PETITIONER:
GOVT.OF U.T. OF PONDICHERY
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
MOHAMMED HUSAIN
DATE OF JUDGMENT30/06/1994
BENCH:
AGRAWAL, S.C. (J)
BENCH:
AGRAWAL, S.C. (J)
PUNCHHI, M.M.
JEEVAN REDDY, B.P. (J)
CITATION:
1994 SCC (5) 121 JT 1994 (7) 1
1994 SCALE (3)77
ACT:
HEADNOTE:
JUDGMENT:
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
S.C. AGRAWAL, J.- Leave granted in SLP (C) No. 6468 of 1980.
2.These appeals raise a common question involving the
interpretation of Section 9(2)(a) of the Pondicherry Land Reforms
(Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to
as ‘the Act’). The question is : Whether Section 9(2)(a), which
provides that for the purpose of calculating, after the appointed
day, the ceiling area of a family holding land on the appointed
day in excess of 6 standard hectares, the authorised officer
shall take into account only those members of that family who are
alive on the notified date, requires that in cases where on the
appointed day one of the members of the family is an unmarried
daughter or a minor son and the said unmarried daughter gets
married or the minor son attains majority after the
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appointed day and before the notified date, the share of the said
daughter or son inthe family holding should be excluded for the
purpose of fixing the ceiling area of the family.
3. The Act has been enacted to provide for the fixation of
ceiling on agricultural land holdings and for certain other
matters connected therewith in the regions of Pondicherry and
Karaikal. Under sub-section (4) of Section 2, the expression
“appointed day” has been defined to mean the 24th day of January
1971. The expression “family” has been defined in sub-section
(10) of Section 2 as under :
“family’, in relation to a person, means the
person, the wife or husband, as the case may be, of
such person and his or her minor sons and unmarried
daughters.”
4.”Notified date” has been defined in Section 2(24) to mean
the date specified in the notification issued by the Government
under sub-section (1) of Section 7. Section 4 fixes the ceiling
area as 6 standard hectares in the case of every person and in
the case of every family consisting of not more than five
members. Where the family consists of more than five members the
ceiling area is enhanced by 1.2 standard hectares for every
member of the family in excess of five but the total extent of
land held by any family shall in no case exceed twice the ceiling
area, i.e., 12 standard hectares. In subsection (4) of Section 4
it has been laid down
“4. (4) In calculating the extent of land held by
any person, any land which was transferred by sale,
gift or otherwise or partitioned by that person
after the appointed day but before the commencement
of this Act, shall be taken into account as if such
land had not been transferred or partitioned as the
case may be.”
Section 6 provides as under:
“6. On and from the appointed day, no person shall,
except as otherwise provided in this Act, but
subject to the provisions of Chapter VI, be
entitled to hold land in excess of the ceiling area
:
Provided that in calculating the total extent of
land held by any person, the authorised officer
may, for reasons to be recorded in writing permit
any person to hold land in excess of the ceiling
area if the extent of excess of land does not
exceed 0.2 hectare in the case of wet land and
0.4 hectare in the case of dry land.”
5. Section 7 requires that within thirty days from such date as
may be specified in the notification issued by the Government in
this behalf, every person, who, on the appointed day, held land
in excess of the ceiling area shall, in respect of all land held
by such person on such day, furnish to the authorised officer
within whose jurisdiction the holding of such person or the major
part thereof is situated, a return containing the particulars
specified in clauses (i) to (viii) of sub-section (1). In case
where a person who has held land in excess of the ceiling area
fails to furnish the return under Section 7 or furnishes an
incorrect or incomplete return sub-section (1) of Section 8
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empowers the authorised officer to issue a notice requiring such
a person to furnish the return or the additional particulars, as
the case may be, within the time specified in the notice. Where
a person on whom notice has been served under sub-section (1) of
Section 8, fails to furnish the return, or the additional
particulars, as the case may be, within the time specified in
that notice, or within the further time allowed by the authorised
officer, the authorised officer is empowered by sub-section (2)
of Section 8 to obtain necessary information either by himself or
through such agency as he thinks fit. Under sub-section (1) of
Section 9 the authorised officer is required to prepare a draft
statement in respect of each person holding or deemed to have
held land in excess of the ceiling area. The said draft
statement is required to contain the particulars mentioned in
sub-clauses (i) to (xi) of clause (b) of Section 9(1).
