U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 – ss.157-B, 161, 166, 167 – Respondents entered into an exchange with a member of Scheduled Tribe by way of registered exchange deed – Respondents gave 4½ Muthi of land in return for 12 Nali of agricultural land – Assistant Collector held that the exchange violates s.161(1) and the exchange deed being in violation of provisions of the 1950 Act is void – Respondents filed appeal – Dismissed – Revision petition – Dismissed – Writ petition filed by the respondents – Allowed – Held: s.161 pertains to exchange of land, as per which a bhumidhar may exchange land with another bhumidhar or with any Gaon Sabha or local authority, with the prior permission of an Assistant Collector – Insofar as the land belonging to a member of Scheduled Tribe, exchange is not permissible – Under s.157-B, no bhumidhar or asami belonging to a Scheduled Tribe, shall have the right to transfer by way of “sale, gift, mortgage or lease or otherwise any land to a person not belonging to a Scheduled Tribe” – Language used in s.157-B “or otherwise” emphasizes that the land belonging to a Scheduled Tribe cannot be transferred in any manner whatsoever – Further, in the instant case admittedly, even no prior permission was sought from the Assistant Collector – Also, respondents did not explain as to why a member of Scheduled Tribe wanted to exchange his large extent of land i.e.12 Nali (2400 sq. mtrs.) with a much smaller piece of land i.e. 4½ Muthi (56.25 sq. mtrs.) – This raises doubt about the genuineness of exchange deed strengthened by the fact that respondents’ names were mutated in the land exchanged while that of the member of Scheduled Tribe was not – Since the exchange deed violated s.157-B, the transfer is void u/s.166 – No justification to consider respondents’ request on the basis they are running Hotel on the land – No ground for considering questions of equity – When there is a clear statutory provision barring the transfer, it was not open to the High Court to substitute its view in place of that provision – Such interpretation would defeat the benevolent object of the provisions of the 1950 Act and the constitutional scheme providing for social and economic empowerment of the Scheduled Tribes – Judgment of High Court set aside – Appellants at liberty to proceed in accordance with law – Interpretation of Statutes – Equity – Indian Stamp Act – Article 31 of Schedule 1-B.
U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 – s.161 – Exchange of land – Requirement of prior permission u/s.161 – Discussed.
U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 – ss.3(14), 143, 144 – Respondents entered into a land exchange with a member of Scheduled Tribe and gave 4½ Muthi of land in return for 12 Nali of agricultural land – Exchange deed was held to be void being in violation of provisions of the 1950 Act – Respondents inter alia pleaded that the land in question is not an “agricultural land” and does not fall within the definition of “land” u/s.3(14) thus, provisions of Chapter VIII of the Act are not applicable – Held: For changing the nature of land from “agricultural” to “abadi”, declaration as stipulated in ss.143 &
144 is required – Respondents did not produce any such document which shows that such declaration was made much less registered – In absence thereof, the land is deemed to be an “agricultural land” as per s.3(14) and the provisions of the 1950 Act are applicable to the land in question.
U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 – ss.157-A, 157-B – Restrictions on transfer of land by members of Scheduled Castes vis-a-vis Scheduled Tribe – Discussed. Allowing the appeal, the Court
HELD:1.1 Mangal Singh is a member of Scheduled Tribe and this factum has not been disclosed in the exchange deed. As per Section 157-B of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 (the Act), a bhumidhar or asami belonging to Scheduled Tribe cannot transfer his land to a person not belonging to Scheduled Tribe. As per Section 166 of the Act, any transfer made in contravention of the provisions of the Act shall be void. Since the exchange deed has been executed in violation of the provisions of Section 157-B of the Act, the transfer is void and is liable to be set aside and the land is liable to be vested in the State Government. For changing the nature of land from “agricultural” to “abadi”, declaration as stipulated in Sections
143 and 144 is required. The provisions under Section 143 of the Act are initiated suo motu or on an application moved by a bhumidhar with transferable rights and an enquiry is required to be conducted by the Assistant Collector as prescribed under the Act.[1010-D; 1010-F; 1011 E-G]
In the present case, the respondents have not produced any such document which shows that declaration required under Section 143 of the Act has been made much less registered. In the absence of such declaration, the land is deemed to be an “agricultural land” as per the provisions of Section 3(14) of the Act. In the absence of such declaration, the land cannot be said to be “abadi land”. Since the land is an “agricultural land”, the provisions of U.P. ZA & LR Act are applicable to the land in question. [Paras 12, 15, 17 and 18][1013 E-G; 1014B-C]
