Chapter IV Chapter IV

(1) Every 'Raiyat', who immediately before the commencement of this Act, has by the operation of any enactment or by local custom or usage or otherwise, a right of occupancy in any land, shall when this Act comes into force, have right of occupancy in that land, notwithstanding the fact that he may not have cultivated or held the land for a period of twelve years. (2) The exclusion from the operation of this Act by a notification under subsection (2) of Section 1 of any area or part of an area, which is constituted a Municipality under the provisions of the Jharkhand Municipal Act, 2002 (B&O Act 7 of 1922) or which is within cantonment, shall not affect any right, obligation or liability previously acquired, incurred or accrued in reference to such area.

(1) Every person who, for a period of twelve years, whether wholly or partly before or after the commencement of this Act, has continuously held as a 'Raiyat' land situate in any village, whether under a lease or otherwise, shall be deemed to have become on the expiration of that period a settled 'Raiyat' of that village. (2) A person shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Section, to have continuously held land in a village, notwithstanding that the particular land held by him has been different at different times. (3) A person shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Section, to have held as a 'Raiyat' any land held as a 'Raiyat' by a person whose heir he is. (4) Land held by two or more co-sharers as a 'Raiyati' holding shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Section, to have been held as a 'Raiyat' by each such co-sharer. (5) A person shall continue to be a settled 'Raiyat' of village as long as he holds any land as a 'Raiyat' in that village and for three years thereafter. (6) If a Raiyat recovers possession of land under Section 71, or by suit, he shall be deemed to have continued to be a settled 'Raiyat', notwithstanding his having been out of possession for more than three years. (7) If, in any suit or proceeding, it is proved or admitted that a person holds any land as a 'Raiyat', it shall, as between him and the landlord under whom he holds the land, be presumed, for the purpose of this Section, until the contrary is proved or admitted, that he has twelve years continuously held that land or some part of it as a 'Raiyat'.

The following classes of persons shall be deemed to be settled 'Raiyats' for the purposes of this Act, in regard to the land in their villages which they cultivate as 'Raiyats' (other than their own 'bhuinhari' or 'Mundari khunti-kattidari' land, and other than landlords privileged lands as defined in Section 18 and the provisions of sub-sections (3) to (6) of Section 17 shall apply to such persons as if they were 'Raiyats', namely :— (a) where any land in a village, other than land known as 'manjhihas' or 'bethkheta', is entered in any register prepared and confirmed under the Chota Nagpur Tenures Act, 1869 (Ben. Act 2 of 1969)—all members of any 'Bhuinhari' family, who hold and have for twelve years continuously held, land in such village, and (b) where any village contains lands not forming part of Mundari khunti-kattidari tenancy and an entry of Mundari khunt-kattidari or of Mundari khunt-kattidars in such village has been made in any record-of-rights as finally published under this Act or under any law in force before the commencement of this Act—all male members of any Mundari khunt-kattidar family who hold, and have for twelve years continuously held land in such village.

Every person who is a settled Raiyat of a village within the meaning of Section 17 or Section 18 shall subject to the provisions of Section 43 have a right of occupancy in all for the time being held by him as a Raiyat in that village.