6. Sub-section (2) of Section 9 provides as
under
(a)For the purpose of calculating after the
appointed day the ceiling area of a family holding
land on the appointed day in excess of 6 standard
hectares, the authorised officer shall take into
account only those members of that family who are
alive on the notified day.
(b)For the purpose of calculating after the
appointed day, the ceiling area of any other
family, the authorised officer shall take into
account only those members of that family who are
alive on the date of the preparation of the draft
statement under sub-section (1).”
7.The draft statement prepared under sub-section (1) of
Section 9 is required to be published under sub-section (5) of
Section 9 and a copy of the same is required to be served on the
person concerned as well as on persons who in the opinion of the
authorised officer are interested in the land together with a
notice stating that any objection to draft statement shall be
preferred within 15 days of such notice. Sub-section (6) of
Section 9 prescribes that the objections that are received must
be considered by the authorised officer and the objector should
be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard and of adducing
evidence, if any. Section 11 prescribes that after the disposal
of objections, if any, the final statement specifying the entire
land held by each person, the land to be retained by him within
the ceiling area and the land declared to be surplus land, shall
be published. Section 17(1) provides for acquisition of surplus
land after the publication of the final statement and for that
purpose a notification is required to be issued by the Government
to the effect that the surplus land is required for a public
purpose. Section 17(3) provides that on the publication of such
notification the land specified in the notification together with
the trees standing on such land and buildings, machinery, plant,
apparatus, wells, filter points or power lines constructed,
erected or fixed on such land and used for agricultural purposes
shall, subject to the provisions of the Act, be deemed to have
been acquired for a public purpose and vested in the Government
free from all encumbrances with effect from the date of such
publication and all right, title and interest of ail persons in
such land shall, with effect from the
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said date, be deemed to have been extinguished. Section 21 deals
with ceiling on acquisition by inheritance bequest or by sale in
execution of decree, etc., after the appointed day and prescribes
for filing of a return by the person who has thus acquired the
land before the authorised officer. Subsection (2) of Section 21
provides as under :
“(2) If, as a result of marriage or adoption on or
after the appointed day, the extent of land held by
any person exceeds in the aggregate the ceiling
area, then, he shall, within thirty days from the
notified date or from the date of marriage or
adoption, as the case may be, whichever date is
later, furnish to the authorised officer within
whose jurisdiction his holding or the major part
thereof is situated, a return containing the
following particulars, namely :
(i)particulars of the land held before the date
of the marriage or adoption;
(ii)particulars of the land held after the date
of marriage or adoption;
(iii) such other particulars as may be prescribed.”
The facts in all the three appeals are similar. We
will briefly refer to the facts in CA No. 135 of
1979.
8.According to the draft statement published under Section 8
of the Act, an extent of 18.10.08 standard hectares was shown in
excess of the ceiling area as on the appointed day. Respondent,
Mohammed Hussain, filed an objection that the holding of his
minor sons, Sharafudeen and Abdul Hameed, who had become major on
the notified date should be excluded from the ceiling area of the
family. The said objection was rejected by the authorised
officer but on appeal the Land Tribunal (Subordinate Judge),
Karaikal, upheld the said objection and held that the holdings of
the minor sons who became major in between the appointed day and
the notified date should be excluded from the holdings of the
family of the landowner in computing the ceiling area. In this
connection, reliance was placed on the decision of the Madras
High Court (Kailasam J., as the learned Judge then was) in
Rajagopal Pillai v. State of T.N.1 The revision petition filed by
the appellant against the said order of the Land Tribunal was
rejected by the High Court (Ismail, J.) on the view that the
order of the Tribunal is in accordance with the judgment of the
High Court.
9.In the other two appeals also there was a minor son on the
appointed day who attained majority before the notified date and
it was claimed that his share in the family lands should be
excluded while fixing the ceiling area of the family. The said
objections have been allowed by the Land Tribunal and the
revision petitions against the orders of the Land Tribunal have
been dismissed by the High Court.
