Chapter IX -Partition

Any joint owner of land, or any joint tenant of a tenancy in which a right of occupancy subsists, may apply to a Revenue Officer for partition of his share in the land or tenancy, as the case may be, if- (a) at the date of the application the share is recorded under Chapter IV as belonging to him, or (b) his right to the share has been established by a decree which is still subsisting at that date, or (c) a written acknowledgement of that right has been executed by all persons interested in the admission or denial thereof.

Restrictions and limitations on partition. Notwithstanding anything in the last forgoing section - (1) Places of worship and burial grounds held in common before partition shall continue to be so held after partition unless the parties otherwise agree among themselves and record their agreement and file it with the Revenue Officer; (2) Partition of any of the following properties, namely- (a) any embankment, water course, well or tank, and any land on which the supply of water to any such work may depend, (b) any grazing ground, and (c) any land which is occupied as the site of a town or village and is assessed to land revenue, may be refused if, in the opinion of the Revenue Officer, the partition of such property is likely to cause inconvenience to the co-sharers or other persons directly or indirectly interested therein, or to diminish the utility thereof to those persons; and (3) The fact that a partition on the application of a joint owner of land would render necessary the severance into two or more parts of the land comprised in the tenancy of a tenant having a right of occupancy may, unless the tenant assents to the severance, be a sufficient reason for the disallowance of the partition in so far as it would affect that tenancy.

The Revenue Officer, on receiving the application under section 123 shall, if it is in order and not open to objection on the face of it, fix a day for the hearing thereof, and -- (a) cause notice of the application and of the day so fixed to be served on such of the recorded co-sharers as have not joined in the application, and, if the share of which partition is applied for is a share in a tenancy, on the land-lord also; and (b) issue a proclamation calling on any person who may have objections to the partition to appear before him either in person or by a duly authorised agent on a day fixed for the hearing of the application and to state them.

Addition of parties to application. On the day fixed for the hearing, or on any day to which the hearing may be adjourned the Revenue Officer shall ascertain whether any of the other co-sharers desire the partition of their shares also, and, if any of them so desire, he shall add them as applicants for partition.

Absolute disallowance of partition. After examining such of the co-sharers and other persons as may be present on that day, the Revenue Officer may, if he is of opinion that there is good and sufficient cause why partition should be absolutely disallowed, refuse the application, recording the grounds of his refusal.

Procedure on admission of application. If the Revenue Officer does not refuse the application under the last foregoing section, he shall ascertain the questions, if any, in dispute between any of the persons interested distinguishing between- (a) questions as to title in the property of which partition is sought; and (b) questions as to the property to be divided, or the mode of making the partition.

Disposal of questions as to title in property to be divided. (1) When there is a question as to title in any of the property of which partition is sought, the Revenue Officer may decline to grant the application for partition until the question has been determined by a competent Court, or he may himself proceed to determine the question as though he were such a Court. (2) Where the Revenue Officer himself proceeds to determine the question, the following rule shall apply namely- (a) If the question is one over which a Revenue Court has jurisdiction, the Revenue Officer shall proceed as a Revenue Court under the provision of Law for the time being in force. (b) if the question is one over which a Civil Court has jurisdiction, the procedure of the Revenue Officer shall be that applicable to the trial of an original suit by a Civil Court, and he shall record a judgement and decree containing the particulars required by the Code of Civil Procedure to be specified therein; (c) an appeal shall lie from the decree of the Revenue officer under clause (b) as though that decree were decree of a Subordinate Judge in an original suit; (d) Upon such an appeal being made, the District Court or High Court as the case may be, may issue an injunction to the Revenue Officer requiring him to stay proceedings pending the disposal of the appeal; (e) from the appellate decree of a District Court upon such an appeal a further appeal shall lie to the High Court if such a further appeal is allowed by the law for the time being in force.

