The Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955

Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 
1Rajasthan Act No. 3 of 1955 
 
Received the assent of the President on the 14th Day of March, 1955 
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to tenancies of 
agricultural lands, and to provide for certain measures of land reforms and 
matters connected therewith. 
Be it enacted by the Rajasthan State Legislature in Sixth year of the 
Republic of India as follows- 
CHAPTER I 
Preliminary 
1. Short title, extent and commencement-- (1) This Act may be called the 
Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955. 
 
    (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Rajasthan. 
 
    (3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, 
by notification in the Official Gazette appoint in this behalf. 
 
2. Omitted. 
 
3. Repeal— (I) On and from the coming into force of this Act, the following 
shall stand repealed, namely:— 
(a) the enactment mentioned in Column 2 of the Fist Schedule to the 
extent specified in Column 3 thereof; 
(b) any corresponding laws, other than the ena ctments referred to in 
clause (a) , hitherto in force in any of the Covenanting States in so far 
as such laws are covered by or are inconsistent with the provisions of 
this Act, and 
(c) any laws amending the enactments or laws referred to in the 
preceding clauses of this sub-section. 
 
1 Notification no. F.12(17)L, dated 21-03-1955  
(2) Nothing contained in any Act, Ordinance, regulation, rule, order, 
resolution, notification or bye-laws not repealed hereby or by the Rajasthan 
Revenue Laws (Extension) Act, 1957 or in the terms or conditions of any 
order or  instrument granting, or recognising the grant of a Jagir or 
Zamindari or Biswedari rights which is contrary to or inconsistent with the 
provisions of this Act, shall be operative or in any way affect those 
provisions. 
 
(3) Any custom or usage relating to agricultural tenancies prevailing at 
the commencement of this Act in any part of the pre -recognisation State of 
Rajasthan except the Sironj area at the commencement of the Rajasthan 
Revenue Laws (Extension) Act, 1957, in the Abu, Ajmer or Sunel area, and 
having the force of law, shall, if such custom or usage is repugnant to or 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, cease to be operative to the 
extent of such repugnancy or inconsistency. 
 
(4) The provisions of any agreement relating to agricultural t enancies; 
existing and operative at such commencement, which are repugnant to or 
inconsistent with, the provisions of this Act, shall, subject to such savings 
as are- elsewhere Provided in this Act or in the Rajasthan Revenue Laws 
(Extension) Act, 1957, be come void and cease to be operative to extent 
such repugnancy or inconsistency. 
 
24. Omitted. 
 
5. Definitions— In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— 
(1) "agricultural year" shall mean the year commencing on the first day 
of July and ending on the thirtieth day of June next following; 
(2) "Agriculture" shall include horticulture, 3 {Cattle breeding, dairy 
farming,4{ Poultry farming and forestry development.} 
(3) "Agriculturist" shall mean a person who by himself or by servants 
or tenants earns his livelihood wholly or principally by agriculture. 
 
2 Omitted vide Raj. Act no. 2 year 1958 
3 Amended vide Act No. 11 of 1978.  
4 Substituted vide the Act No. 23 of 1987. 
(4) "Assistant Collector" shall mean an Assistant Collector appointed 
under the Rajasthan Territorial Divisions Ordinance, 1949, or under 
any other law for the time being in force; 
5(5) "Biswedar" shall mean a person on whom a village or portion of a 
village in any part of the State is setelled on the Biswedari system and 
who is recorded as Biswedar or as an owner in the record of rights 
and shall include a Khatedar in the Ajmer area; 
(6) "Board" shall mean the Board of revenue for the State established 
and constituted under the Rajasthan Board of Revenue Ordinance, 
1949. or under any other law for the time being in force; 
(6A) "Ceiling area" [x x x ] 
(7) "Collector" shall mean a Collec tor or an Additional Collector 
appointed under the Rajasthan Territorial Divisions Ordinance, 1949, 
or under any other law for the time being in force; 
(8) "Commissioner" shall mean the Commissioner of a Division and 
shall include an Additional Commissioner. 
(9) "Crops" shall include shrubs, bushes, plants and climbers such as 
rose bushes, plants, mehendi bushes plantains and papittas, but shall 
not include fodder and natural produce. 
(10) "Estate" shall mean Jagir land or interest in Jagir land held by a 
Jagirdar and shall include land or interest in land held by a Biswedar. 
or a Zamindar; or a Land owner. 
(11) "Estate holder"  shall mean the holder for the time being of an 
estate, that is to say, a Jagirdar, a Biswedar or a Zamindar; or a Land 
owner. 
(11-A) "Existing Jagir Law"  shall mean any Act, Ordinance, 
Regulation, rule, order, resolution, notification or bye -law relating to 
 
