LexThe Maharashtra Kauli and Katuban Tenures (Abolition) Act.
Maharashtra · state statute
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this act1953 : XLIV] 1
THE MAHARASHTRA KAULI AND KATUBAN TENURES
(ABOLITION) ACT
[Text as on 31st January 2024]
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CONTENTS
PREAMBLE.
SECTIONS.
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Resumption of kauls.
4. Liability of kauli and katuban lands to land revenue.
5. Waste lands, etc., to vest in State Government.
6. Forest rights.
7. Method of compensation on abolition of rights under the kauli and katuban land.
8. No compensation on account of land being made liable to payment of full assessment.
9. Amount of compensation to be payable in transferable bonds.
10. Appeal.
11. Limitation.
12. Court fee.
13. Finality of award of Collector and decision of Tribunal.
14. Inquiries and proceedings to be judicial proceedings.
15. Rules.
2 The Maharashtra Kauli and Katuban Tenures [1953 : XLIV
(Abolition) Act
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(Abolition) Act
LIST OF AMENDMENT ACTS
1. Adapted and modified by the Bombay Adaptation of Laws (State and Concurrent subjects)
Order, 1956.
2. Amended by Mah. 24 of 2012
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(Abolition) Act
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(Abolition) Act
ACT No. XLIV OF 19531
[THE MAHARASHTRA KAULI AND KATUBAN TENURES (ABOLITION) ACT.]
[This Act received the assent of the President on the 13th June 1953; assent
was first published in the “Bombay Government Gazette”, Part IV, on the
22nd June 1953.]
An Act to abolish kauli and katuban tenures in the State of Bombay.
WHEREAS certain lands in the Kolaba, Kolhapur and Ratangiri Districts of the State of Bombay
are held on kauli and katuban tenures ;
AND WHEREAS it is expedient to abolish the said tenures, to extinguish the rights and incidents
of the said tenures and to make provision for other consequential and incidental matters hereinafter
appearing ; It is hereby enacted as follow :—
1. Short ti tle, extent and commencement .— (1) This Act may be called 2[the Maharashtra
Kauli and Katuban Tenures (Abolition) Act].
(2) It extends to the districts of Kolaba, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri in the State of Bombay.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the
Offical Gazette, direct.
2. Definitions.— In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,—
(a) “Code” means the Bombay 3and Revenue Code, 1879 (Bom. V of 1879);
(b) “ Collector” includes an Officer appointed by t he State Government to per form the
functions and exercise the powers of the Collector under this Act ;
(c) “Kaul or Katuban lease” means a lease or an agreement under which a kauli or katuban
land is held, as the case may be ;
(d) “ Kaul-holder” means a person holding kauli or katuban land under a kaul or katuban
lease ;
(e) “Kauli or Katuban land” means land held on kauli or katuban tenure ;
(f) “Permanent holder” means the holder of kauli or katuban land to whom such land has
been lawfully transferred as a purchaser or who lawfully holds such land as dhara land or on
payment of fixed rent or assessment ;
(g) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act ;
(h) “Tribunal” means the Bombay Revenue Tribunal constituted under the Bombay
Revenue Tribunal Act, 1939 (Bom. XII of 1939).
3. Resumption of kauls.— With effect from the date on which this Act comes into force,—
(1) all kaul and katuban leases are hereby cancelled ;
(2) save as expressly provided by this Act, all terms and conditions of the said leases and all
incidents thereunder shall be deemed to have been extinguished ; and
(3) any tax known as a tree tax leviable in respect of any kauli or katuban land is hereby
abolished.
1 For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Bombay Government Gazette, 1953, Part V, P. 154.
2 This short title was amended as “the Maharashtra Kauli and Katuban tenure (Abolition) Act’’, by Mah. 24 of 2012, S-2
Schedule, entry No. 50, w.e.f. 1-5-1960.
3 Now see Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 (Mah. XLI of 1966).
6 The Maharashtra Kauli and Katuban Tenures [1953 : XLIV
(Abolition) Act
4. Liability of kauli and katuban lands to land revenue. — Notwithstanding anything
contained in a kaul, a katuban lease, a decree or order of a court or any other instrument or any law for
the time being in force,—
(a) all kauli and katuban lands are and shall be liable to the payment of land revenue to the
State Government in accordance with the provisions of the Code and the rules made
thereunder ; and
(b) (i) a kaul-holder in respect of kauli or katuban land which is in his actual possession or is
in the possession of any person who holds the same through or under him and who is not a
permanent holder ; or
(ii) a permanent holder ;
shall be primarily liable to the State Government for the payment of land revenue due in res pect
of such land held by him and shall be entitled to all the rights, and shall be liable to all the
obligations, in respect of such land under the Code and the rules made thereunder or any other
law for the time being in force.
5. Waste lands, etc., to vest in State Government.— (a) All waste lands which under the terms
of the kaul or katuban lease are the property of the kaul holder but have not been appropriated or
brought under cultivation before the 4th March, 1953 ;
(b) all other kinds of property referred to in section 37 of the Code situate in kauli or
katuban land which is not the property of any individual or an aggregate of persons legally
capable of holding property other than the kaul holder and except in so far as any rights of
persons may be established in or over the same and except as may be otherwise provided by any
law for the time being in force, together with all rights in or over the same or
appertaining thereto ;
are, and are hereby declared to be, the property of the State Government and it shall be
lawful to dispose of and sell the same by the authority, in the manner and for the purposes
prescribed in section 37 or 38 of the Code, as the case may be.
