rent of occupancy-Raiyat may be enhanced. - (1) From and 
after the commencement of this Act,- 
 
(a) in any area for which record-of-rights has not been prepared and finally published 
under this Act or under any law in force before the commencement of this Act, or for 
which an order has not been issued under this Act or under any law in force before the 
commencement of this Act for the preparation of such a record, the money-rent of an 
occupancy-Raiyat whose rent is liable to enhancement may be enhanced only by order 
of the Deputy Commissioner passed under Section 29, and 
 
(b) in any area for which a record-of-rights has been prepared and finally published as 
aforesaid, or for which an order has been issued as aforesaid for the preparation of 
such a record of the money-rent of an occupancy-Raiyat whose rent is l iable to 
enhancement may be enhanced only; 
 
(i) in cases referred to in Section 62, Section 94 or Section 99, by order of the Deputy 
Commissioner passed under Section 29, and 
 
(ii) in other cases, by order of a Revenue Officer passed under Chapter XII. 
 
(2) No enhancement of such rent made after the commencement of this Act in any 
manner other than that referred to in clause (a) or clause (b), as the case may be, 
whether by private contract or otherwise shall for any reason be recognised or given 
effect to in any suit or proceeding in any Court. 
28. Contents of application to Deputy Commissioner for enhancement - (1) Every 
application to the Deputy Commissioner for the enhancement of the rent of an 
occupancy holding shall specify,- 
 
(a) such particulars as may be prescribed regarding the area, situation, local names, 
quality and boundaries of the parcels of land constituting the holding; 
 
(b) t he rates of rent (if any) p ayable by Raiyat for t he different classes of land 
constituting the holding and the yearly rent payable for the holding at the date of the 
application; 
 
(c) the rates (if any) generally prevailing in the village for corresponding classes of land;
(d) the date (as nearly as it can be ascertained) when the rates of rent generally 
prevailing were last adjusted in the village; 
 
(e) the rates which the applicant desires to claim; and 
 
(f) the grounds on which the applicant considers that he is entitled to the enhancement 
claimed. 
 
(2) Sections 146 to 149 shall apply to every application made under this Section. 
29. Procedure on receipt of such application - (1) When any such application has 
been received, the Deputy Commissioner,- 
 
(a) shall forthwith give notice of the contents thereof to the Raiyat, and 
 
(b) may if he thinks fit, order a measurement of the land, and 
 
(c) may, upon consideration of all the circumstances set forth in the application, and 
after hearing any objection advanced by the Raiyat by order, fix such enhanced rent, or 
otherwise vary the rent for the said land, as to him may seem fair and reasonable : 
 
Provided that no enhancement shall be ordered except on one or more of the following 
grounds, namely:- 
 
(i) that the rate of rent paid by the Raiyat is below the prevailing rate paid by occupancy- 
Raiyats for land of similar quality and with similar advantages [in the same village or in 
the neighbouring villages, and that there is no sufficient, reason for his holding at so low 
a rate;] 
 
(ii) that there has been a rise in the average local prices of staple food-crops during the 
currency of the present rent; 
 
(iii) that the productive powers of the land held by the Raiyat have been increased by an 
improvement effected during the currency of the present rent, otherwise than by the 
agency or at the expense of the Raiyat: 
 
Provided also that no enhancement shall be ordered which is, under the circumstances 
of the case, unfair or inequitable : 
Provided further that all enhancement shall be limited in the prescribed manner (if any). 
(2) The rent as fixed or varied under sub-section (1) shall be payable by the said Raiyat 
from the commencement of the agricultural year following the year in which the order is 
passed, and may be recovered in any suit instituted against him for arrears of rent. 
(3) Nothing in this Section shall bar the right of a Raiyat to claim at any time under 
Section 34 a reduction of the rent previously paid by him. 
30. Power to di rect g radual enhancement - Where the Deputy Commissioner 
considers that the immediate enforcement of the full enhancement ordered under 
Section 29 is likely to be attended with hardship, he may direct that the enhancement
shall be gradual; that is to say, that the rent shall increase yearly by degrees, for any 
number of years not exceeding five, until the limit of the full enhancement has been 
reached. 
 
Increase o

Excerpt shown. Open the full act in Lexace.

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