5 Subs. By part A of the First Schedule to Raj. Act No. 2 of 1958.  
Jagir Lands or Jagirdars in force in the whole or any part of the State 
at the commencement of this Act and shall include— 
(a) any custom or usage or relating to such Jagir land or Jagirdars 
prevailing at the commencement of this Act in the whole or any 
part of the State and having the force of law, and 
(b) the terms and conditions contained in any order or instrument 
granting or recognising the grant of Jagir lands; 
(11-B) "fragment" shall mean a piece of land less in area than the 
minimum preScribed by the State Government; 
(12) "Grant" shall mean a grant or a right to hold land or interest in land 
in any part of the St-Ate and the person to whom such right is granted 
shall be called the 'grantee' thereof; 
(13) "Grant at a favourable rate of rent" shall mean a grant in any part 
of the State at a rent which is less than the rent thereof, calculated in 
accordance with the sanctioned rent rates and which is, in accordance 
with the terms of the grant, not liable to variation under Chapter IX; 
and the holder of such a grant shall be called a 'grantee at a 
favourable rate' which expression shall also include concessional 
holder in the Sunel area; 
(14) Omitted. 
(15) "Grove-land" shall mean any specific piece of land in any part of 
the State having trees planted thereon in such numbers that they 
preclude, or where full grown, will preclude, such land or any 
considerable portion thereof from being used primarily for any other 
agricultural purpose and the trees so planted shall constitute a grove. 
(16) "High Court" shall mean the High Court for the State of Rajasthan; 
(17) "Holding" shall mean a parcel or parcels of land, held under one 
lease, engagement or, in the absence of such lease, engagement or 
grant, under one tenure and shall include, in the case of an Ijaradar or 
Thekadar, the ijara or theka area: 
Provided that, for the purposes of Chapter III -B, all parcels of 
land held anywhere throughout the State by a person under one or 
more than one lease, engagement, grant or tenure, and whether 
cultivated personally or let or sub -let by him, shall be deemed to be 
his holding and, where any such land is held by more then one 
person as co -tenants or co -sharers, the share of each of them shall 
be deemed to be his separate holding whether a division thereof has 
or has not actually taken place; 
(18) "Ijara or Theka"  shall mean a farm or lease granted for the 
collection of rent, the area to which an Ijara or Theka relates shall be 
called the "Ijara or Theka area" And an "Ijaradar" or "Thekadar" shall 
mean the person to whom an Ijara or Theka is granted; 
(19) "Improvement" shall mean, with reference to a tenant's holding- 
(a) a dwelling house erecte d. on the holding by the tenant for his 
own occupation or a cattle -shed or a storehouse or any other 
construction for agricultural purposes erected or set up by him on 
his holding; 
(b) any work which adds materially to the value of the holding and 
which is consistent with the purpose for which it was let; and 
subject to the foregoing provisions of his clause, shall include 
(1) The construction of bunds, tanks, wells, water channels and 
other work for the storage, supply or distribution of water for 
agricultural purposes, 
(2) the construction of works for the drainage of land for its 
protection from floods or from erosion or from other damage 
by water, 
(3) the reclaiming, clearing, enclosing, levelling or terracing of 
land, 
(4) the erection in the imm ediate vicinity of the holding, 
otherwise than on the village -site, of building required for 
the convenient or profitable use or occupation of the 
holding. 
(5) the renewal or reconstruction of any of the foregoing 
works or such alteration therein or additi ons thereto as are 
not of the nature of mere repairs; 
but shall not include such temporary wells, water channels, bunds, 
enclosures or other works as are made by tenants in the ordinary 
course of cultivation. 
(20) Omitted. 
(21) "Jagirdar" shall mean any person holding Jagir land or any interest 
therein in any part of the State and recognised as a Jagirdar under 
any existing Jagir Law and shall include a grantee of Jagir land from a 
Jagirdar; 
(22) "Jagir land" shall mean land in any part of the State in whic h or in 
relation to which a Jagirdar has rights in respect of land revenue or 
any other kind of revenue and shall include— 
(a) land held in the pre-reorganisation State of Rajasthan other than 
the Sironj area on any of the tenure; specified in the Second 
Schedule, 
(b) land, if any, held in the Abu area as Jagir as defined in clause 
(vi) of subsection (1) of section 2 of the Bombay Merged 
Territories and Areas (Jagir Abolition) Act, 1953 (Bombay Act 39 
of 1954). 
(c) land, if any, held in the Ajmer area as an  estate as defined in 
clause (v) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Ajmer Abolition of 
Intermediaries and Land Reforms Act, 1955 (Ajmer Act HI , 1955) 
that is to say, as an Istmrari estat, or as Jagir, Bhum, Muafi or 
Guzara or by a minor Istmradar or a non-Sanadi Istmrardar, and 
(d) Jagir land as defined in clause (vii) of sub -section (2) of the 
Madhya Bharat Abolition of Jagirs, Act, Samvat 2008 (Madhya 
Bharat Act 28 of 1951) , if any, held in the Sunel area; 
(e) land or interest in land held by a Land owner. 
(23) "Khudkasht" shall mean land in any part of the State cultivated 
personally by in estate holder and shall include 
(i) land recorded as Khudkasht, Sir, Havala, Niji -jot, Gharkhed in 
settlement records at the commencement of this Act in 
accordance with law in force at the time when such record was 
made, and 
(ii) land allotted after such commencement as Khudkasht under any 
law for the time-being. in force in any part of the State. 
(24) "land" shall mean land which is let or held for agricultural purposes 
or for purposes subservient thereto or as grove land or for pasturage, 
including land occupied by houses or enclosures situated on a 
holding, or land covered with water which may be used for the 
purpose of irrigation or growing singha ra or other similar produce but 
excluding abadi land; it shall include benefits to arise out of land and 
things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything 
attached to earth. 
(25) "land cultivated personally"  with all its grammatical variatio ns 
and cognate expressions, shall mean land cultivated on one's own 
account— 
(i) by one's own labour, or 
(ii) by the labour of any member of one's family, or 
(iii) under the personal supervision of oneself or any member of 
one's family by hired labour or b y servants on wages payable in 
cash or in kind but not by way of a share in crop: 
Provided that in the case of a person who is a widow or a minor or is 
subject to any physical or mental disability or is a member of the 
Military, Naval or Air Services of In dia or who, being a student of an 
educational institution recognised by the State Government is below 
the age of twenty -five years, land shall be deemed to be cultivated 
personally even in the absence of such personal supervision. 
(25-A) Land Owner —shall m ean the Ruler of a Covenanting State in 
Rajasthan holding an estate, as defined in clause (b) of section 2 of 
the Rajasthan Land Reforms and Acquisition of Landowner's Estate 
Act, 1963 (Rajasthan Act 11 of 1964) under and in accordance with 
the Settlement of his personal or private properties made in 
pursuance of the covenant and finally approved by the Central 
Government. 
(26) "land-holder" shall mean the person (in any part of the State, by 