6. Forest rights. — The rights to trees reserved by the Code, the Indian Forest Act,
1927 (XVI of 1927), or any other law for the time being in force shall vest in the State Government and
nothing in this Act shall affect the right of the State Government to apply the provisions of the Indian
Forest Act, 1927 (XVI of 1927), as in force 1[in the pre-Reorganisation State of Bombay, excluding the
transferred territories] to forests in any kauli or katuban land.
27. Method of compensation on abolition of rights under the kauli or katuban land. — (1) If
the kaul-holder or any person claiming through or under him is aggrieved by any of the provisions of
this Act as extinguishing or modifying any of his right in any property and if such kaul -holder or
1 These words were substituted for the words “in the State” by the Bombay Adaptations of Laws (State and Concurrent
Subject) Order, 1956.
2 Section 3 of Bom. 40 of 1956 reads as under :—
“3. Amounts of arrears of land revenue, etc., to be deducted from amount of compensation.—
(1) Notwithstanding any thing contained in any of the Land Tenure Abolition Acts, the amount awarded or otherwise
payable by the State Government to any person, as compensation under the provisions specified in column 2 of the First
Schedule of the Acts specified in column I thereof for the abolition, extinguishment or modification of the rights or
interest of such person in property, shall be payable to such person subject to the deductions therefrom as provided in
sub-section (2).
(2) From one-third of such amount, there shall be deducted and credited to the State Government,—
(a) all amounts of arrears o f land revenue, cesses or dues in respect of such property certified by the Collector to be due
from such person for any period prior to the relevant date;
(b) the whole or part of the amount of any loan advanced by the State Government together with inte rest thereon, if any,
which is certified by the Collector to be due for repayment on the relevant date ; and
(c) the amount of the occupancy price, if any, payable by such person to the State Government under the relevant
provisions of the Land Tenure Abolition Act applicable to such person.
(3) The provisions of the preceding sub -sections shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of the provisions of any
other law for the time being in force under which the amount to be deducted is recoverable”.
1953 : XLIV] The Maharashtra Kauli and Katuban Tenures 7
(Abolition) Act
person proves that the extinguishment or modification amount s to transference to public ownership of
his property, the kaul-holder or person may apply to the Collector for compensation.
(2) Such application shall be made in the form prescribed within six months from the date on
which this Act comes into force.
(3) The Collector shall, after holding a formal inquiry in the manner provided by the Code, award
such compensation as he deems reasonable and adequate :
Provided that , the amount of compensation for extinguishment of any right in any waste land
which under the terms of the kaul or katuban lease was the property of the kaul -holder shall be the
amount calculated at the rate of Rs. 25 per 100 acres of such land :
Provided further that , in the case of extinguishment or modification of any other right of a
kaul-holder or the right of any other person the Collector shall be guided by the provisions of
sub-section (1) of section 23 and section 24 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (I of 1894).
8. No compensation on account of land being made liable to payment o f full assessment. —
Nothing in section 7 shall entitle any person to compensation on the ground that any kauli or katuban
land held by him on payment of a fixed assessment or rent either in cash or in kind which is lower in
value than the full assessment payable in respect of such land in accordance with the provisions of the
Code has been, under the provisions of this Act, made subject to the payment of such full assessment.
9. Amount of compensation to be payable in transferable bonds. — The amount of
compensation payable under the provisions of this Act shall be payable in transferable bonds carrying
interest at the rate of three per cent. per annum from the date of the issue of such bonds and shall be
repayable during a period of twenty years from the date of the issue of such bonds by equated annual
instalments of principal and interest. The bonds shall be of such denominations and shall be in such
forms as may be prescribed.
10. Appeal. — (1) Any person aggrieved by the award of the C ollector may appeal to
the Tribunal.
(2) In deciding appeals under this section, the Tribunal shall exercise all the powers which a court
has and follow the same procedure which a court follows in deciding appeals from the decree or order
of an original court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 1908).
11. Limitation. — Every appeal under this Act to the Tribunal shall be filed within a period of
sixty days from the date of the award of the Collector. The provisions of sections 4,5,12 and 14 of the
Indian Limitation Act, 1908 (IX of 1908), shall apply to the filing of such appeal.
12. Court fee.— Notwithstanding anything contained in the Court-fees Act, 1870 (VII of 1870),
every appeal made under this Act to the Tribunal shall bear a Court fee stamp of such value as may be
prescribed.
13. Finality of award of Collect or and decision of Tribunal. — The award made by the
Collector subject to an appeal to the Tribunal and the decision of the Tribunal on appeal shall be final
and conclusive and shall not be questioned in any suit or proceeding in any Court.
14. Inquiries and proceedings to be judicial proceedings. — All inquiries and proceeding
before the Collector and the Tribunal under this Act shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within
the meaning of sections 193, 219 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (XLV of 1860).
15. Rules. — The State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette make rules for
the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act. Such rules shall be subject to the condition of
previous publication.