LexThe rajasthan land reforms and acquisition of land-owners estates act, 1963
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Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
THE RAJASTHAN LAND REFORMS AND ACQUISITION OF LAND-OWNERS
ESTATES ACT, 1963
(ACT NO. 11 OF 1964)
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
2. Definitions.
CHAPTER II
Assessment of Land-owners’ Estates to Land Revenue
3. Liability of estates to pay land revenue.
4. Determination of rental income from estates.
5. Computation of rental income from estates situated in
villages which are not settled
CHAPTER III
Khatedari Rights of Tenants in Landowners’ Estates
6. Khatedari Rights in estates.
CHAPTER IV
Acquisition of Estates
7. Acquisition of estates.
7-A. Non-recognition of certain transfers and agreements.
8. Consequences of acquisition.
9. Land-owner to deliver records.
9-A. Landowner to deliver possession.
10. Private lands, buildings, wells, house-sites and enclosures.
11. Refund of sums to which landowner is not entitled.
11 A Mode of utilisation of acquired estates.
CHAPTER V
Liability for Compensation
12. Liability to pay compensation.
13. Liability to make payments to religious institution.
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Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
CHAPTER VI
Payment of Compensation
14. Statement of claim.
15. Determination of compensation.
16. Communication of decision.
17. Payment of compensation.
18. Form of compensation.
19.Payment of compensation on the death of land-owner.
CHAPTER VII
Appeal and Review
20. Appeals from the orders of Compensation Commissioner and Collector.
21. Review.
22. Correction of clerical errors.
CHAPTER VIII
Miscellaneous
23. State Government to be a party.
24. Officers holding inquiries to have powers of civil courts.
25. Delegation of powers.
26. Certain officers to be public servants.
27. Protection of action taken under this Act.
28. Bar of jurisdiction.
29. Act to override other laws.
30. Power to make rules.
31. Amendments in Rajas than Act 3 of 1955.
32. Amendments in Rajasthan Act 15 of 1956.
33. Savings.
THE SCHEDULE
1. Basic year.
2. Gross income.
3. Calculation of the income from rent.
4. Net income.
5. Amount of compensation money.
6. Charitable and educational institutions.
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Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
THE RAJASTHAN LAND REFORMS AND ACQUISITIONOF
LAND-OWNERS ESTATES ACT, 1963
(ACT NO. 11 OF 1964)
As amended by Raj. 15 of 1975.
[Received the assent of the President on the 6th day of April, 1964].
An Act to provide for the acquisition of estates of landowners and 1[for other
measures of agrarian reform, removal of inter mediaries, allotment of land to
landless persons, development of agriculture] and, in consequence thereof, to
amend certain other Acts.
BE it enacted by the Rajasthan State Legislature in the Fourteenth 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 Land Reforms and Acquisition of
Landowners' Estates Act, 1963.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Rajasthan.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
COMMENTARY
1. Application of the Act.-[l] The Act applies to Ex -rulers of covenanting States in
Rajasthan exclusively and authorises resumption of land in respect of those lands in
respect of which khatedari rights have not been acquired by such Ex -rulers land -
owners. Giriraj Singh v. State of Raj., 1977 RRD 210.
[2] Land owned by Ex -Rulers is covered by this Act and not under the Rajasthan
Tenancy Act, 1955. The Ex -Rulers become automatically khatedar tenants of the land
held by them under the covenants. Thus their khatedari lands are subject to ceiling law.
[3] The khudkast land of the Ex -Ruler is not acquired under this Act. State of
Raj.v.Raghunath Singh, 1976 RRD 166.
[4] The Land under Sardarsamand estate was under the personal cultivation of the
petitioner at the commencement of this Ac t and in that land there were no tenants. The
petitioner, therefore, became the khatedar tenant thereof as from the date of vesting,
i.e. September 1, 1964 and was not bound to deliver the possession of the land to the
Collector, immediately after the publ ication of the Rajasthan Land Reforms and
Acquisition of Land Owners Estates (Amendment)) Ordinance, 1975 (Or dinance No. 6
of 1975) in the Official Gazette, and the Collector is not authorised to recover its
possession from the petitioner under section 9 -A of the Act, which was inserted into
1 Subs.by Raj. 15 of 1975.
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Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
principal Act by Act No. 15 of 1975. The notice marked Annexure 18 given to the
petitioner by the Collector, Jodhpur, on April 5, 1975, is therefore, liable to be quashed
so far as it relates to agricultural land under his personal cultivation of which the
petitioner has become a khatedar tenant as from the date of vesting, i.e. September 1,
1964 on account of the land having been in his personal cultivation at the date of
commencement of the Act. Maharaja Shri GajSingh of Jodhpur v. State of Rajasthan
&Ors., 1981 WLN (UC) 73.
