Chapter XVIII Chapter XVIII

239. Application of preceding Sections to Mundari khunt-kattidari tenancies - Such of preceding Sections as are applicable to Mundari khunt-kattidars shall, in their application to such persons and their tenancies, be read subject to the provisions of the following Sections in this Chapter.

240. Restrictions on transfer of Mundari khunt-kattidari tenancies - (1) No Mundari- khunt-kattidari tenancy or portion thereof shall be transferable by sale, whether in execution decree or order of a Court or otherwise : Provided that, when a decree or order has been made by any Court for the sale of any such tenancy or portion thereof, in satisfaction of a debt due under a mortgage (other than a usufructuary mortgage) which was registered before the commencement of the Chota Nagpur Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 1903 [(Ben. Act 5 of 1903)], the sale may be made with the previous sanction of the Deputy Commissioner. (2) If the Deputy Commissioner refuses to sanction the sale of any such tenancy or portion thereof under the proviso to sub-section (1), he shall attach the land and make such arrangements as he may consider suitable for liquidating the debt. (3) No mortgage of a Mundari khunt-kattidari tenancy or any portion thereof shall be valid, except a bhugut bandha mortgage for a period, expressed or implied, which does not exceed or cannot in any possible event exceed seven years : [Provided that, a Mundari Khunt Kattidar tenant may transfer by simple mortgage his right in this tenancy or any portion thereof with a view to raising loan for agricultural purpose to a society or bank registered or deemed to be registered under the 'Bihar and Orissa Co-operative Societies Act, 1935 (Bihar and Orissa Act VI of 1935) or a company or Corporation owned by or in which not less than fifty one per cent of the share capital is held by the State Government or the Central Government or partly by the State Government or partly by the Central Government and which has been set up with a view to providing agricultural credit to cultivators.] (4) No lease of a 'Mundari Khunt kattidari' tenancy or any portion thereof shall be valid, except a lease of one or other of the following kinds, namely :- (a) 'mukarrari leases' of uncultivated land, when granted to a Mundari or a group of Mundaris for the purposes of enabling the lessees or the male members of their families to bring suitable portions of the land under cultivation; (b) leases of uncultivated land, when granted to a 'Mundari' cultivator to enable him to cultivate the land as a Raiyat. Explanation. - The expression "uncultivated land" as used in this sub-section, includes land which, though formerly cultivated, is not, at the time the lease is granted, either under cultivation or in the occupation of the lessee for purposes of cultivation. (5) Where a 'Mundari khunt-kattidari' tenancy is held by the group of 'Mundari khunt- kattidars' no bhugut bandha mortgage or 'mukarrari' lease of the tenancy or any portion thereof shall be valid, unless it is made with the consent of all the 'Mundari Khuntkattidars'. (6) No transfer of a 'Mundari khuntkattidar' tenancy or any portion thereof, by any contract or agreement made otherwise than as provided in the foregoing subsections shall be valid; and no such contract or agreement shall be registered. (7) Nothing in the foregoing sub-section shall affect any sale or, except as declared in the Proviso to sub-section (1), any mortgage or any lease, made before the commencement of the Chota Nagpur Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 1903 [(Bengal Act 5 of 1903).]

241. Transfer for certain purposes. - (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 240, a 'Mundari khunt-kattida' may without the consent of his landlord, transfer the land comprised in his tenancy, or any part thereof, for any reasonable and sufficient purpose having relation to the good of the tenancy or of the tenure or estate in which it is comprised, such as the use of the land for any charitable, religious or educational purpose or for the purposes of manufacture or irrigation, or as building ground for any such purpose, or for access to land used or required for any such purpose: Provided that the transfer shall be made by registered deed and that before the deed is registered and land transferred, the written consent of the Deputy Commissioner shall be obtained to the terms of the deed, and to the transfer. (2) Before consenting to any such transfer, the Deputy Commissioner shall satisfy himself that [adequate compensation is tendered to] the landlord and other co-sharers in the tenancy [* * *] for the loss (if any) caused to them by the transfer; and where only part of the land comprised in the tenancy is transferred may, if he thinks fit, apportion between the transferee and the original tenant all dues payable for the tenancy. (3) Any appeal against any order of a Deputy Commissioner consenting or refusing to consent to any such transfer shall lie as provided in Chapter XVI.

242. Ejectment of persons unlawfully obtaining possession of such tenancies - If any person obtains possession of a 'Mundari-khunt-kattidari tenancy or any portion thereof in contravention of the provision of Section 240, the Deputy Commissioner may eject him therefrom. and if the tenancy was, before such possession was obtained entered as a 'Mundari khunt-kattidari tenancy in a record-of-rights finally published under the Act or under any law in force before the commencement of this Act, no suit shall be maintainable in any Court in respect of such ejectment; but an appeal shall lie as provided in Chapter XVI.

