The SIKKIM CULTIVATORS PROTECTION ACT,1985

SIKKIM
(:;OVERNMENT GAZETTE
EXTRAORDINARY
PUBLISHEDBY AUTHORITY
No. 111 Gangtok, Wednesday July 3, ~985,
GOVERNMENT OF SIKKIM
LAW DEPARTMENT
GANGTOK.
Notification No. 5/LD/85 Dated the 29th June, 1985.
The following Act of the Sikkim Legislative Assem bly having received the assent of
the Governor on the 28th day of June, 1985, is hereby published for general information:-
THE SIKKIM CULTIVATORS' PROTECTION ACT, 1')85
(Ad No. 5 of 1985)
AN
ACT
to make provisions for protection of cultivators against termination of cultivation of lands
cultivated by them, for restoration of such lands in case of illegal termination, for limiting the liability
of the cultivators FOl" termination of cultivation by onwer in certain circumstances and for other matters
connected therewith.
Be it: enacted by the Legislative Assembly of Sikkim in the Thirty sixth Year of the Republic
of India as follows namely;
I. This Act may be called the Sikkim Cultivators' Protection Act, 1985.
It extends to the whole of Sikkim.
Short title, extent,
commencement and
duration.
2.
~/' It shall come into force at once.
,In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-
(a) "agricultural year" means the year commencing from the first day
February;
(b) "civil court" does not include the High Court or the Supreme Court;
(c) "cultivator" means a person who cultivates the land of another
person on condition of payment of rent, in cash or in kind, or on condition
of delivering or receiving share or any fixed quantity of' the produce and
includes a persons who cultivates the land of another person on any terms
and conditions except as a paid servant or hired labourer but does not
include persons who are cultivating under work permits granted under
laws in force at present in the State of Sikkim with their addresses outside
the country.
vDejinitions.
of

Act to prevail over 3.
other laws, customs,
etc.
Protection against ter- 4.
mination of cultivation.
Restoration of posse-
ssion to cultivator in
certain cases.
2
(d) "owner" means a person whose land is cultivated by a cultivator;
(e) "personal cultivation" means cultivation of the land by the owner him,
self or through members of his family or his heirs and dependents or
through paid servants or hi red labourer;
(f) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(g)/' "Prescribed authority'.' means the District Collector within whose juris-
V diction the land is situated and shall also include any other officer specially
empowered by the State Government in this behalf.
(I) The provisions of this Act and of any rules made thereunder shall have
effect notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other
law or in any custom, usage, contract or instrument.
(2) Any law or custom or usage having the force of' law imm ediatelv before
the commencement of this Act shall cease to have effect with respect
to any matter for which provision is made in this Act.
(3) Any other law in force immediately before the commencement of this
Act shall cease to have effect in so far it is inconsistant with any of
the provisions of this Act.
No owner shall have the right to terminate the cultivation of his land by
a cultivator except in execution of an order made by the prescribed au-
thority.
(2) The prescribed authority shall not make an order for termination of the
cultivation by a cultivator except on one or more nf the tollowing grounds
and on no other ground, namely r-e-
(a) the cultivator has, without any reasonable cause, failed to cultivate
the land or a part of the land exceeding one fourth of the total
area of the land in any agricultural year;
(b) the cultivator has failed to pay the rent in cash or in kind or a share
or fixed quantity of the produce [rom the land within the period
as stipulated in any contract or in the absence of any contract within
a pe riod of two months from the date of harvest of any particular
crop;
(c) the cultivator has sublet the land to another person for cultivation;
(d) the owner having no land other than the land which is being culti-
vated by the cultivator desires to cultivate the land personally:
Provided that the owner shall have no right to terminate the culti-
tion or the land on this ground unless he has given notice of not less than
six months of his intention to resume personal cultivation and such
notice expires with the beginning of the agricultural year next following.
(c) the cul tivato r has erected or caused to be erected a residential
home or any other permanent structure on the land without
the wr-itvcn permission of the owner.
(3) The prescribed authority while making an order under sub-section (2)
shall also determine the amount which is to be paid by the owner to
the cultivator or by the cultivator to the owner as the case may be:
Provided that no order under sub-section (2) shall be made except
af'ter giving the owner and the cultivator an opportunity of being
heard
5. If any owner terminates or causes to be terminated the cultivation of any
land by a cultivator in contravention of the provisions of this Act, the prescribed
authority, shall, on receipt 0:any application made by or on behalf of the cultivator
and after giving the cultivtor and the owner an opportunity of being heard and after
making such inquiries as such authority may deem necessary, by order direct-
(a) in case where such land has not been cultivated or has been cultivated by
the owner or by any person on his behalf other than the cultivator, that
the land be immediately restored to the cultivator and further that forty
per cent of any produce of i:he land shall be forfeited to the State Govern-
ment and the remaining sixty per cent of such produce shall be retained by
the cultivator;