2. Applicability of CPC-Section 144 CPC.-Section 20 of this Act provides a limited
right of appeal to the Board of Revenue. An order under section 144 CPC is not
specified in section 20 of this Act thus such order (under section 144 CPC) of the
Collector is not appealable under this Act. Mat ters in respect of which appeals can be
filed is enumerated under sections 3(2), 10(2), 11(2) and 15(2) of this Act and beyond
that there is no right to appeal against. State of Raj.v. Dr. Kami Singh of Bikaner, 1983
RRD 414.
In view of the Rule 27 under this Act, which provides that in contested cases, trial of
such suits shall be conducted by revenue court and under the provisions of the Raj.
Tenancy Act, 1955, CPC is applicable under section 208 of the Raj. Tenancy Act,
therefore, in view of Rule 27, section 144 CPC is applicable to the proceedings under
this Act as well. State of Raj.v.Dr. Karni Singh of Bikaner, 1983 RRD 414.
3. Rajasthan Urban Improveme nt Act (1959), S.52(l) -The word "land" to be
given broad meaning -Private property of Ex -Ruler Satisfaction of two conditions
(a) Land contains palace, fort, building, or building plot, and (b) it is specified in
inventory to save it from acquisition.-The word 'land' right from Manu's time, Mughal
period and British rule, the terms and conditions of the covenant settled between the
rulers of the erstwhile States and the Central Government, a broad meaning has been
given to the word land' in the Act. Landis presumed to be agricultural lands unless the
same has been put to 'non -agricultural use by the construction of forts, palaces or has
specifically been set apart as building plots and the same has been recognised as such
by the Central Government. To bring the case within the exception it is not sufficient for
the land holder to only prove that the land in dispute contains a fort, palace, buildings or
building plots. He is further required to prove that the same had been specified as such
in the inventory. Unless both the above noted conditions are fulfilled, the land owner
cannot save the land from its acquisition under the Act. The State of Rajasthan v.
Bhawani Singh former His Highness Jaipur and Ors. 1980 WLN 295.
4. Extra-ordinary remedy by writs under Art. 226.-There is no bar to the issue of
the writs claimed by the petitioners, merely because they could file a suit for declaration
of their Khatedari rights in the lands under dispute before invoking the extraordinary
jurisdiction of this court by way of these writ petitions. The Collector Jodhpur, had no
jurisdiction to issue notices to the petitioners under section 9 -A of the Act calling upon
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Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
them to deliver possession of the lands in dispute to him. If the petitioners had not
resorted to this alternative remedy they would have been ousted from the lands in their
possession before they could get interim relief because even under sub - section (2) of
section 10 CPC the Court is not empowered to grant relief in the suit whether interim or
otherwise except after giving to the Government or to the Collector, a reasonable
opportunity of showing cause in respect of the relief prayed for in the suit.
Consequently, I am of the view that the alternative remedy suggested by the Additional
Government Advocate was inadequate and this court is not deprived of its discretion to
issue the writs in the particular circumstances of these cases. Mohan Singh v. State of
Raj. And Narendra Singh v. State of Raj. & Anr. 1981WLN (UC) 62.
5. Validity of Amending Act No. 15 of 1975.-This Amending Act
No. 15 of 1975 has been declared valid and become effective with effect from 13 -4-
1964. Thus the Lands as estate belonging to the ex -rulers and land owners vest in the
State of Rajasthan. The State Government slept over the Act and inaction on the part of
the State Government is highly objectionable thus deplored. State of Raj.v. Smt.
Gayatridevi, 1980 RRD 307.
6. Scheme of the Act . - Section 2(b) defines "estate" as land or the right, title or
interest in land held by a landowner. "Land" itself has been defined by the Amendment
Act of 1975 in the substituted section 2(f) to include any land held or let for agriculture
or for purposes ancillary thereto. The net effect is that an estate for purposes of the Act
will certainly include agricultural land. Section 6 forms a separate Chapter by itself and
deals with the khatedari rights of the landowners themselves and their tenants.
The Amend ment Act of 1975 has substituted Chapter IV of the prin cipal Act
retrospectively. Section 7 says that as soon as may be after the commencement of the
Act, the Government may for the purpose of carrying out agrarian reform by notification
in the official gazette appoint a date for the acquisition of landowner's estates in the
State and for their vesting in the State Government. The notified date is 1.9.1964. If
section 7 is read with section 6(2) the position emer ges that with the vesting of an
estate unde r section 7 there is a simultaneous conversion of land in an estate
personally cultivated by the landowner to khatedari land. The Act does not envisage
any separate order in respect of section 6(2); its operation is automatic with the vesting.