whatever name designated) to whom rent is, or, but for a contract , 
express or implied, would be, payable and shall include 
(i)an estate-holder, 
(ii) a grantee at a favourable rate of rent, 
(iii) in the case of a sub -lease, the tenant-in chief who has sublet or 
his mortgagee, 
(iv) for the purposes of Chanter IX' and X, and ijaradar or Thekadar, 
and 
(v) generally every person who is a superior holder, in relation t;) 
persons holding directly from or under him; 
(26-A) "Landless person"  shall mean an agriculturist by profession 
who cultivates or can reasonably be expected to  cultivate land 
personally but who does not hold any land, whether in his own name 
or in the name of any member of his joint family, or holds a fragment; 
(26-AA) "Malik" means a Zamindar or a Biswedar who;upon the vesting 
of his estate in the State Governm ent under the Rajasthan Zamindari 
and Biswedari Abolition Act, 1959, becomes, under section 29 thereof, 
the Malik of the Khudkasht land by him; 
(26-B) "Member of the Military, Naval or Air Services of 
India" or "member of the Armed Force of the Union"  shall include 
a member of the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary. 
(27) "Occupied land"  shall mean land which for the time being has 
been let out to, and is in the occupation of, a tenant and shall include 
khudkasht, and  "unoccupied land"  shall mean land which is not  
occupied; 
(28) "Pasture land" shall mean land used for the grazing of the cattle of 
a village or villages or recorded in settlement records as such at the 
commencement of this Act or thereafter reserve as such in 
accordance with rules framed by the State Government; 
(29) "Pay" with all its grammatical variations and cognate expression, 
shall, when used with reference to rent, include "deliver" with all its 
grammatical variations and cognate expressions; 
(30) "Prescribed" shall mean prescribed by rules made under this Act; 
(31) "Registered" shall mean registered under the Indian Registration 
Act, 1908 (Central Act XVI of 1908) and shall include "attested" under 
the provisions of section 33 of this Act; 
(32) "Rent" shall mean whatever is in cash or in kind or  partly in cash 
and partly in kind payable on account of the use of (he occupation of 
land or on account of any right in land and, unless the contrary 
intention appears, shall include sayer, 
(33) Omitted. 
(34) "Revenue" shall mean land revenue, that is to say, the annual 
demand payable directly to the State Government on any account 
whatsoever in respect of and or of any interest in or use of land and 
shall include assigned land revenue; 
(34-A) "Revenue appellate authority" shall mean the officer appointed 
as such authority under section 20A of the Rajasthan Land Revenue 
Act, 1956 (Rajasthan Act 15 of 1956) ; 
(35) "Revenue Court"  shall mean a court or an officer having 
jurisdiction to entertain suits or other proceedings relating to 
agricultural tenancies, profits and other matters, connected with land 
or any right or interest in land, wherein such court or officer is required 
to act judicially; it shall include the Board and every member thereof, a 
revenue appellate authority, a Collector, a Sub -Divisional Officer, an 
Assistant Collector, a Tehsildar or any other revenue officer while so 
acting; 
(36) "Revenue Officer"  shall mean any officer employed in the 
business of revenue and rent or in maintaining revenue records; 
(37) "Sayar" shall include whatever is to be paid by a lessee or licensee 
on account of the right to gather from unoccupied land such produce 
as grass, thatching grass, wood, fuel, fruits lac, gum, long; pala, 
panni, water -nuts or the like or such refuse as bones or dung lying 
scattered on the surface or on account of fisheries of forest rights or 
the use of water for irrigation purposes from artificial sources; 
(37-A) "Scheduled caste" shall mean any of the castes, races or tribes 
or members of, groups within, the castes or tribes, spe cified in Part 
XIV of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950. 
(37-B) "Scheduled tribe" means any of the tribes, tribal communities or 
parts of or groups within the tribes or tribal communities, specified in 
Part XII of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950; 
(38) "Settlement" shall mean settlement or resettlement of rent or 
revenue or both and shall include a summary settlement under the 
Rajasthan Lands Summary Settlement Act, 1953 (Rajasthan Act XIX 
of 1953) ; 
(39) "State" shall mean the State of Rajasthan as formed by section 10 
of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (Central Act 37 of 1956) ; 
(40) "Sub-Divisional Officer" shall mean an Assistant Collector placed 
incharge of one or more sub -divisions under the Rajasthan Territorial 
Divisions Ordinance, 1949, or under any other law for the time being 
in force; and includes for the purpose of Chapter III -B, an Assistant 
Collector in respect of all the subdivisions in the district where he is 
posted for the time being. 
(41) "Sub-tenant" shall mean a person in any part of the State by 
whatever name designated who holds land from the tenant thereof 
including a Malik or a tenant from a land owner and by whom rent is or 
but for a contract express or implied would be, payable; 
(42) "Tehsildar" shall mean Tehsildar appointed under the Rajasthan 
Territorial Divisions Ordinances, 1949, or under any other law for the 
time being in force; 
(43) "Tenant" shall mean the person by whom rent is, or, but for a 
contract, express or implied, would be, payable and , except when the 
contrary intention appear, shall include- 
(a) in the Abu area, a permanent tenant or a protected tenant. 
(b) In the Ajmer area, an ex -proprietary tenant or an occupancy 
tenant or a hereditary tenant or a non -occupancy tenant or a 
Bhooswami or a Kashtkar, 
(c) In this Sunel area, an ex -proprietary tenant or a pakka tenant or 
an ordinary tenant. 
(d) a co-tenant, 
(e) a grove-holder, 
(f) a village servant, 
(ff) a tenant holding from a land owner, 
(g) a tenant of Khudkasht, 
(h) a mortgagee of tenancy rights, and 
(i) a sub-tenant, 
but shall not include a grantee at a favourable rate of rent or an Ijaredar 
or thekadar or a trespasser; 
(44) "Trespasser" shall mean a person who takes or retains 
possession of and without authority or who prevents another person 
from occupying land duly let out to him; 
(45) "Village service grant" shall mean a grant in any part of the State, 
by whatsoever name designated and either rent -free or at a 
favourable rate of rent, or on other terms made in lieu of  or as 
remuneration for some specific service to be performed to the village 
community 'or in the village administration, and the holder of such 
grant shall be called a "village servant". 
(46) "Zamindar" shall means a person on whom a village or portion of a 
village in any part of the State is settled on the Zamindari system and 
who is recorded as such in the record of rights and shall include a 
proprietor as defined in clause (a) of section 2 of the Madhya Bharat 
Zamindari Abolition Act, Samvat 2001 (Madhy a Bharat Act 13 of 
1951) , if any, in the Sunel area; 
(47) "Nalbat" shall mean a payment in cash or in kind to the owner of a 
well by some person for using that well for irrigation. 
6. Possessors of rights, etc. include their predecessors and 
Successors— All words and expressions used in this Act to denote the 
person in possession of any right, title or interest in land shall unless the 
context otherwise requires, be deemed to include the predecessors and 
successors in rights, title or interest of such person. 
 
