The Bombay Land Tenures Abolition (Amendment) Act, 1953

Preamble-1953. PREAMBLE WHEREAS it is expedient to amend certain Acts providing for the abolition of land tenures in the State of Bombay for the purposes hereinafter appearing ; It is hereby enacted as follows :-

1. (1) This Act may be called the Bombay Land Tenures Abolition (Amendment) Act, 1953.
2. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Bombay excluding the merged territories.

1. (1) The amount of compensation payable under the provisions specified in column 2 of the First Schedule hereto annexed of the Acts specified in column 1 thereof, shall be payable in transferable bonds carrying interest at the rate of three per cent. per annum from the date of the issue of such bonds and shall be repayable during a period of twenty years from the date of the issue of such bonds by equated annual instalments of principal and interest. The bonds shall be of such denominations and shall be in such forms as may be prescribed.
2. (2) Where compensation has been paid in non-transferable bonds under the provisions of section 7 of the Bombay Paragana and Kulkarni Watans (Abolition) Act, 1950, at any time before the date of the coming into force of this Act, the holder thereof shall be entitled to have such bonds converted into transferable bonds repayable and carrying interest as provided in sub-section
3. (1) within such period and in such manner as may be prescribed by rules made under this Act.

The Acts specified in column 1 of the Second Schedule hereto annexed shall be amended in the manner and to the extent set forth in column 2 of that Schedule.

The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act. Such rules shall be subject to the condition of previous publication.

First Schedule. FIRST SCHEDULE (See section 2.)

Acts. 1 --- Provisions. 2

1. The Bombay Maleki Tenure Abolition Act, 1949 (Bom. LXI of 1949). --- Section 5. 2. The Bombay Taluqdari Tenure Abolition Act, 1949 (Bom. LXII of 1949). --- Sections 7 and 14. 3. The Bombay Khoti Abolition Act, 1949 (Bom. VI of 1950). --- Section 12. 4. The Bombay Paragana and Kulkarni Watans (Abolition) Act, 1950 (Bom. LX of 1950). --- Sections 6, 7 and 9 as amended by this Act.

Second Schedule. SECOND SCHEDULE (See section 3.)

Acts. 1 --- Amendments. 2

The Bombay Maleki Tenure Abolition Act, 1949 (Bom. LXI of 1949). --- In sub-section