243. Enhancement of rent - The rent of a 'Mundari khunt-kattidari tenancy may be enhanced only,- (a) by an order of the Deputy Commissioner, and (b) if it be shown before the Deputy Commissioner that the tenancy was created within a period of twenty years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition for enhancement. (2) An order of the Deputy Commissioner under sub-section (1) shall not enhance the rent of any such tenancy to an amount which would exceed one-half of the rent which would by payable for the land if it were held by a Raiyat having a right of occupancy therein. (3) The provisions of Sections 28 to 30 shall be applicable to proceedings or the enhancement of the rent of a 'Mundari-khunt-katfidari tenancy.

If, in the course of any proceedings under Section 244, any question of title is raised which could in the opinion of the Deputy Commissioner more properly be determined by a Civil Court, the Deputy Commissioner shall refer such question to the principal Civil Court in the district for determination.

(1) When an arrear of rent accrues in respect of a 'Mundari-khunt-kattidari' tenancy for which no record-of-rights has been prepared the landlord may institute a suit for the recovery of the arrear. (2) Subject to the provision of Section 248, a decree or order made in any such suit may be enforced only by the attachment and sale of the movable property of the defendant, or by the attachment or realisation of rent or other debts due to him, or by execution against his person in the manner provided by Chapter XVI, or by any two or more of these processes.

Where a 'Mundari-khunt-kattidari' tenancy is held jointly by a group of Khunt-kattidar's, and an objection to the making of a certificate under Section 244, or to the execution thereof, or to the maintenance of a suit under Section 246, is made on the ground that all the Khunt-kattidars have not been made parties to the proceedings, the objection shall not be entertained if it be shown that other Khunt-kattidars could not be made parties without undue delay or expense.

Where a decree or a certificate under the Bihar and Orissa Public Demands Recovery Act, 1914 (B & O Act 4 of 1914) has been made against a 'Mundari-khunt-kattidar' for any money due to the Government or for rent to a landlord, the Deputy Commissioner may attach the land occupied by him whether it be in his immediate occupation or in possession of a mortgagee or of any other person except a Raiyat or a lessee holding under a Mukarrari lease as described in Section 240, clause (4)(a), and make such arrangements as the Deputy Commissioner may consider suitable for liquidating the debt and in particular he may realise and devote to such liquidation all rents due to such mortgage or other person shall not recover from a person rents so realised.

When a 'Mundari-khunt-kattidari' has paid the rent of his tenancy, including portions thereof due from his co-sharers or any of them the said portions may, if the proportions due by such co-sharers are definitely stated in a record-of-rights prepared under this Act or under any law in force before the commencement of this Act, be recovered by him, with interest, under procedure provided by Section 244, as if they were an arrear of rent due to a landlord.

All 'Mundari-khunt-kattidari' tenancies shall be so described in any record-of-rights prepared under Chapter XII.

No suit shall be entertained under Section 87 for the decision of any dispute regarding any entry relating to a 'Mundari khunt-kattidari tenancy in a record-of-rights.

(1) At any time within three months from the date of the certificate of the final publication of the record-of-rights under this Act, or under any law in force before the commencement of this Act, a suit may be instituted before a Revenue Officer, for the decision of any dispute regarding any entry of a 'Mundari-khunt-kattidari tenancy or the incidents thereof in the record, or regarding any omission to enter such a tenancy or any incident thereof in the record, and the Revenue Officer shall hear and decide the dispute. (2) In all such suits, the Revenue Officer shall, subject to any rules made in this behalf under Section 264, adopt the procedure laid down in Chapter XVI for the trial of suits before the Deputy Commissioner.

An appeal shall lie, in the prescribed manner and to the prescribed Officer, from any decision of a Revenue Officer under Section 252.

Whenever a suit instituted under Section 252 has been finally decided, a note of the decision shall be made in the record-of-rights, as finally published, by the Revenue Officer referred to in that Section; and such note shall be considered as part of the record.

When an order has been issued under Section 80 of this Act, or under Section 101 of the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885 (8 of 1885) in respect of any local area, estate, tenure or part thereof, no judgement, decree or order in any suit instituted thereafter shall be taken as evidence, in any inquiry made by a Revenue Officer engaged in the preparation of a record-of-rights for such area, estate, tenure or part, under Chapter XII of this Act or under Chapter X of the said Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885 (8 of 1885), respecting any claim that any tenancy within that area, estate, tenure or part is not a 'Mundari-khunt-kattidari tenancy.

(1) Where a record-of-rights has been finally published under Section 83 of this Act or under sub-section (2) of Section 103-A of the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885 (8 of 1885) or amended under Section 254 of this Act, the entries therein relating to 'Mundari-khunt-kattidari tenancies shall be conclusive evidence of the nature and incidents of such tenancies and of all particulars recorded in such entries, and, if any tenancy in the area, estate or tenure for which the record-of-rights was prepared has not been recorded therein as a 'Mundari-khunt-kattidari tenancy, no evidence shall be received in any Court to show that such tenancy is a 'Mundari-khunt-kattidari tenancy. (2) Where in the record-of-rights finally published under sub-section (2) of Section 103-A of the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885 (8 of 1885) for a village in the Estate of Porahat in the district of Singhbhum a tenant of the village has been recorded as a 'Mundari-khunt-kattidari, all land which he held at the date of final publication, shall be deemed to have been recorded in the record-of-rights as his 'Mundari khunt-kattidari, tenancy.