7. Applicability of the Act to State Government — In respect of land held 
by tenants directly from the State Government the provisions of this Act 
shall apply, unless expressly provided otherwise; as if the State 
Government were the land holder acting through the Tehsildar. 
 
8. Power to act through agent — (1) Save as otherwise provided by the 
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, (Central Act V of 1908) , in the case of 
proceedings governed by that Code, anything which is by this Act required 
or permitted to b e done by a landholder or a tenant may be done by his 
agent duly authorised in the manner prescribed and, in the absence of 
evidence of a contrary intention, such agent shall, in all dealings between a 
landholder and a tenant, be deemed to be acting under the authority of his 
principal 
 
(2) Processes served on and notices given to such agent shall be as 
effectual for all purposes as if t: e same were served on or given to the 
landholder or the tenant, as the case may be, in person, and all the 
provisions of this Act relating to the service of process on, or the giving of 
notices to a party shall be applicable to the service of processes on or the 
giving of notices to such agent. 
CHAPTER II 
Khudkasht 
9. Khudkasht right — 'Khudkasht right' means the rights conferred on 
holders of Khudkasht by this Act and by 6 [any other law for the time being 
in force in the whole or any part of the State]. 
 
10. Succession and transfer — (1) Khudkasht right shall evolve upon the 
person who succeeds to the estate of an estate holder. 
 
(2) Khudkasht right is not transferable except by exchange or by partition of 
the Khudkasht or by gift for the purpose of maintenance: 
 
7{Provided that nothing herein contained shall affect a transfer of 
Khudkasht right, lawfully made in the 8{Abu, Ajmer and Sunel areas} before 
the commencement of the Rajasthan Revenue Laws (Extension) Act, 1957 
otherwise than in the manner permitted by this sub-section.} 
 
(3) On exchange each party shall have the same right in the land received 
in exchange as it had in the land given by it in exchange. 
 