10.In Rajagopal Pillai v. State of T.N. 1, the provision under
consideration was Section-10(2)(a) of the Madras Land Reforms
(Fixation of
1 AIR 1973 Mad 68: (1972) 2 Mad LJ 507: 85 Mad LW 829
126
Ceiling on Land) Act, 1961. In that case the family included a
daughter who was unmarried on the appointed day but got married
thereafter but before the notified date. It was held that since
Section 10(2) postulates that the authorised officer shall take
into account only those members of the family who are alive on
the notified date which means that the ceiling area of the family
should be fixed with reference to the state of affairs on the
notified date and that just as in the event of a death in the
family between the date of the commencement of the Act and the
notified date, that person will have to be excluded in fixing the
family holding similarly it would logically mean that the
authorised officer could fix the members of the family as on the
notified date by taking into account the subtraction by the minor
becoming major or by the unmarried daughter getting married who
are by virtue of the definition ‘family’ excluded from the said
definition. In taking this view the learned Judge has placed
reliance on an earlier unreported judgment of the High Court
(Ramanujam, J.) in CRP No. 854 of 1967 wherein it was held that
when a minor on the date of the commencement of the Act becomes a
major before the notified date, his share should be excluded in
fixing the family ceiling area. It appears that in Thirumathi
Rajam Sivasubramaniam alias Muthu Meenakshi Veeralakshmi Nagammal
v. Authorised Officer (Land Reforms) Tirunelveli2, Ismail, J. has
taken the same view as was taken by Kailasam, J. in Rajagopal
Pillai v. State of TN.1
11.In the appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 6468 of 1980 the
High Court has observed that the provisions of Section 9(2)(a)
and (b) are in pari materia with the provisions of Section
40(2)(a) and (b) of the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of
Ceiling on Land) Act, 1961 which were considered by Kailasam, J.
in Rajagopal Pillai v. State of TN. 1 and that by reading of the
provisions contained in Section 9(2)(a) and (b) of the Act and
Section 10(2)(a) and (b) of the Tamil Nadu Act, the conclusion is
inescapable that whatever changes or alterations in situation
take place between the appointed day and before the notified date
they will have to be recognised and calculations must be done on
the basis of these changes and alterations in the situation. It
has been held that Section 6 of the Act, which makes a reference
to the appointed day, merely provides statutory bar against
future acquisition and that the relevant date for the purpose of
computation, preparation and publication of the draft statement
under Section 9 is only the notified date.
12.Shri A.S. Nambiar, the learned Senior Counsel appearing for
the appellants, has urged that the High Court was in error in
ignoring the significance of the appointed day and in laying
emphasis on the notified date and on that basis in holding that a
change which takes place in the family between the appointed day
and the notified date on account of a minor son attaining
majority or unmarried daughter getting married has to be taken
into account while calculating the extent of land which can be
retained by a landowner. The submission of Shri Nambiar is that
in view of the clear provisions contained in Sections 6 and 7(1)
of the Act the surplus land has to
2 1979 LW 527
127
be determined with reference to the appointed day only and any
change in the family subsequent to the appointed day will not
have any effect on the ceiling area that can be retained by the
members of the family and that the High Court was in error in
construing the provisions of Section 9(2)(a) to mean that the
ceiling area has to be calculated by taking into account the
change in the family that takes place after the appointed day but
before the notified date by reason of a minor son attaining
majority or an unmarried daughter getting married. On the other
hand, Shri G. Vishwanatha Iyer, the learned Senior Counsel
appearing for the respondents, has supported the view of the High
Court and has urged that the High Court has rightly construed the
provisions of the Act and in holding that a change in the family
occurring after the appointed day but before the notified date
has to be taken into account while calculating the ceiling area
of the family.
13.The High Court was, in our opinion, in error in not attaching
sufficient importance to the expression “appointed day” in the
matter of calculation of the ceiling area and determination of
the surplus land. It has to be borne in mind that even though
the Act came into force on 5-10-1973 the appointed day is 24-1-
1971, a date much anterior to the date of the coming into force
of the Act. The reason being that the Act has been enacted in
pursuance of the recommendations made by the Central Committee on
Land Reforms regarding the fixation of ceiling on agricultural
holdings. 24-1-1971, which has been fixed as the appointed day,
has reference to the said meeting of the Central Committee on
Land Reforms. The significance of the appointed day in the
matter of calculation of ceiling area and determination of the
surplus land is evident from the provisions contained in Section
6 of the Act which prescribes that on and from the appointed day
no person shall, except as otherwise provided in the Act, be
entitled to hold land in excess of the ceiling area. Similarly
sub-section (1) of Section 7 requires a person who on the
appointed day held land in excess of the ceiling area to furnish
to the authorised officer return in accordance with the
provisions of the said section. Sub-section (4) of Section 4
excludes land which was transferred by sale, gift or otherwise or
partitioned by a person after the appointed day but before the
commencement of the Act. The aforesaid provisions clearly
indicate that the crucial date for determination of the celling
area that can be retained by a person holding land in excess of
the ceiling limit is the appointed day.