It follows that chapter IV envisages the acquisition of ownership rights in land forming
part of an estate in the personal cultivation of the ex -ruler but leaves the latter with
khatedari rights in that land. It could not have been the intention of the legislature to
disturb the possession of a khatedar and it is patently incorrect to claim .that
possession even of such land in an estate is required to be delivered under S.9 -A. This
section requires the landowner and every person claim ing through him to deliver
possession of the "estate acquired under section 7". In respect of land covered by
section 6 only the ownership rights are acquired and khatedari is left untouched. State
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Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
of Rajasthan v. KishanGopal, 1978 RRD 36.
2. Definitions.-In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) "Compensation Commissioner" means the person appointed by the Government
to perform the functions of a Compensation Commissioner;
(b) "estate" means land or right, title or interest in land held by a landowner;
(c) "Government" means the Government of the State of Rajasthan;
(d) "Inventory" means the inventory o f the private properties of the Ruler prepared in
pursuance of Article XII of the Covenant and finally approved by the Government of
India;
(e) "Khudkasht" means any land cultivated persona lly by a land owner and includes
any land recorded as the land-owner's sir or khudkasht;
(f) 2"land" means any land held or let for purposes of agriculture or for purposes
ancillary thereto including waste land, forest land, land for pasture or sites of buildi ngs
and other structures occupied by cultivators of land, agricultural labourers and village
artisans and includes—
(a) tanks, lakes, ponds, rivers and water channels held for purposes of irrigation,
(b) surface of hills,
(c) landing grounds or strips, and
(d) shikargah,
but does not include forts, palaces, buildings and building plots, specified in the
inventory;
(g) "landowner" means the Ruler o f a Covenanting State in Rajasthan than holding
an estate 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;
(h) "settled" when used with reference to a village or any other area, means the
village or other area in respect of whic h settlement, or resettlement, of rent or revenue
or both has been made; 3[x x x]
(i) "words and expressions" defined in the Rajasthan Tenancy Act,1955 (Rajasthan
Act 3 of 1955), and in the Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956 (Rajasthan Act 15 of
1956) but not defined in this Act shall,& wherever used herein be construed to have the
meanings respectively assigned to them by those Acts 4(and)
5[(j) All words and expressions used in this Act, to denote the person hi possession
of any right, title or interest i n estate shall be deemed to include the predecessor and
successor in right, title or interest of such person.]
2Subs. by Raj.15 of 1975.
3Omitted by Raj.15 of 1975.
4Subs. by Raj. 15 of 1975
5Ins.By Raj.15 of 1975.
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Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
COMMENTARY
1. Scope of -Agricultural land in personal cultivation of erstwhile ruler -
Ceiling proceedings.-The Khudkasht or khatedari land of an Ex -ruler is amenable to
ceiling proceedings whether they are included in the inventory or not. It is only that land
which is a part of a Fort, Palace building or building plots and are specified ceiling area
because they do not form part of the land as defined in s.2(f) of the Act. Once they form
part of the land as defined in s.2(f) read with s.2(b) of the . Act ceiling proceedings about
them can very well be initiated by S.D.O.(South), Bikaner. SushilaKumari v. State of
Rajasthan, 996 (1) WLC96=1995 (2) WLN 377=1996 (2) RLW 78.
2. Land-Connotationof.- [1] ‘Land* as defined is not restricted to agricultural
land, but it also includes waste land and for pasture as well as sites of buildings and
other structures occupied by the cultivators of land, agricultural labourers and village
artisans, tanks, lakes, ponds, river and water channels held for purposes of irrigation as
well as surface of hills, landing grounds or strips and shikargah are also included in the
definition of land. State of Raja sthan v. Prajapati Garh Nirman Samiti Ltd., 1987 WLN
UC 103 (DB).But reversed in AIR 1989 SC 869.
[2] Lands as open enclosures and in personal cultivation of landowner (Ex -ruler
of Covenanting State) even if included in inventory of private properties, they form part
of khatedari land of Ex -ruler. Sushila Kumari v. State of Rajasthan, 1997 RRD 240 (HQ
(DB).
[3] Land does not include abadi land which is no longer agricultural land. State
ofRajasthan v. Bhawanisingh, 1993 RRD 554 (SC).
3.Special Case regarding land in Khasra No.421 and 426.-
[1] So far as the land in dispute i.e. Khasra Nos. 421 and 426 is concerned the
admission made by the State and which was also clear fro m various documents which
have been considered by the High Court in their judg ments in these petitions clearly
show that these lands were within the boundaries of the Umaid Bhawan Palace which is
the private property in accordance with the inventory prepared and approved by the
Government of India and therefore which will not fall within the ambit of the definition of
the 'land' as defined in s.2(f) and thus will not fall within the ambit of the ‘estate’ which
could vest under the provisions of this section and in this view of the matter even
without going into the question about whether land being agricultural or not the view
taken by Justice M.L.Jain is. the only view which could be sustained. Adhunik Griha
Nirman Sahkari Samiti Ltd. v. State of Rajasthan, AIR 1989 SC 867 ( 874) =1989Supp.
(l) SCC 656 (664).