11. Restriction on letting of Khudkasht  — No Khudkasht shall be let 
except as provided in sections 45 and 46. 
 
12. Extinction of Khudkasht right — (I) Land shall cease to be 
Khudkasht- 
(i) upon failure of successor to the holder thereof, or 
(ii) upon transfer thereof in contravention of sub -section (2) of Section 
10, or 
(iii) when it is let in contravention of section 1 1 , or 
(iv) when Khatedari rights accrue therein under the provisions of this Act 
or under any other law for the time being  in force to any person other 
than the Khudkashtholder, or 
 
6 Substituted and inserted by part A of the First Schedule in Raj  Act No. 2 of 1958.  
7 Added by Part A of the first Schedule to Raj. Act No. 2 of 1958 
8 Inserted by Raj. Act No. 46 of 1956. 
(v) upon the holder of Khudkasht becoming a Khatedar tenant under 
section 13. 
(2) Where land is transferred in contravention of sub -section (2) of 
section-  13 the transferee shall become a Khatedar tenant thereof. 
 
913. Khatedari rights upon resumption or abolition— On the resumption 
or abolition of an estate under any law in force in the whole or any part of 
the State, the estate -holder holding Khudkasht shall become a Khatedar 
tenant thereof and shall be entitled to all the rights conferred, and be 
subject to all the liabilities imposed, on a khatedar tenant by or under this 
Act; 
 
Provided that the Zamindar or Biswedar holding Khudkasht land on 
the abolition of this estate under the Raj. Zamindari and Biswedari Abolition 
Act, 1959, shall become the Malik of such Khudkasht land and shall be 
entitled to all the rights conferred and be subject to all the liabilities 
imposed on a Khatedar tenant by or under this Act. 
CHAPTER III 
Classes of Tenants 
14. Classes of tenants — For the purposes of this Act, there shall be the 
following classes of tenants, namely: 
(a) Khatedar tenants, (aa) Maliks, and 
(b) Tenants of Khudkasht, and 
(c) Gair Khatedar tenants. 
15. Khatedar tenants — (1) Subject to th e provisions of section 16 and 
clause (d) of Sub -section (1) of section 180 every person who, at the 
commencement of this Act, is a tenant of land otherwise than as a sub -
tenant or a tenant of Khudkasht or who is, after the commencement of this 
Act, admitt ed as a tenant otherwise than a sub -tenant or tenant of 
Khudkasht or an allottee of land under, and in accordance with, rules made 
under section 101 of the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956 (Rajasthan 
Act 15 of 1956) or who acquires Khatedari rights in acco rdance with 
provisions of this Act or of the Rajasthan Land Reforms and Resumption of 
Jagir Act, 1952 (Rajasthan Act VI of 1952) or of any other law for the time 
 
9 Substituted and inserted by part A of the First Schedule in Raj  Act No. 2 of 1958.  
being in force shall be a Khatedar tenant and shall, subject to the provision 
of this Act be e ntitled to all the rights conferred; and be subject to all the 
liabilities imposed on Khatedar tenants by this Act: 
 
Provided that no Khatedari rights shall accrue under this section to 
any tenant, to whom land is or has been let out temporarily in Gang Canal, 
Bhakra, Chambal or Jawai project area or any other area notified in this 
behalf by the State Government. 
 
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub -section (1) Khatedari 
rights shall not accrue there under to any person to whom land had bee n 
let out before the commencement of this Act by the State Government in 
furtherance of the Grow More Food Campaign or under some special order 
subject to some specified conditions or in pursuance of some statutory or 
non-statutory rules and who shall have, before such commencement, made 
a default in securing the objective of such campaign or a breach of any 
such order, condition or rule. 
 
(3) Any person referred to in sub -section (2) may, within three years 
from the date of commencement of this Act and on payment of a court -fee 
of twenty five naye paise apply to the Assistant Collector having jurisdiction 
praying for a declaration that acquired Khatedari right under sub-section (1) 
in the land held by him. 
 
(4) Such application may be made on any of the following grounds, 
namely: 
(a) that the land held by him was let out to him after the" 
commencement of this Act. 
(b) that it was not let out to him in any of the circumstances specified in 
sub-section (2). 
(c) that when the - land was so let out to him he w as not apprised of 
such circumstances. 
(d) that he had, before such commencement made no default or breach 
of the nature specified in sub-section (2). 
(5) The Assistant Collector shall, upon the presentation of an application 
under sub -section (3), make in quiry in the prescribed manner and afford 
reasonable opportunity to the applicant of being heard and shall, if he does 
not reject the application , declare the applicant to have become Khatedar 
tenant of his holding in accordance with and subject to the provisions of the 
subsection (I). 
 
1015A. Khatedari rights not to accrue in Indira Gandhi Canal Area — (1) 
Notwithstanding anything contained in section 13 or in sub -section (1) of 
section 15 of this Act to in any other law for the time being in force, or in 
any lease, Patta or other document, land in the Indira Gandhi Canal area 
leased out on any terms what ever shall be deemed to have been let out 
temporarily with in the meaning of the proviso to the said sub -section of the 
said section 15 of this Act and no  Khatedari rights shall accrue or shall be 
deemed ever to have accrued in any such land leased out as aforesaid. 
 