(1) When a Raiyat has a right of occupancy in respect of any land, he may use the land,— (a) in any manner which is authorised by local custom or usage, or (b) irrespective of any local custom or usage, in any manner which does not materially impair the value of the land or render it unfit for the purposes of the tenancy. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any entries in the record-of-rights or any local custom or usage to the contrary, the following shall not be deemed to impair the value of the land materially or to render it unfit for purposes of the tenancy, namely,— (a) the manufacture of bricks and tiles for the domestic or agricultural purposes of the Raiyat and his family; (b) the excavation of tanks or the digging of wells or the construction of bandhs and ahars intended to provide a supply of water for drinking, domestic, agricultural or piscicultural purposes of the Raiyat and his family; and (c) the erection of buildings for the domestic or agricultural purposes or for the purposes of trade or cottage industries of the Raiyat and his family. (3) If an occupancy-Raiyat, who pays for his holding rent in any of the ways specified in sub-section (1) of Section 61, excavates a tank on such holding for any purpose mentioned in clause (b) of sub-section (2), the landlord's share shall be nine-twentieths and the Raiyats share shall be eleven-twentieths in the produce of such tank. (iii) appropriate the flowers, fruits and other products of any trees or bamboos standing on such land; (iv) rear lac and cocoons on trees standing on such land and appropriate the same : Provided that if there is any specific entry in the latest record-of-rights regarding any tree or bamboo which was standing on any such land before the date of the final publication of such record-of-rights to the effect that any right in such tree or bamboo belongs to any person, other than the proprietor of the estate comprising such land or the tenure-holder of such land, the right of the Raiyat in such tree or bamboo specified in sub-clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv), shall be exercised in accordance with, and subject to any entry;] (b) if the rent of such land is paid in any of the ways specified in sub-section (1) of Section 61, the landlord and the Raiyat shall have equal shares in the timber and the landlord's share shall be nine-twentieths and the Raiyats share shall be eleven-twentieths in the flowers, fruits and other products of all trees or bamboos growing on such land whether planted before or after, the commencement of the Chota Nagpur Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 1947 (Bihar Act 25 of 1947) and the Raiyat shall be entitled to plant any tree or bamboo on such land, but neither the Raiyat nor the landlord shall, without the consent of the other be entitled to cut down or appropriate any such tree or bamboo; Provided that if neither the landlord nor the Raiyat agrees to the cutting down of the tree or bamboo and either of them considers such cutting necessary one or the other may apply for permission to the Deputy Commissioner who, after making summary inquiry and hearing the parties, if any may, subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, either grant the permission or refuse it, and his decision shall be final.]

An occupancy-Raiyat shall not be ejected by his landlord from his holding, except in execution of a decree for ejectment passed on the ground,- (a) that he has used the land comprised in his holding in a manner which is not authorised by Section 21 [or 21-A]; (b) that he has broken a condition, consistent with the provisions of this Act, on breach of which he is, under the terms of a contract between himself and his landlord, liable to be ejected.

If a Raiyat dies intestate in respect of a right of occupancy, it shall, subject to any local custom to the contrary, descend in the same manner as other immovable property : Provided that in any case in which, under the law of inheritance to which the Raiyat is subject, his other property goes to the [Government], his right of occupancy shall be extinguished.

An occupancy-Raiyat shall pay rent for his holding at a fair and equitable rate.

The rent for the time being payable by an occupancy-Raiyat shall be presumed to be fair and equitable until the contrary is proved.

When the rent of an occupancy-Raiyat whose rent is liable to enhancement has been enhanced before the commencement of this Act otherwise than under Section 24 of the [Chota Nagpur Landlord] and Tenant Procedure Act [1879] (Ben. Act I of 1879), such enhanced rent shall be deemed to be lawfully payable,- (a) if it has been actually paid continuously for seven years before the commencement of this Act; and (b) if it is not proved to be unfair and inequitable: Provided that where the rent lawfully payable by an occupancy-Raiyat for his holding has been made an issue in any suit for arrears of rent, and the Court has arrived at a finding on that issue, the rent to be found shall be deemed to be lawfully payable by the Raiyat or the holding.

(1) From and after the commencement of this Act,- (a) in any area for which record-of-rights has not been prepared and finally published under this Act or under any law in force before the commencement of this Act, or for which an order has not been issued under this Act or under any law in force before the commencement of this Act for the preparation of such a record, the money-rent of an occupancy-Raiyat whose rent is liable to enhancement may be enhanced only by order of the Deputy Commissioner passed under Section 29, and (b) in any area for which a record-of-rights has been prepared and finally published as aforesaid, or for which an order has been issued as aforesaid for the preparation of such a record of the money-rent of an occupancy-Raiyat whose rent is liable to enhancement may be enhanced only; (i) in cases referred to in Section 62, Section 94 or Section 99, by order of the Deputy Commissioner passed under Section 29, and (ii) in other cases, by order of a Revenue Officer passed under Chapter XII. (2) No enhancement of such rent made after the commencement of this Act in any manner other than that referred to in clause (a) or clause (b), as the case may be, whether by private contract or otherwise shall for any reason be recognised or given effect to in any suit or proceeding in any Court.