[2] Disputed land whether agricultural land. - As regards the question as to
whether this land is agricultural or not it will be relevant to note that the Settlement
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Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
Officer is alleged to have stated that the plan was carefully perused, checked and
tallied with the corres ponding old settlement record of Samvat 1979 t ogether with the
site plan of Umaid Bhawan Palace which indicates the private property of His Highness
the Maharaja Sahib Bahadur Jodhpur duly verified on 1 2.11.1958 by then Dy.
Secretary, G.A.D. and the Commissioner, Jodhpur Division, Jodhpur wherein the said
land is included in the premises of Umaid Bhawan Palace. The Settlement Officer
further added that the fact that this land had never been assessed to r ent, that it never
has been cultivated and that it is included within the Umaid Bhawan Palace is sufficient
to show that it is 'abadi land' within the meaning and definition under s.158 of the 13 of
Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956, The view expressed by t he Government that this
land does not appear to be agricultural land is fully established and it was on the basis
of these documents that the learned Judge Shri M.L.Jain came to the conclusion that:
'The documents clearly demonstrate that the land in dispute is not an agricultural
land rather it forms part of the abadi land. In the revenue records, Khasra Nos are
allotted not only to agricultural plot but they are also allotted to banjar land and to
abadi land as well. The copies of the jamabandi and girdwari filed by the State
shows that the land is padat and does not carry and land revenue . It is, therefore,
clear that the land in question being an abadi land is not covered by the provisions
of the Act."
It is clear that the contention raised by the learned Counsel for the respondent that
this land is an agricultural land also cannot be accepted and in view of our conclusions
reached above it is clear that the view taken by learned Judge Shri M.L.Jain is the only
view which could be taken. Consequently the appeals filed by the appellants including
Prqjapati Griha Nirman Sahkari Samiti Ltd. Jodhpur v. State of Rajasthan & Ors. are
allowed. The Judgment passed by the Division Bench of High Court of Rajas than in the
appeals is set aside and it is held that no action under the provisions of Rajasthan Land
Reforms and Acquisition of Land Owners Estate Act, 1963 could be taken against the
appellants and all notices or actions taken are hereby quashed. Adhunik Griha Nirman
Sahkari Samiti Ltd. v. State of Rajasthan, AIR 1989 SC 867 (874)=1989 Supp.(l) SCC
656 (664).
4. Compensation Commissioner -The Collector has no jurisdiction to enquire into
the personal property of an estate owner Ex-ruler. The Collector must have referred the
matter to the compensation Commis sioner who alone has the jurisdiction of enquiry.
Section 10(2) authorities the. Compensation Commissioner and not the Collector. Raj
Kumar v. AmbikaPratapSingh v. State of Raj., 1983 RRD 743 ; Col. MohanSinghv.
State, 1981 (UC) 62,
5. ‘Land owner-Who is.-[1] Land owner means the Ex -ruler of a covenanting State
of Rajasthan holding as an estate under in accordance with the settlement of his
personal and private properties made in pur suance of the covenant and finally
9
Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
approved by the Central Government of India. Such covenant was entered into and
admitted by the respondentsand not by the appellant. Appeal was rightly rejected.
Parmeshwar Raj Shri Eklingji Maharaja v. Shri Bhagwat Singh, 1982 RRD 509.
[2] Under section 10 of this Act, respective claims in respect of land of Landowner
(ex-ruler) and the state of Rajasthan are to be taken into consideration. Idol of Lord
Ekling thus cannot be considered Landowner under this Act. Paimeshwar Maharaja
Eklingji v. Shri Bhagwat Singhji, 1982 RRD 509.
CHAPTER II
Assessment of Land-owners’ Estates to Land Revenue
3. Liability of estates to pay Land Revenue.-
(1) Every estate shall be liable to the payment of land revenue to the Government as
from the 1st day of April, 1963 and till the day immediately preceding its acquisition.
(2) The amount of land revenue payable in respect of any estate of a landowner
shall be assessed by the Collector in a manner hereinafter provided in this Chapter.
(3) The amount of Land revenue payable under sub -section (1) shall be equal to
one-fourth of the rental income from the estate as determined i accordance with the
provision of section 4 and 5.
C O M M E N T A R Y
1. Liability to pay land revenue.-Under s.2(g), the land owner is who is a Ruler of
a Covenanting State in the State of Rajasthan holding an estate under or in accordance
with the settlement made in pursuance of the Covenant and approved by the Central
Government for personal or private properties. Under this definition, the Ruler was to
be treat ed as a landowner if there is Covenant in respect of personal or private
properties approved b y central Government ’Estate’ is defined to be the land or right,
title or interest in land held by the landowner. If the properties are not held by
landowner, it will not be an estate within the definition of s.2 (b) of the Act. In the instant
case the petitioners are not the landowners and as such the land held by them shall not
be estate within the meaning of s.2 (b). Under s.3, every estate is made liable to pay
land revenue to the Government of Rajasthan as from the 1st day of April, 1963 and till
the day immediately preceding its acquisition. The 'estate' has a significant meaning
under the Act. 'Estate' is defined in s.2(b). If there is no estate, there canno t be a levy
of land revenue u/s.3 of the Act because it is only the estate, which is liable to payment
of land revenue. State of Rajasthan v. Mahendrasingh, 1994 (2) WLC 543.