Provided that nothing in sub -section (1) shall affect or apply to any 
person to whom Khatedari rights shall accrue in accordance with the 
provision of the Rajasthan Colonisation (General Colony) Conditions, 1955 
or any other Statement of Conditions or Rules of Allotment and Sale of 
Government land made in exercise of the power conferred by section 7 of 
the Rajasthan Colonisation Act, 1954 (Rajasthan Act 27, 1954) or the rules 
for allotment of land for Khudkasht in the Rajasthan Canal area made 
under the Rajasthan Land Reforms and Resumption of Jagirs Act, 1952 
(Rajasthan Act 6 of 1952). 
 
(2) Any person claiming that he possesses and is in enjoyme nt of 
Khatedari rights in any land referred to in sub -section (1) because such 
land had been let out to him permanently before the commencement of this 
Act may within four years from the date of such commencement and on 
payment of a court fee of twenty -five naya paise apply to the Assistant 
Collector having jurisdiction, praying for a declaration to that effect and the 
provisions of sub-section (5) of section 15 shall apply to such application. 
 
1115AA. Non -accrual of Khatedari rights in Chambal Project Are a in 
certain cases. — (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any lease, 
assessment Parcha, Patta or other document no Khatedari right shall be 
deemed ever to have accrued to person holding land within the Chambal 
Irrigation Project area. 
 
 
10  
11 Inserted by sec 2 of Raaj. Act No. 12 of 1961, publisehed on 05-04-61. 
(2) Nothing in sub -section (1) shall affect or apply to any person who 
had since before the commencement of this Act, heritable and transferable 
rights under the tenancy laws of the former Kota State or the former Bundi 
State Or to whom Khatedari rights may ha ve accrued under section 13 or 
section 19 of this Act or under and in accordance with the provisions of the 
Rajasthan Colonisation (Chambal Project ((government Land Allotment and 
Sale) Rules, 1957; or under or in pursuance of the Rajasthan Land 
Reforms and Resumption of Jagirs Act, 1952 (Rajasthan Act 6 of 1952), or 
the Rajasthan Zamindari and Biswedari Abolition Act, 1959 (Rajasthan Act 
8 of 1959). 
 
1215AAA. Accrual of Khatedari Rights in the Indira Gandhi Canal 
area— (1) Notwithstanding anything containe d in Section 15 -A,krty person 
who, at the commencement of this Act— 
(a) was a holder 'of Khudkasht or an occupancy tenant or a Maurusidar 
or a Khatedar tenant or a tenant with transferable and heritable rights 
and was recorded as such in the annual registers then current, or 
(b) was not so recorded, but was a holder of Khudkasht or an 
occupancy tenant or a Maurusidar or a Khatedar tenant or a tenant 
with transferable and heritable rights, 
shall, as from the date of the commence -ment of this Act, be e ntitled to all 
the rights, and subject to all the liabilities, of a Khatedar tenant under this 
Act. 
(2) Every person claiming that the rights mentioned in clause (b) of 
sub-section (I) accured to him shall, within one year of the commencement 
of the Rajasthan Tenancy (Amendment) Act. 1979 and on the payment of a 
court fee of fifty paisa, apply to the Assistant Collector having jurisdiction, 
or to any other authority as may be prescribed by the State Government 
from time to time, for a declaration that he ac quired Khatedari rights under 
clause (b) of sub -section (1) in the land held by him and the provisions of 
sub-section (5) section 15 shall apply to such application. 
 
13 (2-A) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 15 -A, any 
person who was a holder o f Khudkasht or a tenant of land otherwise than 
as a sub -tenant or a tenant of Khudkasht within the Indira Gandhi Canal 
 
12 Inserted by sec 2 of Raj. Act No. 16 of 1969, published on 29-12-79. 
13 Inserted vide S.4(b) of the Act No.22 of 1992, W.e.f 11-08-87. 
area, whether recorded as such at the commencement of this Act or 
subsequently in the record of rights, prepared during the survey or re -
survey and record operations conducted under sections 106 and 107 of the 
Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956 (Rajasthan Act No. 15 of 1956), shall 
be entitled to all the rights, and be subject to all the liabilities, of a Khatedar 
tenant under this Act, with respect to the whole or such part of the land held 
as does not exceed the maximum area of land which he is entitled to hold 
in accordance with the provisions of the Rajasthan Imposition of Ceiling on 
Agricultural Holdings Act, 1973 (Rajasthan Act No. 11 of 1973). 
 
