The Gujarat Devasthan Inams Abolition Act, 1969

Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Gujarat Devasthan Inams Abolition Act, 1969.

1. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Gujarat.
2. (3) This section shall come into force at once and the remaining provisions of this Act shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

1. (1) "appointed date" means the date appointed under sub-section
2. (3) of section 1;
3. (2) "assessment" means the land revenue assessed and leviable in respect of the land under the provisions of the Code;
4. (3) "authorised holder" means a person in whom the ownership of land vests under the provisions of this Act and who has paid such occupancy price as may be prescribed for the occupancy of the land;
5. (4) "Code" means the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879, as in force in the State of Gujarat;
6. (5) "Collector" includes an officer not below the rank of a Deputy Collector appointed by the State Government to perform the functions of the Collector under this Act;
7. (6) "Devasthan inam" means—
   • (i) a grant of soil or of the whole or a share of the land revenue of a village or land to a religious institution;
   • (ii) a grant of a village or land to a religious institution;
   • (iii) holding of land for service or towards the maintenance of a religious institution, whether or not such holding is registered in the alienation register kept under the Code;
8. (7) "Devasthan land" means land held under a Devasthan inam;
9. (8) "inferior holder" means a person who is in possession of Devasthan land or who has a right to such possession and who is liable to pay land revenue to the inamdar or the religious institution but not to the State Government;
10. (9) "inamdar" means a religious institution holding a Devasthan inam;
11. (10) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
12. (11) "religious institution" means an institution for public religious worship such as a temple, a mosque, a church, a fire temple or a synagogue or a religious math, and includes any other institution for public religious worship declared by the State Government to be a religious institution for the purposes of this Act;
13. (12) "tenancy law" means—
    • (i) the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948;
    • (ii) the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Vidarbha Region and Kutch Area) Act, 1958;
14. (13) "unauthorised holder" means a person other than an inamdar, an inferior holder or an authorised holder, who is in possession of Devasthan land;
15. (14) words and expressions used in this Act but not defined shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Code.

Abolition of Devasthan inams.

1. (1) With effect from and on the appointed date, notwithstanding anything contained in any usage, settlement, grant, agreement, sanad or any decree or order of a court or any other law for the time being in force,—
   • (a) all Devasthan inams shall be deemed to have been abolished;
   • (b) save as expressly provided by or under this Act, all rights of an inamdar to hold inam land, and all rights of any person to receive any cash allowance or land revenue in respect of any Devasthan inam, shall be extinguished.
2. (2) Nothing in sub-section
3. (1) shall effect the continuance of a Devasthan inam for the support or maintenance of a religious institution.

Liability of inam land to payment of land revenue.

1. (1) All inam lands shall be and are hereby liable to the payment of land revenue to the State Government in accordance with the provisions of the Code and the rules made thereunder and the provisions of the Code relating to unalienated lands shall apply to such lands.
2. (2) The amount of land revenue payable under sub-section
3. (1) shall be the amount of assessment fixed in accordance with the provisions of the Code and the rules made thereunder:

Registration of Devasthan inams Registration of Devasthan inams

1. (1) All Devasthan inams to which the provisions of this Act apply shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any law, usage, settlement, grant, sanad or order, be deemed to have been abolished with effect from the appointed date.
2. (2) Every religious institution shall, for the purpose of being registered as an occupant under the provisions of this Act, make an application in the prescribed form to the Collector within the prescribed period.
3. (3) On receipt of such application, the Collector shall, after holding a formal inquiry in the manner provided by the Code, register the religious institution as an occupant of the land and issue a certificate of such registration in the prescribed form.
4. (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code, the occupant of the land so registered shall be liable to pay to the State Government an annual land revenue equal to the amount of assessment of the land.
5. (5) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Collector under sub-section
6. (3) may appeal to the State Government within the prescribed period and the decision of the State Government on such appeal shall be final.

Vesting of uncultivated lands and other property in State Government

1. (1) All public roads, lanes and paths, the bridges, ditches, dikes and fences, on, or beside, the same, the bed of the sea and of harbours, creeks below high water mark, and of rivers, streams, nallahs, lakes, wells and tanks and all canals and water-courses, and all standing and flowing water, all uncultivated lands (excluding lands in the actual possession of or in the occupation of any person) and all lands set apart for the use of the village or the public or for purposes of public utility, and all mines and quarries, and all rights in respect of trees or forest produce in Devasthan inam lands, which are not the property of any individual or an aggregate of persons legally capable of holding property, and except in so far as any rights of any person may be established in or over the same and except as may otherwise be provided in any law for the time being in force, are hereby declared to be and are members of the property of the State Government and it shall be lawful for the Collector, subject to the general or special orders of the State Government, to dispose of them as he may deem fit.
2. (2) Any person aggrieved by any such declaration or disposal of the property under sub-section
3. (1) may file a suit in a court of competent jurisdiction to establish his right, title or interest in the said property.