1. (1) of section 2, after clause
   • (c) the following clause shall be inserted, namely :— "(d) 'Collector' includes an officer appointed by the State Government to perform the functions and exercise the powers of the Collector under this Act." The Bombay Taluqdari Tenure Abolition Act, 1949 (Bom. LXII of 1949). --- In section 2, after clause
2. (1) the following clause shall be inserted, namely :— "(1 [Table continued from Page-batch 2] The Bombay Paragana and Kulkarni Watans (Abolition) Act, 1950 (Bom. LX of 1950). --- In section 6, for the words, letters and figures "on or before the 31st day of March 1952" the following shall be substituted and be deemed always to have been substituted, namely:--- "on or before the 30th day of April 1954." [Following text associated with Section 6 of 1950 Act in Amendment] --- and who in consequence of the coming into force of this Act ceases to be entitled to the right to perform the duties of the office of a hereditary village accountant, a sum equal to seven times the total amount of the emoluments payable annually in cash to the representative watandar performing such service in the year immediately preceding the year in which this Act comes into force shall be paid to such representative watandar as compensation and if such watandar dies before the payment of the sum to him, his heir or heirs shall be paid such sum, after deducting therefrom the amount of compensation, if any, received by the representative watandar or his heir or heirs, as the case may be, during the period between the appointed day and the date on which the Bombay Land Tenures Abolition (Amendment) Act, 1953, came into force. Explanation. --- For the purposes of this section, a deputy or substitute officiating for the representative watandar shall not be entitled to receive such sum."; The Bombay Watwa Vazifdari Rights Abolition Act, 1950 (Bom. LXII of 1950). --- In section 2, after clause
   • (b) the following clause shall be inserted, namely:--- Preamble-1958. PREAMBLE WHEREAS it is expedient further to define permanent tenants, inferior holders and permanent holders for the purposes of certain laws providing for the abolition of certain land tenures in the State of Bombay, and to provide for certain other matters hereinafter appearing; It is hereby enacted in the Ninth Year of the Republic of India as follows :— 1-1958. Short title and extent
3. (1) This Act may be called the Bombay Land Tenure Abolition Laws (Amendment) Act, 1958.
4. (2) It extends to the pre-Reorganisation State of Bombay, excluding the transferred territories. 2-1958. Definitions In this Act, unless the context requires otherwise,—
5. (1) "land tenure" means—
   • (a) taluqdari tenure,
   • (b) kauli and katuban tenure,
   • (c) personal inam,
   • (d) service inam,
   • (e) jagir,
   • (f) alienation,
   • (g) bhil naik inam, or
   • (h) political inam, within the meaning of the relevant Land Tenure Abolition law ;
6. (2) "Land Tenure Abolition law" means—
   • (a) in relation to a permanent tenant, the Acts specified in Part I of the Schedule, and
   • (b) in relation to a permanent holder or inferior holder, the Acts and rules specified in Part II of the Schedule ;
7. (3) "tenure-holder" means—
   • (a) a taluqdar,
   • (b) a Kaul holder,
   • (c) an inamdar,
   • (d) a holder,
   • (e) a jagirdar, or, as the case may be, a cadet of his family,
   • (f) an alienee, or
   • (g) holder of a political inam, within the meaning of the relevant Land Tenure Abolition law.
   • (d) “tenure-land” means—
   • (a) taluqdari land,
   • (b) kauli or katuban land,
   • (c) inam land,
   • (d) jagir land,
   • (e) service inam land,
   • (f) alienated land, or
   • (g) land held as political inam, within the meaning of the relevant Land Tenure Abolition law. 3-1958. Persons entered in record of rights, etc., as inferior holders, permanent holders or permanent tenants to be deemed to be so for purposes of certain Acts and rules A person shall, within the meaning of the relevant Land Tenure Abolition law, be deemed to be an inferior holder, a permanent holder or, as the case may be, a permanent tenant, on the date of the abolition of the relevant land tenure, if his name has been recorded in the record of rights or other public or revenue record as an inferior holder, permanent holder or permanent tenant in respect of any tenure-land—
   • (a) on the date of the abolition of the relevant land tenure, or
   • (b) in pursuance of orders issued during the course of any proceedings under the relevant Land Tenure Abolition law or, as the case may be, the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879—
     • (i) before the commencement of this Act, or
     • (ii) after the commencement of this Act in cases in which inquiries were pending at the commencement of this Act, or
   • (c) in pursuance of an order issued by the Mamlatdar in respect of an entry under section 6 of this Act. 4-1958. Permanent tenants for the purpose of certain Land Tenure Abolition laws For the purposes of the relevant Act specified in Part I of the Schedule, a person—
   • (a) who on the date of the commencement of that Act was holding any tenure land, and
   • (b) who and whose predecessors in title, if any, were, immediately before that date for such continuous period as aggregate to a total continuous period of twelve years or more, holding the same tenure-land or any other tenure-land, as a tenant or inferior holder under the tenure-holder for the time being on payment of an amount exceeding the assessment of the land, shall unless it is proved by the tenure-holder that he would not have been a permanent tenant on the basis of continued possession of the land under clause (b), be deemed to be a permanent tenant of the land under clause
   • (a) and all the provisions of that Act shall apply to him as they apply to a permanent tenant. Explanation.—The assessment for the purpose of this section shall be reckoned as provided in clauses
   • (a) and
   • (b) of section 5. 5-1958. Circumstances in which inferior holders or permanent holders shall be deemed to be holding lands on payment of assessment An inferior holder or permanent holder as defined in the relevant Act or rules specified in Part II of the Schedule shall for the purposes of the relevant Act or rules be deemed to be holding land on payment of assessment, if the cash equivalent of the payment made by him, whether in kind or in cash or in both, to the tenure-holder for such land does not exceed—
   • (a) the assessment fixed on the land under the law relating to land revenue applicable to the land before the commencement of the relevant Act or rules; or
   • (b) where no land revenue law was applicable to the land or no assessment was fixed on the land, the assessment fixed on the land under section 52 of the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879, or, as the case may be, section 7 of the Bombay Merged Territories and Areas (Jagirs Abolition) Act, 1953, after the commencement of the relevant Act or rules. 6-1958. Tenure holder contesting the entry in record of rights to apply for declaration and disposal of such application
8. (1) The rights of an inferior holder, permanent holder or permanent tenant under sections 4 and 5 shall be entered in the record of rights unless the tenure holder applies in writing to the Mamlatdar within six months from the date of the commencement of this Act for a declaration that any holder or tenant under him is not an inferior holder, a permanent holder or, as the case may be, a permanent tenant.
9. (2) Any such application shall be disposed of as if it were an application in respect of a disputed case under section 135D of the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879.