The Pattazhi Devaswom Lands (Vesting and Enfranchisement) Act, 1961

An Act to provide for the enfranchisement of certain lands belonging to the Pattazhi Devi Temple and its Keezheedus and for the vesting in the Government of Kerala of certain other lands belonging to the said Temple and Keezheedus.

Preamble.—WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the enfranchisement of certain lands belonging to the Pattazhi Devi Temple and its Keezheedus and for the vesting in the Government of Kerala of certain other lands belonging to the said Temple and Keezheedus;

BE it enacted in the Twelfth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

1. Short title and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Pattazhi Devaswom

Lands (Vesting and Enfranchisement) Act, 1961.

1. (2) It shall come into force at once. 2. Saving.—Nothing in this Act shall apply to the lands specified in the Schedule. 3. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
   • (a) "basic tax" means the tax imposed by the Government under the provisions of the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961;
   • (b) "Government" means the Government of Kerala; 1[(c) "holding" means any land (including any land entered as “tharissu” in the revenue records) owned by the Temple and held by a tenant;]
   • (d) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
   • (e) "Temple" means the Pattazhi Devi Temple situated in the Pattazhi Village in the Pathanapuram Taluk and includes the following Keezheedus of the said Temple, namely:-
     • (i) the Kundayam temple situated in the Pattazhi Village in the Pathanapuram Taluk; and
     • (ii) the Mannadi temple situated in the Kadampanadu Village in the Kunnathur Taluk.
   • (f) "tenant" means a person holding at the commencement of this Act lands owned by the Temple on venpattam, kanam or any other kind of tenure directly under the temple; *Received the assent of the President on 23rd June 1961 and published in the Gazette Extraordinary dated 6th July 1961. 1 Substituted by Act 5 of 1966 1[(g) "tharissu" means any land entered as “tharissu” in the revenue rerecords and owned by the Temple but does not include any such land held by a tenant.] 4. Cessation of the rights of the Temple.—On and after the commencement of this Act, notwithstanding anything contained in any law or contract or in any decree or order of court, the Temple shall—
2. (1) cease to have any right, claim or interest in respect of—
   • (i) the lands comprised in the holdings; and
   • (ii) tharissu, and
3. (2) cease to have any right to collect arrears of rent in respect of lands comprised in any holding which remain unpaid to the Temple on the date of commencement of this Act, but the Temple shall be entitled to receive and be paid compensation as hereinafter provided for the extinguishment of such rights, claims and interests. 5. Tenants to be proprietors and tharissu to vest in Government.—On and after the commencement of this Act,—
   • (i) every tenant shall, subject to the provisions of section 7, have full proprietary rights in the land comprised in his holding and such rights shall be heritable and alienable;
   • (ii) the tenants shall not be liable to pay rent to the Temple; and
   • (iii) all tharissu shall vest in the Government. 6. Compensation to the Temple.—(1) The Government shall, by way of compensation for the extinguishment of the rights, claims and interests of the Temple under section 4, pay to the Temple a sum of four lakhs and seventy-five thousand rupees.
4. (2) The amount of compensation payable under sub-section (1) shall be paid in cash and shall bear interest at the rate of 4 per cent per annum from the 1st day of April, 1959, till the date of payment. 7. Tenants to pay compensation for rights vested in them.—(1) In consideration of the rights vested in a tenant under section 5, the tenant shall be liable to pay—
   • (i) to the Government—
   • (a) in such manner as may be prescribed an amount which shall be equal to nine times the annual rent on the lands comprised in the holding where such lands are lands adapted for the cultivation of paddy, or five times the annual rent on the lands comprised in the holding where such lands are not lands adapted for the cultivation of paddy; and
   • (b) the basic tax in respect of the lands comprised in his holding from the first day of April, 1959, up to the commencement of this Act; and 1 Substituted by Act 5 of 1966
     • (ii) to the panchayat the cess in respect of the lands comprised in his holding from the first day of April, 1959, up to the commencement of this Act.
5. (2) Where the annual rent on any land comprised in a holding is fixed in paddy, such annual rent shall, for the purposes of this section, be computed in money at the rate of one rupee and fifty naye paise per para of paddy. 1[(3) The amount payable under sub-clause (a) of clause (i) of sub-section (1)—
   • (a) shall bear interest at the rate of 4 per cent per annum from the date of receipt by the tenant of the order of the officer appointed or authorised under sub-section (2) of section 9, settling such amount; and
   • (b) shall be paid in twelve equal half-yearly instalments together with interest accrued due on the amount outstanding on the date of payment of each instalment: Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall be deemed to preclude the tenant from paying such amount in lesser number of instalments than twelve or from paying the whole amount due in one instalment: Provided further that no interest shall be payable on such amount if it is paid in a lump sum within thirty days next following the date of receipt by the tenant of the order referred to in clause (a).] 8. Liability to pay basic tax and cess on land.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in the Kerala Land Tax Act, 1961,—
     • (i) the Temple shall be liable to pay to the Government, in respect of the lands comprised in the holdings and the tharissu only one-half of the basic tax for the financial year 1958-59, and no basic tax shall be payable in respect of such lands by the Temple to the Government from the 1st day of April, 1959;
     • (ii) every tenant shall be liable to pay basic tax to the Government on and from the commencement of this Act, in respect of the land comprised in his holding.
6. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in the Kerala Panchayats Act, 1960, or in any rules, bye-laws, notifications or orders issued thereunder,-
   • (i) the Temple shall be liable to pay to any panchayat only one-half of the cess on land for the financial year 1958-59 levied by that panchayat in respect of the land comprised in the holdings and the tharissu, and no cess on land shall be payable in respect of any such land by the Temple to any panchayat from the 1st day of April, 1959;
   • (ii) every tenant shall be liable to pay on and from the commencement of this Act the cess on land in respect of the land comprised in his holding levied by the panchayat within whose jurisdiction such land is situated. 9. Issue of pattas, etc., to tenants.—(1) As soon as may be after the commencement of this Act the Government shall issue pattas or other documents evidencing the right of the 1 Substituted by Act 22 of 1972. tenants in their holdings. Such pattas or other documents shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed.
7. (2) The Government may appoint or authorise such officer or officers as they deem necessary for the purpose of settling the tax or other dues payable by the tenants to the Government or to any other authority and for the issue of pattas or other documents. 1[9A. Appeal.—(1) Any person aggrieved by an order passed by any officer appointed or authorised under sub-section (2) of section 9 may, within a period of sixty days from the date on which that order was communicated to him, prefer an appeal to the Revenue Divisional Officer of the division in which the land in respect of which such order has been passed is situate: Provided that the Revenue Divisional Officer may admit an appeal after the expiration of the said period of sixty days, if he is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within that period.
8. (2) An appeal under sub-section (1) shall be in the prescribed form and shall be verified in the prescribed manner and shall be accompanied by a fee of two rupees.
9. (3) The Revenue Divisional Officer shall, after giving the appellant and any other person affected by the order appealed against an opportunity of being heard, and after making such further inquiries as he may consider necessary, pass such order on the appeal as he thinks fit. 9B. Revision.—(1) The District Collector may, either of his own motion or on the application of any person aggrieved, call for and examine the record of any proceeding under this Act in which an order has been passed by the Revenue Divisional Officer or by any officer appointed or authorised under sub-section (2) of section 9, for the purpose of satisfying himself as to the correctness, legality, propriety or regularity of such order, and may pass such order thereon as he thinks fit: Provided that the District Collector shall not call for and examine the record of any proceeding in which an order has been passed by any officer appointed or authorised under sub-section (2) of section 9, if an appeal against that order is pending or if the time for preferring an appeal against such order has not expired.
10. (2) The District Collector shall not of his own motion revise any order under sub- section (1) if that order has been made more than one year previously.
11. (3) An application under sub-section (1) by an aggrieved person shall be made within a period of one year from the date on which the order in question was communicated to him: Provided that the District Collector may admit an application made after the expiry of the said period of one year, if he is satisfied that the applicant had sufficient cause for not making the application within that period.
12. (4) Every application for revision under sub-section (1) shall be accompanied by a fee of two rupees. 1 Inserted by Act 22 of 1972.
13. (5) An order prejudicial to a person shall not be passed under sub-section (1) unless that person has been given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against such order. Explanation.—An order declining to interfere shall, for the purposes of this subsection, be deemed to be an order prejudicial to a person.] 10. Amounts due to Government to be recoverable under the Revenue Recovery Act.— Any amount due to the Government from the tenants under this Act shall be a first charge on the holdings, and the instalments and interest due shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue under the provisions of the Travancore-Cochin Revenue Recovery Act, 1951, as if they were arrears of public revenue due to the Government. 11. Indemnity.—(1) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government for any act which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.
14. (2) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall be instituted against any officer or person duly appointed or authorised under this Act in respect of anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rules made thereunder. 12. Power to make rules.—(1) The Government may, by notification in the Gazette, make rules for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act.
15. (2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for—
    • (a) the settlement of the tax or other dues payable by the tenants;
    • (b) the determination of the date of payment of the first instalment of dues by the tenants;
    • (c) the procedure for the issue of pattas or other documents and the particulars they should contain;
    • (d) prescribing forms where forms are necessary; 1[(e) the form in which appeals under section 9A may be preferred and the manner in which they shall be verified.] 2[(f) xxxx] (g) all other matters required or allowed by this Act to be prescribed.
16. (3) The power to make rules conferred by this section is subject to the condition of previous publication.
17. (4) The rules made under this section shall, as soon as possible after they are made, be laid before the Legislative Assembly of the State of Kerala for a period of not less than 1 Substituted by Act 22 of 1972. 2 Omitted by Act 22 of 1972. fourteen days and shall be subject to such modification as the Legislative Assembly may make during the session in which they are so laid or the session immediately following. 13. Power to remove difficulties.—If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Government may, as occasion may require, do anything which appears to them necessary for the purpose of removing the difficulty.