1.2 Section 161 of the Act pertains to exchange of land. As per Section 161, a bhumidhar may exchange land with another bhumidhar or with any Gaon Sabha or local authority, with the prior permission of an Assistant Collector. Insofar as the land belonging to a member of Scheduled Tribe, exchange is not permissible. Under Section 157-B, no bhumidhar or asami belonging to a Scheduled Tribe, shall have the right to transfer by way of “sale, gift, mortgage or lease or otherwise any land to a person not belonging to a Scheduled Tribe”.The language used in Section 157-B of the Act “or otherwise” emphasizes that the land belonging to a Scheduled Tribe cannot be transferred in any manner whatsoever. In Section 157-A of the Act which deals with restrictions on transfer of land by members of Scheduled Castes, the language used is “by way of sale, gift, mortgage or lease to a person not belonging to a Scheduled Caste”. Absence of word “or otherwise” in Section 157-A of the Act shows that while exchange may be permissible of a land belonging to members of Scheduled Caste to a person belonging to Scheduled Caste, such an exchange is prohibited under Section 157-B of the Act – Restriction on transfer of land of a member of a Scheduled Tribe. Use of the word “shall” in the proviso to Section 161 of the Act clearly indicates that for a valid exchange, it is mandatory to obtain permission of the Assistant Collector. In the instant case, admittedly, no prior permission was sought from the Assistant Collector as mandated. In the absence of fulfilling of pre-requisite condition as laid down in Section 161 of the Act, the exchange has to be necessarily held to be void. [Paras 19, 20][1014 B-C; 1014 F-H; 1015 A-D]
1.3 There is no merit in the contention that for exchange of land prior permission under Section 161 of the Act is not required. The pre-requisite condition for grant of permission is the calculation of the rental value and if the difference between the rental value of land given in exchange and of land received in exchange is more than 10%, then the Assistant Collector shall refuse the permission. The pre-requisite condition of calculation of the rental value clearly suggests that the permission of the Assistant Collector is a pre-requisite condition for a valid exchange. [Paras 22, 23][1015 F-G; 1016 B-D]
1.4 The respondents have not explained as to why Mangal Singh (a member of Scheduled Tribe) wanted to exchange his large extent of land i.e. 12 Nali (2400 sq. mtrs.) with a much smaller piece of land i.e. 4½ Muthi (56.25 sq. mtrs.). This aspect raises doubt about the genuineness of the exchange deed. This is further strengthened by the fact that the names of the respondents have been mutated in the land of Mangal Singh in Bandobast Khatuni Khata No.43; whereas the name of Mangal Singh has not been mutated in village Khata No.36, Bandobast Khatuni Khata No.91. These circumstances clearly indicate that the exchange deed relied upon by the respondents is not a valid exchange and has been executed in violation of the provisions of the U.P. ZA & LR Act. [Para 24][1016 D-G]
1.5 U.P. ZA & LR Act is a beneficial legislation which has been enacted to protect the interest of the exploited rural masses. There is no merit in the contention that the order passed by the Pargana Magistrate dated 19.07.2000 is barred by limitation. The exchange deed dated 16.03.1994 being in contravention to the provisions of the U.P. ZA & LR Act is void. The consequences have to follow as per Section 167 of the Act. In case, if the transfer is void under the provisions of the Act, there is no justification to consider the request of the respondents on the ground that they are running the Hotel by availing loan from the financial institutions. When there is a clear statutory provision barring the transfer, it was not open to the High Court to substitute its view in the place of that provision. Any such interpretation would defeat the benevolent object of the provisions of the U.P. ZA & LR Act and also the constitutional scheme providing for the social and economic empowerment of the Scheduled Tribes. The order of the High Court is contrary to the express provisions of U.P. ZA & LR Act and the impugned judgment cannot be sustained. [Paras 25, 28-30][1016-G; 1018-G; 1019-B; 1019 C-F]
Chandrika Singh and others v. Raja Vishwanath Pratap Singh and another (1992) 3 SCC 90 : [1992] 2 SCR 640; Samatha v. State of A.P. and others (1997) 8 SCC
191 : [1997] 2 Suppl. SCR 305 – relied on.
Life Insurance Corporation of India v. Escorts Ltd. and others (1986) 1 SCC 264 : [1985] 3 Suppl. SCR 909 – referred to.
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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