(1) Every application to the Deputy Commissioner for the enhancement of the rent of an occupancy holding shall specify,— (a) such particulars as may be prescribed regarding the area, situation, local names, quality and boundaries of the parcels of land constituting the holding; (b) the rates of rent (if any) payable by Raiyat for the different classes of land constituting the holding and the yearly rent payable for the holding at the date of the application; (c) the rates (if any) generally prevailing in the village for corresponding classes of land; (d) the date (as nearly as it can be ascertained) when the rates of rent generally prevailing were last adjusted in the village; (e) the rates which the applicant desires to claim; and (f) the grounds on which the applicant considers that he is entitled to the enhancement claimed. (2) Sections 146 to 149 shall apply to every application made under this Section.

(1) When any such application has been received, the Deputy Commissioner,— (a) shall forthwith give notice of the contents thereof to the Raiyat, and (b) may if he thinks fit, order a measurement of the land, and (c) may, upon consideration of all the circumstances set forth in the application, and after hearing any objection advanced by the Raiyat by order, fix such enhanced rent, or otherwise vary the rent for the said land, as to him may seem fair and reasonable : Provided that no enhancement shall be ordered except on one or more of the following grounds, namely:— (i) that the rate of rent paid by the Raiyat is below the prevailing rate paid by occupancy-Raiyats for land of similar quality and with similar advantages in the same village or in the neighbouring villages, and that there is no sufficient, reason for his holding at so low a rate; (ii) that there has been a rise in the average local prices of staple food-crops during the currency of the present rent; (iii) that the productive powers of the land held by the Raiyat have been increased by an improvement effected during the currency of the present rent, otherwise than by the agency or at the expense of the Raiyat: Provided also that no enhancement shall be ordered which is, under the circumstances of the case, unfair or inequitable : Provided further that all enhancement shall be limited in the prescribed manner (if any). (2) The rent as fixed or varied under sub-section (1) shall be payable by the said Raiyat from the commencement of the agricultural year following the year in which the order is passed, and may be recovered in any suit instituted against him for arrears of rent. (3) Nothing in this Section shall bar the right of a Raiyat to claim at any time under Section 34 a reduction of the rent previously paid by him.

Where the Deputy Commissioner considers that the immediate enforcement of the full enhancement ordered under Section 29 is likely to be attended with hardship, he may direct that the enhancement shall be gradual; that is to say, that the rent shall increase yearly by degrees, for any number of years not exceeding five, until the limit of the full enhancement has been reached.

(1) Where the land is held by an occupancy-Raiyat in excess of the area for which rent has previously been paid by him, no increase shall be made to the rent payable by him except by order of a Revenue Officer passed under Chapter XII or by order of the Deputy Commissioner passed on an application made to him by the landlord. (2) Every such application shall specify,— (a) the yearly rent payable by the Raiyat at the date of the application; (b) the area and description of the land for which the said rent is payable; (c) the proceedings (if any) by which the said rent was fixed; (d) the general rate prevailing in the village for corresponding classes of lands; (e) the date (as nearly as it can be ascertained) when the said general rate was last adjusted in the village; (f) the area and description of the land held in excess of the area for which rent has previously been paid, and in respect of which an increase of rent is claimed; or, if the landlord is unable to indicate any particular land as being held in excess, then the area alone; (g) the amount of the said increase; (h) the manner in which the said increase has been, or should be assessed; and (i) any other prescribed particulars. (3) If a survey and record-of-rights have been made under this Act, or under any other law in force before the commencement of this Act, in respect of any land referred to in clause (b) or clause (f) of sub-section (2), the "area and description" required by those clauses, respectively, shall be specified by stating the plot number, area and class of each field included in the land, as shown by such survey and record. (4) Sections 146 to 149 shall apply to every application made under this Section.

(1) When any such application has been received, the Deputy Commissioner,— (a) shall forthwith give notice of the contents thereof to the Raiyat, and (b) shall refer to the entry (if any) relating to the tenancy in the record-of-rights prepared under this Act or any other law for the time being in force; and (c) may, if he thinks fit, order a measurement of the land held by the Raiyat, and (d) may, upon consideration of all the circumstances set forth in the application, and after hearing any objection advanced by the Raiyat and making such further inquiry as the Deputy Commissioner may think necessary, order such an increase, whether progressive or otherwise, as he may consider to be fair and reasonable: Provided that if the landlord proves that at the time when the measurement on which the claim is based was made, there existed in the estate or tenure or part hereof in which the holding is situate a practice or measuring land before setting rents, the Deputy Commissioner may presume that the area of the holding as entered in any lease or counterpart engagement or (where there is any entry of area in a counterfoil receipt corresponding to the entry of the rent-roll) in the rent-roll relating to the holding was so entered after measurement: Provided also that an increase of rent shall not be ordered where it would contravene any local custom or usage prohibiting an increase of rent in respect of the increase in area of a holding. (2) When any increase has been so ordered, it shall be payable from the commencement of the agricultural year following that in which the order is passed, and may be recovered from the Raiyat in any suit instituted against him for arrears of rent.

