The Malabar Land Registration Act, 1895

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The Malabar Land Registration Act, 1895

Act 3 of 1896

Keyword(s): Registration, Proprietors of Estate, Payment of Revenue, Landed Property

434 Na$abcbr Land Registratbn [I896 : T.N. Act 111 , *- . . \[TAMIL NAD U] ACT No. 111 OF 1896.2 (Received the assent of the avernor on the 22nd January 1896, and of the Governor-General on the 21st March : 1896; t7~e Governor-Geq~eral's assent was $rat A publisi~ed in the Port St. George Gazette of the 31st March 1896.1 I

S[in certain

areas in the Nilgiri district

.] Preamble. WIXEREAS Regulation XXVI of 1802* provides that landed property paying revenue to Government shall be registered by the Collector ; and whereas such landed property 3[in certain areas in the Nilgiri district] has in many cases not been registered in the names of - the proprietors thereof; and whereas it is desirable

for tho security of the public revenue

to provide a summary means whereby the Collector may ascertain suoh proprietors ;

In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context,- "estate" means any land which is subject either now or prospectively to separate assessment to land-revenue payable direct to Government: "registered" means registered in the public registers maintained by the Collector in accordance with the provisions of Regulation XXVI of 1802.

Within such time as the District Collector may fix as hereinafter provided, any person who is or claims to be the proprietor or joint proprietor of an estate and whose name is not already registered, or any other person having authority to act on his behalf, may make application to the District Collector or to an officer empowered by him to receive such application for registration as proprietor or joint proprietor of the estate.

The District Collector shall fix for each taluk or such other local area as he may deem fit the date before which the proprietors of the estates situated therein may under the last preceding section apply to have their names registered, and may at any time alter any date so fixed : Provided that such date or altered date shall not be less than two months or more than four months from the date of the publication of the same in the District Gazette.

Every date fixed as provided in the last preceding section shall be notified in the Fort St. George and District Gazettes, and by notices to be posted up at the office of the District Collector, at the offices of the Revenue Divisional Officer, District Munsif, Tahsildar, Deputy Tahsildar and Sub-Registrar of Assurances within whose local jurisdiction the local area to which the date applies is situated, and at all police-stations and amshom kachahris within such local area; and shall also be proclaimed by beat of drum within the local area to which the date applies : Provided that no irregularity or omission in the publication of the notices or in the proclamation referred to in this section shall affect the validity of any proceedings under this Act.

As soon as conveniently may be after the date so fixed, the Collector shall, on a day and at a place to be previously notified in the District Gazette whether or not an application for registration under the preceding sections has been made, and whether or not there is any dispute as to the entry to be made in the register, ascertain and determine by such summary inquiry as he thinks fit, in respect of every estate to which the date applies, the person who, in his opinion, is entitled to be registered as proprietor thereof and shall register him accordingly ; and, if any such estate shall not previously have been separately surveyed or demarcated, may cause it to be so surveyed or demarcated, or both.

In the case of an estate belonging to joint proprietors who are members of a joint family or to a religious or charitable foundation, the estate shall be registered in the name of the managing member for the time being of such family or of the trustee, manager or superintendent for the time being of such foundation, as the case may be, who shall be described in the register as such managing member, trustee, manager or superintendent, and such registration shall be as effectual and valid as if made in the names of all the joint proprietors or of all the persons interested in such foundation.

In any inquiry under section 6, the Collector shall hear any party to a dispute who attends on the day notified or on the day to which the inquiry may be adjourned, and shall receive such evidence as he may see fit; and in the case of a dispute he shall record the nature of the dispute, his decision thereon, the grounds of the decision and such other particulars as he thinks fit.

(1) If the person registered under section 6 or section 7 has not made an application under section 3, the Collector shall give him notice of the registration by the publication of the fact in the District Gazette and also, if his address is known, by letter sent by post registered. (2) If any person to whom notice has been given under this section objects to such registration, he may apply to the Collector within two months of the date of the publication of such notice in the District Gazette or within one month of the receipt of the registered letter containing such notice, whichever is later, to have his name removed from the register, and the Collector shall thereupon consider his objections and shall either remove his name from the register or direct its retention therein as he may see fit; in the former case the Collector shall proceed under section 6, as if no such registration had been made.