2. Scope. -Land revenue can only be levied w.e.f . 1.4.1963 and not for any
previous period. 1969 RRD 292.
4. Determination of rental income from estates. –
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Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
(1) For the purpose of assessing land revenue payable for any year in respect of
any estate of a landowner, the Collector shall first determine the rental income for that
year from such estate in the manner herein after provided.
(2) Where the lands forming part of any estate are situated in more then one village,
the rental income from such lands in each village shall be separately determined.
(3) The rental income from the lands forming part of the estate in a village shall.
(a) where the Village' is a settled village, be the total of—
(i) the rents assessed on lands fo rming part of the estate (other than
Khudkasht lands which have not been as sessed) as entered in the
revenue records of the village, and
(ii) the rents which would have payable in respect of Khud kasht lands
(which have not been so assessed) if they had been let out to tenants
on the prevailing rent rates in the locality;
(b) where the village is not a settled village, be the amount determined in the
manner specified in section 5.
5. Computation of rental income from estates situated in villages which are
not settled. -(1) Where any lands forming part of any estate are situated in a village
which is not settled, the Collector shall give notice, hi the prescribed manner, requiring
the landowner to furnish within such period, not being less than sixty days, as may be
specified in the notice, a statement in the prescribed from showing—
(a) the income from rents during each of the th ree agricultural years 1960 -
61, 1961-62 and 1962-63, and the annual average thereof,
(b) the income from rents which would have been payable in respect of
Khudkasht lands, if they were let out to tenants on the prevailing rent
rates in the locality.
(2) Where a landowner has furnished a statement under sub-section (1), the annual
average or rental income mentioned therein from the estate, shall, subject to the
provisions of sub section (3) be deemed to be the re ntal-income ther efrom for the
purpose of assessment of land revenue thereon.
(3) Where a landowner has failed to furnish a statement under sub-section (1) in
respect of any estate , or where the Collector has reason to belive that in any such
statement the landowner has concealed any rental income or deliberately furnished
inaccurate particulars thereof, the Collector shall determine the rental income from the
estate after holding such enquiry and in accordance with such princ iples as may be
prescribed.
(4) The statement furnished by a landowner under sub -section (1) may be used
against him for t he purposed of determining the c ompensation payable to the land-
owner, if the estate is acquired under this Act or under any other law for the time being
in force.
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Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
CHAPTER III
Khatedari Rights of Tenants in Landowners' Estates
6. Khatedari Rights in estates.-(l) Every person who, at the commencement of
this Act, is or so, entered in the revenue records asa tenant or a tenant of Khudkasht,
but not as a sub - tenant, of any land forming part of an estate shall, unless he had
become a Khatedari tenant thereof previously to such commencement by virtue of any
law or otherwise, be deemed to be the Khatedar tenant of such land holding from t he
landowner of the estate:
Provided that Khatedari rights under this sub -section shall not accrue to any
person to whom land is or has been let out temporarily in the Gang Canal, Bhakra,
Chambal, Jawai or Rajasthan Canal Project Area; and no Khatedari rig hts shall accrue
if the land belongs to any of the categories specified in section 16 of the Rajasthan
Tenancy Act, 1955 (Rajasthan Act 3 of 1955).
(2) In respect of land under the personal cultivation of the land owner and in
which there are no tenants, t he landowner shall, as from the date of vesting, be the
Khatedar tenant thereof:
Provided that nothing in this sub -section shall affect the provisions contained in
Chapter III-B of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 (Rajasthan Act 3 of 1955).
COMMENTARY
1. Sub-section (2) not invalid.-The Act having been included in IX Schedule of
the Constitution at serial No, 163, validity of 8.6(2) cannot be challenged on the basis of
infringement of fundamental rights. 1977 WLN 426, AIR 1981 SC 271&AIR 1995 Raj 21
Disting, SushilaKumari v. State of Rajasthan, 1996 (1) WLC 96=1995 (2) WLN 377=
1996 (2) RLW 78.
2. General.-[1] Notice issued under Rajasthan Ceiling Act contained third
paragraph which was invalid and ult imately quashed. Part of notice is severable from
rest of the contents. Tests laid down in AIR 1957 SC 628Foil. Maharaj Gajsingh v. State
of Rajasthan, 1985 RLW 518.
[2] See also State of Rajasthan v. Dhanchi Mahasabha, 1997 RRD268=1997
RRC 215 (Rev).