14(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section ;I) of section 15-
A and save or otherwise provided in sub -section (I)any person who, at the 
commencement of this Act,— 
(a) was a tenant of land or otherwise than as a sub -tenant or a tenant of 
Khudkasht and was recorded as such in the annual registers then 
current, or 
(b) was not so recorded, but was a tenant of land otherwise than as a 
sub tenant or tenant of Khudkasht, 
and was in continuous possession of the land as such tenant upto the date  
of commencement of the Rajasthan Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 1983, 
shall, on an application being made in such form and in such manner as 
may be prescribed to the Assistant Collector having jurisdiction or to any 
other officer or authority authorised by the State Government in this behalf, 
within 1426 days of the date of commencement of the Rajasthan Tenancy 
(Amendment) Act, 1983 i.e. upto 30th June 1987 and be granted Khatedari 
rights in respect of the land in his tenancy upto the limit of the area which 
can be held by him under the provisions of the Rajasthan Imposition of 
Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act, 1973 (Rajasthan Act 11 of 1973), 
provided he pays to the State Government the reserve price for the land 
held by him in excess of 25 bighas of irrigat ed or 50 bighas of un -irrigated 
land and upto the said limit at the rate prescribed under section 7 read with 
section 28 of the Rajasthan Colonisation Act, 1954 (Rajasthan Act 27 of 
1954) and in force on the date of commencement of Rajasthan Tenancy 
(Amendment) Act, 1983. 
 
 
14 Added by Raj. Act No. 11 of 1983, published on 14-09-83. 
Provided that the State Government may, on being satisfied that it is 
necessary or expedient to do so, extend by notification the period beyond 
30th June, 1987, not exceeding six months, up t.) we day as deemed fit. 
Explanation I — For the purpose of grant of Khatedari rights under 
this subsection, the expression 'tenant' shall include his successor -in-
interest but shall not include his transferee. 
Explanation II— where there are two or more co-tenants in a holding 
on the date of commenceme nt of the Rajasthan Tenancy( Amendment) 
Act, 1983, all such co -tenants shall, for the purpose of grant of Khatedari 
rights with respect to the area of land for which no reserve price is to be 
charged, be deemed to be the sole tenant in that area of the holding. 
 
(4) subject to such rules as may be made by the State Government, 
the reserve price payable under sub -section (3) may be paid by the tenant 
in sixteen equal instalments of which the first instalment shall be paid along 
with the application under the  said sub -section and the remaining 
instalments shall, thereafter, be payable on the 1st day of January and 1st 
day of July of each succeeding year until the entire amount of reserve price 
is paid of: 
 
Provided that where water from the Indira Gandhi Canal is released 
for irrigation for the first time, after the commencement of the Rajasthan 
Tenancy (Amendment) Ordinance, 1984, to n e land in which Khatedari 
rights are granted under sub -section (3), the first instalment of Rs. 500/ - 
shall be paid along with the application under the said sub -section, and the 
remaining amount shall be payable in sixteen equal instalments on the 1st 
day of January and 1st day of July of each succeeding year after the expiry 
of two years from the date of release of water to such land for irrigation: 
 
Provided further that nothing in this sub -section shall preclude the 
tenant from making payment of the whole or part reserve price earlier than 
that provided in this sub-section 
 
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3), where a 
tenant pays to the State Government the entire reserve price in one lump 
sum within the period allowed for making an application under that sub -
section, the amount of reserve price payable by him shall be deemed to be 
25% less than that provided therein. 
 
(6) tenant who fails to pay the reserve price in accordance with sub -
section (4) or sub -section (5) shall not be entitled to the grant of Khatedari 
right under sub-section (3); 
 
(7) All applications made by persons, other than thos e referred to in 
sub-section (2) but falling within the preview of sub -section (3), before the 
date of commencement of the Rajasthan Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 1983 
for declaration of accrual of or for grant of Khatedari rights in the land held 
by them at the commencement of this Act and pending before the Assistant 
Collector or before any other authority prescribed by the State Government 
under sub-section (2) on such date, shall be treated as applications for the 
grant of Khatedari rights and be deemed to h ave been made under sub -
section (3) and shall be decided by the officer or authority mentioned in that 
sub-section in accordance with the provisions contained in sub -section (3) 
and sub-section (8). 
 
(8) Where a person claims himself to be a tenant of land  as is 
referred to in sub -section (3) but was not so recorded in the annual 
registers current at the commencement of this Act, the question whether he 
was such a tenant or not shall be decided on the basis of available 
evidence including the consensus opin ion of the Gram Sabha, comprising 
of all adult persons residing in the village where the land is situated, 
reduced into writing by the Assistant Collector or any other officer or 
authority competent under the said subsection to grant Khatedari rights. 
 
15B. Khatedar tenants in Abu, Ajmer & Sunel areas — Subject to the 
provisions contained in the proviso to sub -section (1) and in sub -section 
(2)to (5) of section 15 and in section 15 -A and further subject to the 
provisions of section 16 and clause (d) of sub -section (1) of section 180 
every person who, at the commencement of the Rajasthan Revenue Law 
(Extension) Act, 1957, is a tenant of land in the Abu, Ajmer or Sunel area 
otherwise than as a subtenant or a tenant of Khudkasht, shall be a 
khatedar tenant and s hall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be entitled 
to all the rights conferred, and be subject to all the liabilities imposed, on 
Khatedar tenants by this Act: 
 
Provided that if any such person shall have, before such 
commencement, acquired any statu s or property in pursuance of a right 
lawfully conferred on him in excess of the rights conferred, or incurred in 
accordance with law a liability in excess of the liability imposed on a 
Khatedar tenant by this Act, he shall, notwithstanding anything to the  
contrary in this Act, continue to hold and enjoy the status or property so 
acquired or to be subject to the liability so incurred. 
 