(See section 2) Description of lands exempted from the provisions of the Act

Sl. No. Taluk Village Survey Extent Reamrks No. Letter Acre Cents

1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13 Pathanapuram do.; do. do.; do. do. do. do. do. Kunnathoor Pathanapuram; do. do. Pattazhi do.; do. do.; do. do. do. do. do. Kadambanad Pattazhi; do. do. 20 132; 176; 207; 208; 210 207 210 503; 407 95; 419 .. 157 449; 6 9A1; 1; 11 3; 12 1; 1A 5; 318 .. 3 2; 1 6; .. .. .. ..; 2; .. ..; .. .. 10 58; 10 51; 70 20 85 48 27 89 .. 56 .. Tank and its premises (Pattazhi Devaswom); Land on the eastern side of Vadakke Arapura. Pathway leading to temple tank. Site of the Vadakke Arapura and the buildings.; Site of Mannadi temple and the buildings therein.; Thanathu land leased out on short term Kuthakapattom.; Kuttalamalamkavu required for the conduct of Kuravar Malakkuda function in Meenam. Pulikkunnumala required for the conduct of Thullal and Poojas in connection with the Makayiram Thirunal Festival in Kumbhom.; Pattazhi Temple site and the buildings in it (village office, Camp shed and temple buildings) Site of Devaswom Superintendent’s Office, Pattazhi and the Building in it.; Site of Kundayam temple (Keezheedu of the Pattazhi Devaswom) and the building.; One mango tree and one jack tree on road poramboke, Thanathu—leased out on short term Kuthakapattom.; Nine trees standing on the bunds at Kanjirathumkal Yellah, Neduvankulathu Yellah and Chirakkara Yellah—Thanathu —leased out on short term Kuthakapattom.