[3] Section 6 deals with Khatedari rights of landowners themselves. and their
tenants with the vesting of an estate u/s. 7 -No separate order in respect of Sec, 6(2),
envisaged by Act -Its operation is automatic with vesting -Hence-Chapter IV envisages
acquisition of ownership rights in land forming part of an estate in personal cultivation of
ex-ruler. State of Raj. v. Kishan Gopal&Ors., 1978 RRD 36.
[4] The land unde r Sardarsamand estate was under the personal cultivation of
the petitioner at the commencement of this Act and in tha t land there were no tenants.
12
Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
The petitioner, therefore, became the khatedar tenant thereof as from the date of
vesting, i.e. September 1, 1964 and was not bound to deliver the possession of the land
to the Collector, imm ediately after the publication of the Rajasthan Land Reforms and
Acquisition of Land Owners Estates (Amendment) Ordinance, 1975 (Ordinance No. 6 of
1975) in the official Gazette, and the Collector is not authorised to recover its
possession from the petitioner under section 9-A of the Act, which was inserted into the
principal Act by Amending Act No.15 of 1975 - The notice marked Annexure 18 given to
the petitioner by the Collector, Jodhpur on April 5, 1975 is therefore, liable to be
quashed so far as it re lates to agricultural land under his personal cultivation of which
the petitioner has become a Khatedar tenant as from the date of vesting, i.e. September
1, 1964 on account of the land having been in his personal Cultivation at the date of
commencement of the Act. Maharaja Shri Gaj Singh of Jodhpur v. State of
Raj.&Ors.1981 WLN (UC)73.
6[CHAPTER IV
Acquisition of Estates
7. Acquisition of estates. –(1)As soon as may be after the com mencement of
this Act, the Government may for the purpose of carrying out agrarian reform in
accordance with the provision of this Act, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint
a date for the acquisition of land owners estates in the State and for their vesting in the
State Government.
(2) The date appointed under th is section in relation to the acquisi tion of landowner's
estates in the State is in this Act referred to as the date of vesting of such estates.
COMMENTARY
1. Acquisition of estate not dependent on determination of rental income. –
The determination of th e rental income from the estate of land owner under s ections 3
to 5 of the Act is only for the purpose of assess ment of land revenue for the said estate.
The acquisition of the estates under s.7 is not dependent upon prior assessment of the
land revenue payable for the estate. It is open to the State Government to take steps for
acquisition of the estates at any time after the coming into force of the Act. The action of
the State in issuing notification cannot be challenged on the ground that prior to the
issuance of the said notification, the land; revenue payable for the estates has not been
assessed. State of Rajasthanv. Prajapati Grah Nirman Samiti Ltd., 1987 WLN UC 103
(DB). But reversed in AIR 1989 SC 869.
2. Natural justice-Opportunity of hearing. -Grant made by Ex -ruler in
December 1969 i.e. much after the prescribed date viz. 1.9.1964. Such a grant made by
ex-ruler created no right in the petitioner and did confer status of tenant. No useful
6Subs. by Raj.15 of1975.
13
Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
purpose could be served b y giving an opportunity of hearing. Balsing v. State of
Rajasthan, 1986 (2) WLN
7-A. Non-recognition of certain transfers and agreements. Notwithstanding
anything contained in any law of judgment, decree or order of a court to the contrary-
(i) no transfer of an estate liable to acquisition under this Act or part thereof
made by the landowner on or after the date of commencement of this Act and before
the date of vesting, whether by way of sale, m ortgage, gift, exchange, lease,
assignment, surrender, beques t, creation of trust or otherwise, shall be recognised for
any purpose of this Act and the estate or part so transferred shall be deemed to
continue to vest in the landowner;
(ii) all transfers of an estate liable to acquisition under this Act or part the reof of
the nature referred to in clause (i) made by the land owner on or after the date of
vesting shall be null void; and
(iii) any agreement made by a landowner with any other person on or after the
commencement of this Act for transfer of his estate li able to acquisition under this Act
or part thereof or for relieving, whether in whole or in part, a tenant from liability for
payment of rent of any land comprised in his estate shall be and is hereby declared to
be null and void.
COMMENTARY
[1] Sale-deed executed by former ruler of Jodhpur in favour of the petitioner in the
month of August, 1964 was of no value and the petitioner does not get any benefit from
the alleged sale. Mohanlal v. State, 1985 WLN UC251.
[2] See also State of Rajasthan v. Dhanchi Mahasabha, 1997 RRD 268=1997 RRC
215 (Rev).