3
(b) in case where such land has been cultivated by a new cultivator engaged
bv the owner, that the land be restored at the end of the cultivation season
to the applicant cultivator and further that the new cultivator shall retain
fifty per cent 0:'the produce harvested before restoration and make over
the remaining firty per cent of such produce to the applicant cultivator,
6. For the cultivation of any land, no cultivator shall be required to payor deliver Limit of liability
to the owner and no owner shall be entitled to receive from the cultivator, more than of cultivators.
half o( the principal produce of the land or the price thereof, as the case may be, as rent
or share or on any other account.
7. (I) Ifa cultivator-
surrenders his right to cultivate in respect of the land cultivated
by him as a cultivator, or
(b) abandons cultivation of such land, the owner of the land shall give infor-
mationin writing of such surrender or abandonment to the prescribed authority wi-
thin th.ree months from the date of surrender or abandonment.
(a) Surrender or abandon.
ment,
(2) on receipt of such information the prescribed authority shall, after giving the cul-
tivator and the owner an opportunity of being heard and making such inquries as
he may deem necessary, by order, determine whether the cultivator voluntarily
surrendered or abandoned his right of cultivation in relation to such land.
(3) If the prescribed authority determines that the cultivator had not voluntarily
surrendered or abandoned the cultivation of the land which was being cultivated
by him as such and that he had been compelled by force or otherwise to surren-
der or abandon the cultivation of such land, the prescribed authority shall restore
to the cultivator the cultivation of the land.
(4) IFthe cultivator or his heirs are not available or is not willing to be restord to the
cultivation of such Jand, or if the prescribed authority determines that the culti-
vator had voluntarily surrendered or abandoned such land, the owner may, with
the permission of the prescr-ibed authority -
(a) resume personal cultivation of such land, or
(b) have such land cultivated by another cultivator of the locality who is wil-
ling to cultivate the land as cultivator.
Where a cultivator cultivating any land dies, the cultivation of such land may Le
continued for the remaining period of that agricultural year by the lawful heirs of
the cultivator and if such lawful heir continues the cultivation, he shall have all
the rights and be subject to all the liabilities of a cultivator under this Act
in respect of such land.
8. Continuation of right
of cultivation on
cultivator's death.
9· IFthe cultivator fails or omits or neglects to pay the rent in cash or in
kin(l or a share or fixed quantity of the produce payable to the owner,
the owner shall be entitled to recover such rent or produce due to him or
its value in c.ish.
Cultivator and the
owner to receive their
dues.
(2) IF1']1(> produce or any lanel cultivated by cultivator whether before or
afta it is h.u-vestcd is taken away by owner forCibly or otherwise, the cul-
valor shall be entitled to recover from such owner the share or quantity
of the produce due to him or its value in cash.
10. :":vcry dispute between it cultivator and the owner in respect of the following .Jurisdiction to
matters, namel y s-i-- certain disputes.
(a) division or delivery of the produce or payment of rent;
(b) recovery or rent, share or fixedquantityof the produce under
the provisions of sub-section (I) or sub-section (2) of section 9;
(c) terrnination of cultivation by the cultivator or the owner;
(d) the type of the house or other structure erected on the land,
shall be decided by the prescribed authority.
I I. Any person ag&rieved by an order ofthe prescribed authority may, within thirty Appeal. ,
days from the date 01 receipt of such order, prefer an appeal to such officer or autho- .~ '\ <;:,. /~~. \
rity, as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette appoint· t ~I(1 I\ b
. ..,. C,l~ /' 11(Provided that such. officer or authority may, If the appellant was prevented by
sufficient cause from preferring the appeal, entertain the appeal preferred beyond the
said period of thi rtv days.

4
Procedure and execu- 1 2 • (I )
lion.
Protection of action
taken in good faith.
Bar of Jurisdiction.
Pending proceedings
to abate and not to be
maintainable.
1of 1975.
Restoration of posse-
ssion to cultivators
evicted on or after
expiration of Act
1 of 1975.
1 of 1975.
Power to make rules. I 7.
The procedure to be followed by the prescribed authority or by the offic«
or authority referred to in section I I shall be such as may be prescribed.
(2) An order made by the prescribed authority or the officer or authority
referred to in section I J shall be executed by the prescribed authority in
such manner as may be prescribed.
13, No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against any person for
anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under or in pursuance of
the provisions of this Act or rules made thereunder.
ht,. No order or other proceedings whatsoever under this Act, shall be ques-
tioned in any civil court and no civil court sha] l entertain any suit or proceedings in res-
pect of any matter for which provisions is made in this Act.
15. NotWithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force,
all suits and other proceedings including appeals instivuted and pending in any court,
tribunal or other officer or authority for eviction of any cultivator, after the expiration-
of the Sikkim Cultivators Protection (Temporary Provisions) Act, I 'JH and before the
commencement of this Act, shall abate and shall not be maintainable,
16, Notwithstanding anything conta ined in any judgment, decree or order of any
court, tribunal or other offIcer or authority and subject to the provisions of this Act,
every cultivator who had been evicted from any land on or after the expiration of the
Sikkim Cultlvators Protection (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1975 but before the com-
mencement of this Act on anv p-round shall, on an application made to the prescribed
authority within a period of' tl~ree months from ti~e commencement of this Act, be
entitled to be restored to the possession of such land and to hold it with all the rights
and subject to all the liahilities of a cultivator under the provisions of this Act:
Provided that any appl ication received after the period of three months
aforesaid,may be received after the said period if the prescribed authority is
satisfied that the applicant had sufficient cause for not making the 'application
within the said period of three months.
(I) The State Government may make rules for carrying out the purposes of
this Act.
Tn particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing
provisions, such rules may provide for all or any of the follOWing matters,
namcly:-
(a) the period within which the cultivator shall payor deliver to the
owner, the rent, or share or fixed quantity of the produce to
which the owner is entitled under this Act;
(b) the procedure to be followed by the prescribed authority or the
other officer or authority referred to in section 12;
(c) the manner in which the final order by the prescribed authority
or other officer or authority sh,,11 be executed;
(d) any other matter which is necessary for proper implementation or
enforcement of this Act.
B. R. PRADHAN,
Secretary to the Govt. of Sikkim,
Law Department.
F. No. 16(193) LD/84.
•• • ~i7!
PRINTED AT TJ-IF SIKKIM GOVERNMENT PRESS, GANGTOK.

‹ Prev All Sikkim acts Next ›