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1978 DIGILAW 49 (KAR)

MARIYAPPA v. LAND TRIBUNAL, MANDYA

1978-02-24

VENKATASWAMI

body1978
( 1 ) THESE two petitions have been filed by one Mariyappa under Art. 226 of the Constitution challenging the orders passed by the Land Tribunal, mandya, in proceedings No. LRF. 48 of 1974-75 and No. LRF. 50 of 1974-75 dated 25-8-1976 respectively. He was the applicant before the Tribunal in both the proceedings. His applications were under Sec. 48a of the karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961, (hereinafter referred to as the Act ). In his application, in proceeding No. MLR 48174-75 he had claimed occupancy rights in respect of Syno. 118 of Bellundagere village, measuring 1 acre 31 guntas. In the other proceeding he had claimed occupancy rights in respect of Sy. No. 46 of Hosaboodanur village, measuring 2 acres 20 guntas. Respondents 2 and 3 in WPNo. 8454/76 and respondents 2 to 4 in WP No. 8455/76 were opponents respectively in the two proceedings before the Tribunal. His claims in both the proceedings were rejected. ( 2 ) SINCE common questions of law and facts arise in these petitions, they were clubbed and heard together. ( 3 ) THE correctness of the findings of the Tribunal was assailed on several grounds. It is contended that the orders in question are not speaking orders; that the Tribunal had failed to follow the correct procedure in holding its enquiries; and that it had failed to correctly appreciate the legal aspect of the issues involved in the cases. ( 4 ) WHILE rejecting the claim of the petitioner to the land situated at Bellundagere villag,e the Tribunal has held that that land was a thoti service inam land; that it had vested in the Govt; that thereafter it was regranted in favour of the third respondent; and therefore no question of tenancy was involved in the case. ( 5 ) WHILE rejecting his claim to the land situated at Hosadoodanur village, the Tribunal has held that the land was a thoti service inam land and therefore it had no jurisdiction to deal with the said claim as provided under Sec. 141 of the Act. ( 6 ) THERE is enough substance in the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner that the Tribunal had dealt with these cases in a very casual and perfunctory manner without making any effort to understand the legal aspect of the issue involved. ( 7 ) SEC. ( 6 ) THERE is enough substance in the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner that the Tribunal had dealt with these cases in a very casual and perfunctory manner without making any effort to understand the legal aspect of the issue involved. ( 7 ) SEC. 141 of the Act which is referred to by the Tribunal reads as follows :-" 141. Tenure Abolition Acts-Nothing in this Act shall affect the provisions of any of the Land Tenures Abolition Acts, specified in Schedule-II of this Act, in so far as such provisions relate, to the conferment of the right of an occupant or grant of ryotwari patta in favour of any inferior holder or tenant in respect of any land held by him. "but that provision has to be read along with Sec. 126 of the Act which reads as follows : -" 126. Application of Act to Inams : For the removal of doubts it is hereby declared that the provisions of this Act in so far as they confer any rights and impose obligations on tenants and landlords shall be applicable to tenants holding lands in inam and other alienated villages or lands, and to landlords and inamdars holding lands in such villages or lands. "it is true that the Karnataka Village Offices Abolition Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the Act of 1961) is one of the Acts specified in Schedule -II to the Act. Besides the Act of 1961, several other Acts including the Mysore (Personal and Miscellaneous) Inams Abolition Act, 1954 (Mysore Act I of 1955) and the Mysore (Religious and Charitable) inams Abolition Act, 1955 (Mysore Act XVIII of 1955) are also in the schedule. ( 8 ) SEC. 141 and 126 of the Act, if read together, will show that tenants and inferior holders who are entitled to get occupancy rights under the various Inam's Abolition Acts specified in Schedule II to the act will have to get their rights worked out only under those Acts and not under the provisions of the Act, Other tenants and inferior holders, though cultivating Inam lands, covered by the aforesaid enactments, will be entitled to seek appropriate reliefs under the Act. ( 9 ) IT is now necessary to examine whether the Act of 1961 provides for conferment of ownership or ryotwari patta etc, in favour of tenants and other inferior land holders cultivating service inam lands. The main object with which the Act of 1961 was brought into force was to abolish hereditary rights to village offices and the emoluments appertaining to such offices. The other consequences that follow by the abolition of this hereditary principle are all consequential and incidental. The object of the Act of 1961 is sought to be achieved by Sec. 4 which reads as follows : -" 4. Abolition of Village Offices together with incidents there of.