Nothing in Sections 31 and 32 shall prohibit a landlord from realising,— (a) increased rents from a Raiyat for separate parcels of land settled with him in any manner authorised by law, order; (b) rents assessed under Section 67-A on land converted into Korkar,

(1) Any occupancy-Raiyat wishing to claim a reduction of the rent previously paid by him may present an application to the Deputy Commissioner to assess the rent on the land in respect of which such reduction is sought and (if necessary) to measure the land: Provided that no application for a reduction of rent under clause (a) or clause (b) of Section 33-A shall be entertained unless it is filed within a period of two years from the date on which Section 5 of the Chota Nagpur Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 1938 (Bihar Act 2 of 1938) comes into force, (2) Every such application shall specify,— (a) the yearly rent payable by the Raiyat at the date of the application; (b) the area and description of the land for which the said rent is payable; (c) the proceedings (if any) by which the said rent was fixed; (d) the general rate prevailing in the village for corresponding classes of lands; (e) the date (as nearly as it can be ascertained) when the said general rate was last adjusted in the village; (f) the amount of reduction claimed; (g) the grounds on which such reduction is claimed; and (h) any other prescribed particulars. (3) Sections 146 to 149 shall apply to every application made under this Section.

(1) When any such application has been received, the Deputy Commissioner,-(a) shall forthwith give notice of the contents thereof to the landlord; and (b) may, if he thinks fit, order a measurement of land; and (c) may, upon consideration of all the circumstances set forth in the application, and after hearing any objection advanced by landlord by order fix a reduced rent for the holding as to him may seem fair and reasonable: Provided that-(i) if a reduction is claimed under clause (a) of Section 33-A, the entire enhancement shall be cancelled; (ii) if a reduction is claimed under clause (b) of Section 33-A, the reduced rent shall bear to the previous rent the same proportion as the current prices bear to the average prices during the decennial period immediately preceding the time when the rent was commuted; (iii) if a reduction is claimed under clause (c) of Section 33-A, the Deputy Commissioner may order partial or entire remission of the rent and shall fix a period during which the reduced rent shall be paid or during which the entire rent shall be remitted, and may at any time, before the expiration of the said period revise his order if he is satisfied that the soil of the holding has become fit for cultivation; (iv) if a reduction is claimed under clause (d) of Section 33-A, the Deputy Commissioner may at any time revise his order fixising a reduced rent if he is satisfied that the landlord has restored the arrangements in respect of irrigation which he is bound to maintain; (v) if a reduction is claimed under clause (e) of Section 33-A, the reduced rent shall bear to the previous rent the same proportion as the current prices bear to the prices prevailing,-(1) at the time when the previous rent first became payable, or (2) if the previous rent first became payable before the preparation of a record-of-rights under Chapter XII and landlord is unable to prove to the satisfaction of the Deputy Commissioner when the previous rent became payable at the time when a record-of-rights was first prepared in respect of the holding. (2) An order of the Deputy Commissioner under sub-section (1) shall take effect from such date as may be specified in the order. (3) Nothing in this Section shall bear the right of the landlord to claim at any time an enhancement under Section 29 of the rent of such Raiyat.

(1) When the rent of an occupancy holding in any area referred to in clause (a) of Section 27 has been enhanced by order of the Deputy Commissioner passed under Section 29, such rent shall not again be enhanced for a period of fifteen years except.-(a) by order of the Deputy Commissioner, on the ground of landlord's improvement; or (b) by order of a Revenue Officer, passed under Chapter XII. (2) When the rent of an occupancy holding in any such area has been reduced by order of the Deputy Commissioner under Section 35 such rent shall not again be reduced for a period of fifteen years, except,-(a) by order of the Deputy Commissioner on one of the grounds specified in clauses (c), (d) and (f) of Section 33-A, or (b) by order of a Revenue Officer passed under Chapter XII.