8. Consequences of acquisition.-(1) As from the date of vesting of any estate,—
(a) the right, title and interes t of the landowner and of every other person claiming
through him in his e state, shall stand acquired by and vested in the
Government free from a ll encumbrances and shall be ut ilised by it for the
purpose of carrying out agrarian reform in accordance with the provisions of
this Act;
(b) all rights, titles and interests c reated in or over the estate by the landowner or
his predecessor -in-interest shall, as against the Government, cease and
determine;
(c) all rents and cesses in respect of any holdings (including any land leased by or
on behalf of the landowner for any purpose other than agriculture) in the estate
for any "period after the date of vesting which, but for such vesting, would have
been payable to the landowner, shall be payable to the Government;
(d) all revenue, rents, cesses or other dues for the agricultural year in which the
14
Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
date of vesting falls recovered by the landowner before the said date or by the
Government after the said date, shall, after deducting therefrom the expenses
of collection at the rate of seven per cent, be rate ably distributed between the
land owner and the Government, the amount to be distributed bearing to the
total amount during the agricultural year the same proportion which the period
before the date of vesting or, as the case may be, the period after the said date,
bears to the whole of
The agricultural year;
(e) all arrears of revenue, cesses or other dues in respect of any estate due from
the landowner for any period prior to the date of vesting including any sum due
from him under (d), shall continue to be recoverable from such land-owner.
(f) the right, title, and interest of the landowner or any other person in the estate
acquired under clause (a) shall not be liable to attachment or sale in execution
of any decree or other process of any Cour t, civil or revenue, and any
attachment passed before such date shall cease to be in force.
(g) the landowner, shall cease to be liable to pay and shall not be required to pay
to the Government in respect of any estate acquired under this Act, any land
revenue payable by him under any existing law or under this Act.
(2) Nothing contained in this section shall —
(a) render the Government liable for the payment of debts incurred by the
landowner and the landow ner shall be personally liable for the payment of all
such debts;
(b) operate as a bar to the recov ery through the Collector as an area of land
revenue by the landowner off an y sum which is legally due (subject to the
deduction of collection charges at the rate of seven per cent) to him by virtue of
his rights in the estate in respect of any period prior to the commence ment of
the agricultural year in which the date of vesting falls:
Provided that where a tenant dis putes the landowner's claim for the dues
mentioned in clause (b), the landowner shall be required to file a suit for such
dues according to law;
(c) operate as a bar to the recovery of arrears of land revenue payable by the
landowner for the period preceding the date of vesting or the recovery of rent in
respect of land referred to in sub-section (2) of section 6.
COMMENTARY
1. Rights, title and interests already vested in Government, Collector cannot
issue show cause notice .-As from the date of vesting the estate, rights, title and
interest of the land owner and of every person claiming through him shall stand vested
in the Government free from all encumbrances and that all rights, titles and interests
created in or over the estate by the land owner or his prede cessor-in interest shall as
15
Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
against the Governmen t cease and determine. In view of the consequences of the
acquisition laid down in section 8 of the Act, the Collector in exercise of his powers
under section 9 -A of the Act is not required to issue a show cause notice to the land
owner calling upon him to appear and make any objection to the recovery of possession
of the estate from him. Maharaja Shri Gajsingh of Jodhpur v.The State of Raj.&
Ors.1981 WLN (UQ) 73.
2. Scope.-Till the Act of 1963 came into force, the erstwhile rulers of princely states
had been exempted from the payment of land revenue and, therefore, it is but natural
that Settlement records relating to the period prior to 1965 would not show any land
revenue to be payable by the erstwhile rulers. However after the coming into force of
the aforesaid Act in 1964, land revenue would become payable by the erstwhile Rulers
in respect of the lands held by them as tenants. The question of determina tion of land
revenue is a separate one and is only procedural in nature, while the liability to pay
land revenue is substantive, and is incurred by the operation of law. 1978 RRD 514.
9. Land-owner to deliver records.-(1) Every landowners whose estate is acquired
under this Act shall, within two months of the date of publication of the Rajasthan Land
Reforms and Acquisition of Landowners' Estates (Amendment) Ordinance, 1975
(Ordinance No. 6 of 1975) in the Official Gazette, deliver to the Collector, or to any
officer authorised in this behalf by the Collector, after obtaining a duly signed receipt
from him for the same, all records relating to the administra tion and management of his
estate so acquired or pertaining to the various items of receipts and disbursements
mentioned in clauses (2) and (4), respectively of the Schedule to this Act, which in
respect, of such estate, such landowner may have maintained or caused to be
maintained or which may then be in his possession or power.
(2) If any such landowner fails without reasonable excuse to deliver his records in
accordance with the provisions of sub - section (1), then, without prejudice to any other
action that may be taken against him under any other provision of this Act or under the
provisions of any other law for the time being in force, the Compensation Commissioner
may, on the report of the Collector made in this behalf and after making such inquiry as
he considers necessary,—
(i) impose upon such landowner a penalty not exceeding one -fifteenth of the
aggregate amount of compensation finally determined under section 15 as
payable to him, and
(ii) Direct the Collector to take recourse to legal process through a competent
Magistrate for enforcing the surrender of such records.