Every registration purporting to be made in accordance with the procedure prescribed by this Act- (i) may be revised by the Collector on application made within three months, and (ii) shall be subject to any decree or order which may be passed by any Civil Court of competent jurisdiction: Provided that in any suit to set aside or modify such registration or in any appeal in such suit, in which suit or appeal an order or decree is passed ex parte against the Government or against the collector, neither the Government nor the Collector shall be made liable in costs.

On payment of the prescribed fees, the Collector shall furnish to any person who may apply for the same copies of the record of every inquiry held under this Act and of every order and entry made thereunder or under Regulation XXVI of 1802.

Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to affect the provisions of Regulation XXVI of 1802 in respect of the mutation in the register kept by the Collector under that Regulation of the name of the proprietor registered in accordance with the provisions of this Act when a transfer of the proprietary interest in any estate takes place, whether by purchase, inheritance, gift or otherwise.

Every person registered as proprietor of an estate shall be deemed to be the landholder in respect of such estate within the meaning and for the purposes of the Tamil Nadu Revenue Recovery Act II of 1864, and no proceedings taken under the said Act against such person or against any land registered in his name shall be deemed invalid or ineffectual by reason of any error in such registration or on the ground that such person was not the real or sole proprietor.

Except as otherwise provided by this Act, no civil Court shall have jurisdiction in any matter which the Collector is empowered by or under this Act to dispose of or shall take cognizance of the manner in which the Collector exercises any powers vested in him by or under this Act.

All costs of any inquiry or proceeding held before, or any survey or demarcation directed by, the Collector under this Act shall be payable by the parties concerned, and the Collector may pass such orders as he shall think fit in respect of the payment of such costs; and in the event of such costs not being paid on demand may recover the amount thereof in the same manner as if it were an arrear of land-revenue, and pay the sum so recovered to the person entitled to receive it.

Notwithstanding anything contained in Regulations I and II of 1803, no appeal shall lie to the Board of Revenue from any order made by the District Collector under this Act.

Subject to the provisions of section 13, nothing contained in this Act and nothing done in accordance with this Act shall be deemed to- (a) preclude the Government or any person from bringing a regular suit for possession of, or for a declaration of right to, any immovable property to which the Government or such person may deem itself, or himself entitled; or (b) render a registration under this Act an admission on the part of the Government of the right of the person in whose name such estate may be registered or an admission of the validity of the title under which the estate is held; or (c) affect the rights of the Government or of any person in respect of any estate or of any interest therein.

The Board of Revenue may, after previous publication, make subsidiary rules for the carrying out of the purposes of this Act, and may prescribe the fees, if any, to be paid for the service of summonses issued under Tamil Nadu Act III of 1869 in connection with inquiries and proceedings under this Act.

The State Government may, by notification, suspend the operation of this Act in any specified portion of the districts to which it applies, and may, by subsequent notification, bring it again into operation.

1. (1) TlGs Act may be called the Malabrtr Land Registration Act, 1895.

Tamil Nadu Adaptation of Laws (Second Amendment) Order, 1969, which came into force on the 14th January 1969. 2 For Statoment of Objoets and Reasons, see Fort. St. Gewge aclzettc Supplement, dated tl~e 16th October 1896, p. 3; for Report of

the Select Committee, see ibid, dated the 19th November 1896, p. 1;

for Proceedings in Council see &id, dated the 3rd December 1896, p. 7 and ibid, dated th. 7th January 1896. p.9. 3 The words ' 'and certain neighbouring areas in the Stab of Mad- ras moro substitt;tcd for the words "and the Wynaad" by section 46 of tho Mslabnr J?onallcy (Amendment) Act, 1961 (Tamil Nadu Aot

XXXIJI of 1951) and the words "in certain areas in the Nilgiri

district" were substituted for the words "in Malabar and certain neighbouring areas in the Stato of Rfadr&s ' ' by the Madras Adapt& - tion of Laws Order, 1057. The above Act came into foroe on the 16th March 1962.

• • The Tamil Nsdu Land Rsgistration Regulation, 1802. i 3: B 1806 : T.N. Aet IQ &ahbar $and ~egbtration 416:

'[(2) It extends to that portion of the Nilgiri distriob Extent.

which is known as South-East Wynaad and to the Gudtrlur taluk of that district (excluding South-East Wynaad) : Provided that it shall come into force in the Gudalur

taluk aforesaid (excluding South-East Wynd) only

on the date on which the Malabar Tenancy Act, 1929, comes into force in that taluk.]