14.The Act envisages consideration of changes taking place
after the appointed day in the following provisions :
(i)Section 9(2)(a) which applies to a family
holding land on the appointed day in excess of 6
standard hectares and requires the authorised
officer to take into account only those members of
the family who are alive on the notified date for
the purpose of calculating, after the appointed
day, the ceiling area of the family;
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(ii)Section 9(2)(b) which applies to a family
other than that covered by Section 9(2)(a
) and
requires the authorised officer to take into
account only those members of the family who are
alive on the date of the preparation of the draft
statement for the purpose of calculating after the
appointed day the ceiling area of the family;
(iii)Sub-section (1) of Section 21 which deals
with acquisition of land by a person after the
appointed day either by inheritance or bequest from
any person and acquisition after the appointed day
but before the notified date by sale in execution
of a decree or order of a civil court or of an
award or order of any other lawful authority and
provides that if such land together with the land,
if any, already held by him exceeds in aggregate
the ceiling area then he shall within 30 days from
the notified date or from the date of such
acquisition, whichever is later, furnish to the
authorised officer within whose jurisdiction his
holding or the major part thereof is situated, a
return containing the particulars mentioned to in
clauses (i) to
(vii) of sub-section (1).
(iv)Sub-section (2) of Section 21 which deals
with a situation where the extent of land held by
any person exceeds in the aggregate the ceiling
area as a result of marriage or adoption on or
after the appointed day. Such a person also must
within 30 days from the notified date or from the
date of marriage or adoption, as the case may be,
whichever is later, furnish to the authorised
officer within whose jurisdiction his holding or
the major part thereof is situated, a return
containing the particulars set out in that sub-
section.
15.From the aforesaid provisions it would appear that while
clauses (a) and (b) of sub-section (2) of Section 9 seek to
curtail the ceiling area of the family by taking into account the
death of a member of the family after the appointed day, sub-
sections (1) and (2) of Section 21 deal with cases where holding
of a person exceeds the ceiling area after the appointed day on
account of acquisition of land by inheritance or bequest or sale
in execution of a decree, etc., or as a result of the marriage or
adoption and require such a person to file return to the extent
of land in excess of the ceiling area. There is no provision in
the Act which provides for recalculation of the ceiling area as a
result of a change taking place in the family after the appointed
day on account of a minor son attaining majority or an unmarried
daughter getting married before the notified date. Section
9(2)(a) which deals with changes in the family on account of
death of a member of the family after the appointed day but
before the notified date cannot be construed to cover a change in
the family on account of a minor son attaining majority or an
unmarried daughter getting married after the appointed day but
before the notified date. Moreover the object underlying Section
9(2)(a) is to further reduce the ceiling area by taking into
account a change taking place between the appointed day and the
notified date on account of death of a member of a family. The
said provision cannot be invoked so as to enlarge the ceiling
area by taking into account a change in the family as a result of
a minor son
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attaining majority or an unmarried daughter getting married. We
cannot lose sight of the fact that the Act is a piece of
legislation enacted with a view to achieve a more equitable
distribution of land for common good so as to subserve the
Directive Principles contained in Article 39 of the Constitution.
The provisions of such a legislation have to be so interpreted as
to further the object of the legislation and not defeat the same.
The construction placed by the High Court on the provision of
Section 9(2)(a) of the Act runs counter to the object of the Act
and we do not find any indication in the provisions of the Act
which justifies placing such an interpretation on Section
9(2)(a). We are, therefore, unable to uphold the view taken by
the High Court. In our view any change in the family on account
of a minor son attaining majority or an unmarried daughter
getting married after the appointed day is not required to be
taken into account while calculating the ceiling area of the
family.
16.In the result, the appeals are allowed, the judgments of the
High Court under appeal as well as the orders passed by the Land
Tribunal holding that the share of the minor son attaining
majority after the appointed day must be excluded from the
holding of the family are set aside and the orders passed by the
authorised officer are restored. No orders as to costs.
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