-Notwithstanding anything in any usage, custom, settlement, grant, agreement, sanad, or in any decree or order of a Court, or in an existing law relating to village offices, with effect on and from the appointed date,. . . . . . (1) all village offices shall be and are hereby abolished; (2) all incidents (including the right to hold office and the, emoluments attached thereto, the right to levy customary fees or perquisites in money or in kind and the liability to render service) appertaining to the said village offices shall be and are hereby extinguished; (3) subject to the provisions of Sec. 5, Sec. 6 and Sec. 7, all land granted or continued in respect of or annexed to a village office by the state shall be and is hereby resumed, and shall be subject to the payment of land revenue under the provisions of the Code and the rules and orders made thereunder, as if it were an unalienated land or roytwari land. "sec. 5 provides for re-grant of land resumed under Sec. 4 to the holder of the village office, and Sec. 6 provides for re-grant of land resumed under Sec. 4 to authorised holders. 'authorised holder' as denned in clause (b) of Sec. 2 is one who has obtained validly either by sale, gift, partition or otherwise any service inam land attached to a village office. If the holder of the village office was in possession, either by himself, or through a tenant lawfully cultivating any land such a person was entitled to the regrant of such land under Sec. 5. If the holder of the village office was in possession, either by himself, or through a tenant lawfully cultivating any land such a person was entitled to the regrant of such land under Sec. 5. Likewise, an authorised holder in possession of the land either actually or constructively would be entitled to the re-grant of the same under Sec. 6. If the land, on the date of vesting, was not in the possession of the holder of a village office or the authorised holder as aforesaid but was in the possesion of an un-authorised holder, the holder of the village office or the authorised holder, as the ease may be, would not be entitled to a re-grant. Under S. 7, an unauthorised holder in occupation of any service inam land could be summarily evicted by the Govt in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 1961. No doubt, under its discretion the Govt (Deputy Commissioner), as provided in the proviso to Sec. 7, could have also regranted the said land in favour of such an unauthorised holder. ( 10 ) THE Act of 1961, unlike the other Inams Abolition Acts (The mysore (Personal and Miscellaneous) Inams Abolition Act, 1954 and the Mysore (Religious and Charitable) Inams Abolition Act, 1955 does not provide for conferment of ownership or occupancy rights in favour of tenants and other inferior holders. On the other hand, the Act of 1961 envisages the continuation of such leases, if any, existing on the date of vesting. The relationship between the re-grantees and their tenants would be governed by the existing Tenancy Laws. This is clear from Sec. 8 of the Act of 1961 which reads as follows :"8. Application of Tenancy Law-If any land granted or continued in respect of or annexed to a village office by the State has beer lawfully leased and such lease is subsisting on the appointed date the provisions of the tenancy law for the time being in force in that area in which the land is situate shall apply to the said lease and the rights and liabilities of the person to whom such land is granted under Secs. 5, 6 or 7 and his tenant or tenants shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be governed by the provisions of the said tenancy Law. 5, 6 or 7 and his tenant or tenants shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be governed by the provisions of the said tenancy Law. Explanation: For the purpose of this section the expression 'land' shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in the tenancy law referred to above. "the rights of all those lawfully cultivating as tenants under the holder of the village office, the authorised holder, and under certain circumstances, the unauthorised holder are saved even after the vesting and re- granting of those lands under Secs. 5, 6 or 7 of the Act of 1961. The relationship of such lessees and their landlords would be governed by the existing tenancy laws. Hence, the rights of such persons are required to be worked out under the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961 (the Act ). ( 11 ) WITHOUT examining all these aspects and without applying its mind to the issues involved, the Tribunal has wrongly rejected the applications. In the circumstances, the two impugned orders deserve to be quashed. ( 12 ) HENCE, both the writ petitions are allowed and the rules issued are made absolute. The two impugned orders of the Tribunal are hereby quashed and the matters are remitted back to the Tribunal for fresh' enquiry and disposal in accordance with law and in the light of observations made above. Parties are directed to bear their own costs. --- *** --- .