(3) The Government o r a landowner aggrieved by an order of the Compensation
Commissioner under sub-section (2) may appeal to the Board within sixty days from the
date of such order and the provisions of sub -sections (3) and (4) of section 20 shall
apply to the hearing of such appeal and the decision of the Board thereon.
16
Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
(4) The amount of any penalty imposed upon a landowner und er clause (i) of sub -
section (2) may be deducted from the amount of compensation payable to him under
this Act and shall otherwise be recoverable as an arrear of land revenue.
COMMENTARY
1. Scope. The Collector in issuing noti ces to the buyers and consider ing their
answer was merely carrying out a fact-finding exercise as a revenue officer. Neither the
Landowners' Estates Act nor the rules en visage such an enquiry and it is to be vie wed
as a precautionary exercise to ensure that hardship was not caused b y taking forcible
possession of land not liable to such action under th e Act. Since the Collector as a
revenue officer is in its subordination, the Board of Revenue certainly has
the power under S. 9 of the Raj. Land Reve nue Act to examine the decision taken by
him. 1978 RRD 36.
2. Delivery of records by landowners.-See 1978 RRD 36.
9-A. Landowner to deliver possession. -The landowner and every other person
claiming through hi m in his estate, shall deliver the possession of the estate acquired
under section 7 to the Collector immediately after the publication of the Raj as than
Land Reforms and Acquisition of Landowners' Estates (Amendment) Ordinance, 1975
(Ordinance No. 6 of 19 75) in the Official Gazette and if he fails to do so; the Collector
shall recover its possession from the landowner and such other person in the
prescribed manner.
COMMENTARY
[1] Board of Revenue has unlimited powers to set aside orders against law passed
by subordinate courts. Order conferring khatedari rights held against provisions of law.
State of Rajasthan v. Smt. Krishna Kumari, 1997 RRD 553 (Rev).
[2] It is established that Col. Mohan Singh, petitioner, was a tenant of the entire land
under controversy forming part of the estate of Maharaja Gajsingh of Jodhpur, at the
commencement of the Act. The Collector Jodhpur, therefore, had no jurisdiction or
power to issue notices marked Annexure 8 and annexure p. 4 to Col. Mohan Singh and
Narendra Singh respectively under section 9 -A of the Act requiring them to deliver the
possession of the lands under controversy.
The alternative remedy suggested by the Additional Government Ad vocate in these
cases was not equally effective and satisfactory for the purpose of meeting the ends of
justice. Col. Mohan Singh v. State 1981 WLN (UC) 62.
[3] No bar to the issue of writ. -There is no bar to the issue of the writs claimed by
the petitioners, merely because they could file a suit for declaration of their Khatedari
rights in the lands under dispute before invoking the extraordinary jurisdiction of this
court by way of these writ petitions. The Collector Jodhpur had no jurisdiction to issue
17
Land Reforms & Acquisition of Estates Act, 1963
notices to the petitioners under section 9 -A of the Act calling upon them to deliver
possession of the lands in dispute to him. If the petitioners had resorted to this
alternative remedy they would have been ou sted from the lands in their possession
before they could get interim relief because even under su b section (2) of section 10
CPC, the Court is not empowered to grant relief in the suit, whether interim or otherwise
except after giving to the Government or t o the Collector a reasonable opportunity of
showing cause in respect of the relief prayed for in the suit. Conseq uently, I am of the
view that the alte rnative remedy suggested by the Additional Government Advocate
was inadequate and this court is not deprived of its discretion to issue the writs in the
particular circumstances of these cases . Col. Mohan Singh v. State of Raj., 1981 WLN
(UC)62.
10. Private lands, buildings, wells, house-sites and enclosures.-
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 8—
(a) (i) all open enclosures in the possession of the lando wner used for
agricultural or domestic purposes,
(ii) all private buildings, places of worship, and wells situated in, and trees
standing on, lands, included in such enclosures or house -sites, as are
specified in clause (i) above, or land appertaining to such buildings or
places of worship,
(iii) all groves, wherever situate, belonging to or held by the landowner or
any other person,
(b) all private wells and buildings belonging to or held by the landowner or any
other person. and
(c) all tanks in the persona] occupation of the landowner a nd used sol ely for
irrigating the land referred to in sub-section 1982 RRD 509. landowner or
other person subject in the case of tanks, to :the terms and conditions, if any,
mentioned in the Covenant,
(2) If any question arises whether any property is of the nature referred to in sub -
section (1), it shall be referred to the Compensation Commissioner, who may, after
holding the prescribed enquiry, make such order thereon as he deems fit.
COMMENTARY
1. 'Landowner'-Who is. –[1] Landowner means the Ex-Ruler of a covenanting State
of Rajasthan holding a s aExcerpt shown. Open the full act in Lexace.