16. Land in which Khatedari rights shall not accrue — Notwithstanding 
anything in this Act or in any other law or enactment for the time being in 
force in any part of the State Khatedari rights shall not accrue in 
(i) pasture land; 
(ii) land used for casual or occasional cultivation in the bed of river or 
tank; 
(iii) land covered by water and used for the purpose of growing Singhara 
or other like produce; 
(iv) land under shifting or unstable cultivation; 
(v) land comprised in gardens owned and maintained by the State 
Governments; 
(vi) land acquired or held for a public purpose or a work of public utility; 
(vii) land which, at the commencement of this Act or at any time 
thereafter, is set apart for military encamping grounds; 
(viii) land situated within the limits of cantonment; 
(ix) land included within railway or canal boundaries; 
(x) land within the boundaries of any Government forest; 
(xi) municipal trenching grounds; 
(xii) land held or acquired by educational institutions for purposes of 
instruction in agriculture or for play- ground; and 
(xiii) land within the boundaries of a Government agricultural or grass 
farm; 
(xiv) land which has been set apart or is, in the opinion of the Collector, 
necessary for flow of water thereon in to any reservoir or tanka for 
drinking water for a village or for surrounding villages: 
Provided that the State Government may, by notification in the Official 
Gazette declare that any land which is under shifting or unstable cultivation, 
shall cease to be a land for such cultivation and thereupon such land shall 
be available for the grant of Khatedari rights and the State Government 
may by a like notification, declare that any land which was not at the 
commencement of this Act under shifting or unstable cultivation shall at any 
time after such commencement be under such cultivation from such date 
as may be specified in the notificatio n and thereupon such land shall be 
available for such cultivation. 
 
16A. Tenants of Khudkasht — Every person to whom at the 
commencement of this Act or at any time thereafter, Khudkasht has been 
or is let out lawfully by an estate holder in any part of the State shall be the 
tenant of such Khudkasht: 
 
Provided that, upon the estate holder becoming a Khatedar tenant of 
his Khudkasht land sunder section 13, the tenant (4 such Khudkasht shall 
become a sub-tenant holding under and from such Khatedar tenni. 
 
17. Ghair Khatedari tenant — Every tenant of land in any part of the 
State other than a Khatedar tenant, a tenant of Khudkasht or sub -tenant 
shall be a Gair Khatedar tenant. 
 
17A. Maliks — Every Zamindar of Biswedar whose estate is vested in 
the State Government  under the Rajasthan Zamindari and Biswedari 
Abolition Act, 1959 shall be a Malik within the meaning of section 29 of that 
Act in respect of any Khudkasht land in his occupation at the date of such 
vesting. 
 
1518. Omitted. 
16{CHAPTER IIIA} 
Conferment of Rights On certain Sub-tenants and Tenants of Khudkasht on 
payment of compensation 
19. Conferment of rights on certain tenants of Khudkasht and sub 
tenants— (1) Every person who, at the commencement of this Act— 
 
15 Vide Raj Act No. 27 of 1956. 
16 Substituted by  sec 2 of Raj. Act No. 7 of 1959. 
(a) was entered in the annual r egisters then current as a tenant of 
Khudkasht or sub-tenant of land other than grove land, or 
(b) was not so entered but was a tenant of Khudkasht or sub -tenant of 
land other than grove land. 
shall as from the date of commencement of the Rajasthan Tenancy  
(Amendment) Act, 1959, hereafter in this Chapter referred to as the 
appointed date, become, subject to the other provisions contained in this 
Chapter, the Khatedar tenant of such part of the land held by him as does 
not exceed the minimum area prescribed by the State Government for the 
purpose of clause (a) of sub -section (1) of section 130 or exceeds the 
maximum area from which such person is liable to ejectment under clause 
(d) of the said sub-section of the said section and rights in improvements in 
that part of the said land shall also accrue to such person: 
 
Provided that Khatedari rights or rights in improvements shall not so 
accrue— 
(i) if such part of the said land is held from any of the persons 
enumerated in section 46, or 
(ii) if such rights therein may not accrue under the proviso to sub-section 
(I) of section 15 or under section 15 -A or under section 15 -B or under 
section 16, or 
(iii) if such person has, after the commencement of this Act and before 
the appointed date, ceased to be such tenant o f Khudkasht or sub -
tenant by virtue of lawful surrender of abandonment in accordance 
with the provisions of this Act or because of his having been ejected in 
accordance with those provisions by and under the decree or order of 
a competent revenue court. 
(1-A) Subject to the exceptions contained in the proviso to sub -section 
(1), every person referred to in that sub -section shall, as from the date of 
commencement of the Rajasthan Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 1961, 
hereafter in this chapter referred to as the 'ap pointed day' become, subject 
to the other provisions contained in this chapter, the khatedar tenant of that 
part of land held by him in which he has not acquired Khatedari rights 
under sub -section (1) , before the appointed day, no proceeding for his 
ejectment under clause (a) or clause (d) sub-section (1) of section 180 shall 
have been started within the time limit prescribed by section 182 -A or if on 
that day no such proceeding previously started might have been pending. 
( l-AA)- Every person who on the 31st day of December, 1969, was entered 
in the annual registers than current a

Excerpt shown. Open the full act in Lexace.

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