The Jammu and Kashmir Prohibition of Conversion of Land and Alienation of Orchards Act, 1975

(1) This Act may be called the Jammu and Kashmir Prohibition of Conversion of Land and Alienation of Orchards Act, 1975. (2) It extends to the whole of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. (3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Government Gazette, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— (a) "Government" means the Government of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir; (b) "land" means land which is occupied or has been let for agricultural purposes or for purposes subservient to agriculture, or for pasture, and includes sites of buildings and other structures on such land; (c) "orchard" means any land used for the purpose of fruit culture.

No person shall have the right to convert orchards into any other land save with the prior permission of the Government and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.

No person holding an orchard shall use it or convert it to any other purpose except with the previous permission in writing of the Government or such officer as the Government may authorise in this behalf.

No person shall alienate any orchard or any portion thereof except with the previous permission in writing of the Government or such officer as the Government may authorise in this behalf.

(1) Any person desiring to convert an orchard to any other purpose or to alienate any orchard or any portion thereof may apply to the Government or the officer authorised in this behalf in such form as may be prescribed. (2) On receipt of an application under sub-section (1), the Government or the authorised officer may, after making such inquiry as it or he deems necessary and after satisfying itself or himself that the conversion or alienation is not against the public interest or the development of the fruit industry in the State, grant the permission applied for subject to such conditions as it or he may deem fit to impose or refuse to grant such permission. (3) The order made under sub-section (2) shall be final.

Any person aggrieved by an order of the Revenue Officer under section 4 or section 6, may within thirty days from the date of the order, appeal to the Collector, whose decision shall be final.

The Divisional Commissioner may, suo motu or on an application made in this behalf, call for the record of any proceedings under this Act and may pass such order in reference thereto as he thinks fit: Provided that no order shall be passed to the prejudice of any person without giving him an opportunity of being heard.

Any Revenue Officer or any officer authorised by the Government in this behalf may, at any time, enter upon any land for the purposes of inspection or for performing any other duty under this Act.

Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder shall, on conviction, be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees or with both.

No court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under this Act except on a complaint in writing made by the Revenue Officer not below the rank of Tehsildar.

(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company, every person who, at the time the offence was committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:

Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment provided in this Act if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this section,— (a) "company" means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and (b) "director" in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm.

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government or any officer or person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rules made thereunder.

If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Government may, by order, do anything not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, which appears to it to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the difficulty.

(1) The Government may, by notification in the Government Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. (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 procedure to be followed by the prescribed authority under this Act; (b) the manner in which the permission of the prescribed authority may be applied for and the fee, if any, to be paid for such application; (c) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed.

The Jammu and Kashmir Prohibition of Conversion of Land and Alienation of Orchards Ordinance, 1975 (II of 1975) is hereby repealed; but notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken under this Act as if this Act had commenced on the 20th day of May, 1975.