Disposal of other questions. (1) When there is a question as to the property to be divided, or the mode of marking a partition, the Revenue Officer shall, after such inquiry as he deems necessary, record an order stating his decision on the question and his reasons for the decision. (2) An appeal may be preferred from an order under sub-section (1) within thirty days from the date thereof, and, when such an appeal is preferred and the institution thereof has been certified to the Revenue Officer by the authority to whom the appeal has been preferred the Revenue Officer shall stay proceedings pending the disposal of the appeal. (3) If an applicant for partition is dis-satisfied with an original or appellate order under this section and applies for permission to withdraw from the proceedings in so far as they relate to the partition of his shares, he shall be permitted to withdraw therefrom on such terms as the Revenue Officer thinks fit. (4) When an applicant withdraws under the last foregoing sub-section, the Revenue Officer, may, where the other applicants, if any desire the continuance of the proceedings, continue them in so far as they relate to the partition of the shares of those other applicants.

When any such property as is referred to in section 124, clause (2), is excluded from partition, the Revenue Officer may determine the extent and manner to and in which the co-sharers and other persons interested therein may make use thereof, and the proportion in which expenditure incurred thereon and profits derived therefrom, respectively, are to be borne by and divided among those persons or any of them.

(1) The amount of revenue to be paid in respect of each of the holdings into which land has been divided on a partition and the amount of rent to be paid in respect of each of the portions into which a tenancy has been so divided, shall be determined by the Revenue Officer making the partition. (2) The determination of the Revenue Officer as to the revenue to be paid in respect of each holding shall, where the estate in which the holding is situate is subject to a fixed assessment, be deemed to be an order under section 60, sub-section (1). (3) Where new estates have been created at a partition and the land-revenue has been fraudulently or erroneously distributed among them the State Government may within twelve years from the time of discovery of the fraud or error, order a new distribution of the land -revenue among several estates, on an estimate of the assets of each estate at the time of the partition, to be made conformably to the best evidence and information procurable respecting the same.

When a partition is completed, the Revenue Officer shall cause an instrument of partition to be prepared, and the date on which the partition is to take effect to be recorded therein.

Delivery of possession of property allotted on partition. An owner or tenant to whom any land or portion of a tenancy, as the case may be, is allotted in proceedings for partition shall be entitled to possession thereof as against the other parties to the proceeding and their legal representatives, and a Revenue Officer shall, on application made to him for the purpose by any such owner or tenant at any time within three years from the date recorded in the instrument of partition under the last foregoing section, give effect to that instrument so as it concerns the applicant as if it were a decree of Civil Court for possession of immovable property.

Affirmation of partition privately affected. (1) In any case in which a partition has been made without the intervention of a Revenue Officer, any party thereto may apply to a Revenue Officer for an order affirming the partition. (2) On receiving the application, if the Revenue Officer, after hearing the parties, finds that, the partition has taken place and acted upon, he may make an order affirming the partition and get his order implemented by getting the mutation of private partition attested within one month and he shall also distribute the land revenue and rents involved in the holding in accordance with the shares partitioned therein. (3) Where all the co-sharers make a report in writing duly signed by all of them to the patwari, that, they have privately partitioned the land and separated the possession thereof amicably, the patwari shall make an entry of such report in his dairy and enter the mutation which will be decided by the Revenue Officer after hearing the parties within three months.

Estimates and levy of costs. (1) When the mode of partition is determined, the Revenue Officer shall cause the cost of making the partition to be estimated, and shall direct that the cost be levied in the first instance from the applicant for partition or from all the co-sharers in such instalments and at such times during the progress of the partition as may be prescribed by rules. (2) If the amount first estimated is found insufficient supplementary estimates may be made from time to time, and the additional amount may be levied as above provided. (3) The Financial Commissioner shall make rules for determining the cost of partitions under this Chapter and the mode in which such costs are to be apportioned.

Officers who may be empowered to Act under this Chapter. (1) The Revenue Officer by whom proceedings may be taken under this Chapter shall be the Assistant Collector of either grade. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 129, when there is a question as to title in any of the property of which partition is sought, such question of title shall be determined by the Revenue Officer not below that of Assistant Collector of First Grade under this Chapter.