Certain lands to be deemed to be occupancy lands.-(1) In the case of Devasthan land, the person who is for the time being the authorised holder of the land shall be deemed to be an occupant primarily liable to the State Government for the payment of land revenue due in respect of the land held by him and shall be entitled to all the rights and shall be subject to all the liabilities provided by the Code for an occupant :

Provided that in the case of Devasthan land, which is not in the actual possession of the authorised holder, but is in the possession of a person who is an inferiour holder or a tenant having a right of permanent tenancy or a tenant under the Tenancy Law, such inferiour holder or tenant shall be deemed to be an occupant, and he shall be primarily liable to the State Government for the payment of land revenue due in respect of such land and shall be entitled to all the rights and shall be subject to all the liabilities provided by the Code for an occupant.

1. (2) Nothing in sub-section
2. (1) shall be deemed to affect the rights of the religious institution to receive the amount of land revenue or rent from the authorised holder, inferiour holder or tenant, as the case may be, in accordance with the terms of the Inam or the provisions of the Tenancy Law.

Liability of certain persons to pay land revenue.-(1) Any person who is declared to be an occupant under section 7 shall be liable to pay to the State Government annually the amount of the land revenue for the time being in force in respect of the land and such person shall be entitled to use the land for the purposes of agriculture and for any other purpose which is not inconsistent with such agricultural use, and shall be entitled to all the rights of an occupant under the Code.

1. (2) The State Government may grant occupancy on such terms and conditions and on payment of such occupancy price as may be prescribed by the rules made in this behalf.

Assessment of land revenue.

1. (1) An Inamdar or an inferior holder in respect of an inam land and a person deemed to be an occupant under section 5 or 6 shall be primarily liable to the State Government for the payment of the land revenue due in respect of such land held by him and shall be entitled to all the rights and shall be liable to all obligations in respect of such land as an occupant under the Code.
2. (2) The land revenue payable under sub-section
3. (1) shall be the amount assessed as such in accordance with the provisions of the Code and the rules made thereunder: Provided that in respect of an inam land which is not surveyed, the settlement of assessment shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed.
4. (3) Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to affect the right of any person to subsisting tenancy under the Tenancy Law.

Provisions of Tenancy Law to apply. Subject to the provisions of this Act, the provisions of the Tenancy Law shall, in so far as they may be applicable, apply to the lands held by an Inamdar or an inferior holder as if the Inamdar or, as the case may be, the inferior holder were a landlord and the tenant thereof were a tenant within the meaning of the Tenancy Law, and the land held by the tenant were land comprised in his tenancy.

Procedure for inquiry.—

1. (1) The provisions of the Code shall, in so far as they are applicable, apply to all inquiries and proceedings held by the Collector under this Act as if he were a Revenue Officer.
2. (2) Every such inquiry shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193, 219 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code.

Appeals.—

1. (1) An appeal shall lie against any decision or order, other than an interim order, passed by the Collector under this Act, to the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal constituted under the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal Act, 1957.
2. (2) Every such appeal shall be made within a period of sixty days from the date of the decision or order of the Collector.
3. (3) In deciding an appeal under sub-section (1), the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal shall follow such procedure as may be prescribed by rules made by the State Government under this Act.
4. (4) The decision of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal shall be final.

Court fees

1. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Court Fees Act, 1870, every application or appeal made under this Act to the Collector or the State Government shall bear a court fee stamp of such value as may be prescribed.
2. (2) In any inquiry under this Act, the Collector or the State Government may award costs in such manner and on such scale as may be prescribed.

Rules

1. (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
2. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—
   • (a) the form of application to be made under sub-section
3. (1) of section 7;
   • (b) the manner in which the amount of compensation shall be determined under section 10;
   • (c) the value of court fee stamp under sub-section
4. (1) of section 13;
   • (d) the manner in which and the scale on which costs may be awarded under sub-section
5. (2) of section 13;
   • (e) any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed under this Act.
6. (3) The rules made under this section shall be subject to the condition of previous publication.
7. (4) All rules made under this section shall be laid for not less than thirty days before the State Legislature as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such modifications as the State Legislature may make during the session in which they are so laid or the session immediately following.

Power of State Government to delegate powers. The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, delegate to the Collector any of the powers conferred on it by this Act, except the power to make rules under section 17.

Savings. Nothing in this Act shall affect—

1. (i) any obligation or liability already incurred before the appointed date;
2. (ii) any proceeding pending before any court or authority on the appointed date; and all such proceedings shall be disposed of as if this Act had not been passed.

Schedule [See section 3] Serial No. Names of the Acts 1. The Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879. 2. The Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948.