Chapter II Chapter II

There shall be, for the purposes of this Act, the following classes of tenants, namely :- (1) tenure-holders, including under-tenure-holders; (2) Raiyat, namely :- (a) occupancy-raiyats, that is to say, Raiyats having a right of occupancy in the land held by them, (b) non-occupancy Raiyats, that is to say, Raiyats not having such a right of occupancy, and If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act or the provisions of the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 (Bengal Act 6 of 1908) as applied by this Act, the State Government may by order, make such provision or give such direction, as may appear to it to be necessary for removal of the difficulty :

"Tenure-holder" means primarily a person, who has acquired from the proprietor, or from another tenure-holder, a right to hold land for the purpose of collecting rents or bringing under cultivation by establishing tenants on it, and includes,- (a) the successor-in-interest of persons, who have acquired such a right, and (b) the holder of tenures entered in any register prepared and confirmed under the Chota Nagpur Tenures Act, 1869 (Ben. Act 2 of 1869), but does not include a Mundari khunt-kattidar.

(1) "Raiyat" means primarily a person who has acquired a right to hold land tor the purpose of cultivating it by himself or by members of his family, or by hired servants or with the aid of partners; and includes the successor-in-interest of persons who have acquired such a right, but does not include a Mundari-khunt-kattidar. Explanation. - Where a tenant of land has the right to bring it under cultivation, he shall be deemed to have acquired a right to hold it for the purpose of cultivation, notwithstanding that he uses it for the purpose of gathering the produce of it or of grazing cattle on it. (2) A person shall not be deemed to be a Raiyat unless he holds land either immediately under a proprietor or immediately under a tenure-holder or immediately under a Mundari-khunt-kattidar. (3) In determining whether a tenant is a tenure-holder or Raiyat, the Court shall have regard to,- (a) local custom, and (b) the purpose for which the right of tenancy was originally acquired.

(1) "Raiyat having khunt-katti rights" means a Raiyat in occupation of, or having any subsisting title to land reclaimed from jungle by the original founders of the village or their descendants in the male line, when such Raiyat is a member of family which founded the village or a descendant in the male line of any member of such family : Provided that no Raiyat shall be deemed to have khunt-katti rights in any land unless he and all his predecessors-in-title have held such land or obtained a title thereby virtue of inheritance from the original founders of the village. (2) Nothing in this Act shall prejudicially affect the rights of any person who has lawfully acquired a title to a khunt-kattidari tenancy before the commencement of this Act.

Mundari-khunt-kattidar means a Mundari, who has acquired a right to hold jungle land for the purpose of bringing suitable portions thereof under cultivation by himself or by male members of his family, and includes,- (a) the heirs male in the male line of any such Mundari when they are in possession of such land or have any subsisting title thereto, and (b) as regards any portions of such land which has remained continuously in the possession of any such Mundari and his descendants in the male line, such descendants.