Kerala act 001 of 1964 : The Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963 (No.1 of 1964)

Preamble. Sections

THE KERALA LAND REFORMS ACT, 1963

(Act 1 ofl964)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

Preliminary

I. Short title, extent and commencement.

2. Definitions.

CHAPTER II I

Provisions regarding tenancies . Exemptions . , •

3. Exemptions. ' ol.o Deemed Tenants I I • .J

4. Certain odacharthudars and persons claiming under oda· charthudars to be deemed te~ants.

I I 1 f

5. Certain mortgagees with possessi?n to ,be deemed tenants.

6. Certain mortgagees who were holding land on verumpattam on or after 1st Chingam, 1111, to be deemed' tenants. Certain persons occupying land honestly believing' 'to be tenants, to be deemed tenants. ·' '

I 7,

8. Certain persons who were cultivating land on ~aram arrange· ment to be deemed tenants~ ' J~¹^{• '}

,I J • • • I ( l

9. Certain persons who surrendered leasehold,. rights but , continued .in posses~!on, to~~~ ,de~ll!rd 'tene~;I].ts. I 1 : ·,

10.

11.

I I Certain other persons to be deemed tenants. Sambalapattamdar, sambalachittudar, etc., in Palghat district to be presumed tenants.

12. Right to prove real nature of transaction. Fixity of Tenure

13. Right of tenants to fixity of tenure.

14. Resumption for extension of places of public religious worship.

15. Remmption for constructiOn of residential buildings.

16. Resumption for personal cult1vation from tenant holding more than ceiling area.

17. Resumption by small holder.

1 8. General conditions and restrictions applicable to resumption undersections 14, 15, 16and 17. -t.·

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

f^25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34 . ...

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

·41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

52.

Resumption of agricultural land interspersed within a plantation.

Tenants from whom land is resumed to be paid compensation for improvements, and solatium.

Priority for resumption.

Procedure for resumption.

Tenant's right to sue for restoration of possession of land. Limitation for application for restoration under section 23. Persons entitled to restoration. .

Recovery of arrears of rent by summary procedure. Fazr Rent

Fair rent.

Exclusion of certain lands from liability to fair rent. Preparation of record of rights.

Rent payable by an intermediary.

Determination of fair rent by Land Tribunal. Bar of suits for eviction, etc., pending application for deter- mination of fair rent.

Agreement as to fair rent.

Date from which order determining fair rent, etc., is to take effect. ' · '

Rent payable when Land Tribunal has not determined fair rent.

Mode of payment of rent.

Liability for assessment.

Remission of rent.

Abatement or reduction of rent.

Invalidity of claims of dues other than rent payable. Arrears of rent to bear interest.

Priority of claim for arrears of rent.

Publication of prices of commodities.

Publication of statistics relating to gross produce of lands. Tenant's right to obtain receipt.

Application to Land Tribunal when landlord refused to accept a tender.

Procedure on application under section 46.

Apportionment of rent on severance of intereSt of landlord or tenant.

Notice to landlord and interrnediary when the interest in the holding of the tenant is acquired.

Rights of tenant to be heritable and alienable. Surrender by tenant.

Rights as to timber trees.

- '

53.

54.

55.

56.

57.

58.

59.

60.

61.

62.

63.

64.

65.

67.

68.

69.

70.

Purchase of Landlords' rights by Cultivating Tenants Cultivating tenant's right to purchase landlord's rights. ApplicatiOn for purchase of landlord's rights by cultivating tenants.

Purchase price.

Purchase price to be distributed among the landowner and intermediaries.

' Procedure before the Land Tribunal.

Purchase price payable in instalments or in lump. Deposit of purchase price and issue of certificate of purchase. Purchase price to bear interest.

Cultivating tenant to pay rent pending purchase.

. Recovery of instalments of purchase price on default. Payment of purchase price, amount of encumbrance,· main- tenance or alimqny.

Payment of purchase price to the landowner or intermediary to be full ,discharge.

Special provisions relating to religious, charitable and edu· cational institutions of a public nature. _ Procedure for vesting of rights

1 I • Pay merit of annuity. Vesting of the rights of religious, charti~ble or educational mstitutions in the. Government not to operate as bar to the purchase of landlord's rights by cultivating' tenants. Choice for annuity where cultivating tenant applies for purchase.

Purchase of right, title and interest of institutions.

71. Tenant holding under tht institution to continue as.tenant under the Government.

72. Vesting of landlord's rights in tenants.

73. Discharge of arrears of rent.

74. Prohibition of future tenancies. Rights and Lzabil:ties of K udtkidappukar.r

75. Kudikidappukaran to have fixity .

•

76. Rent payable by kudikidappukaran.

77. F1ling of su1ts against kudikidappukaran in certain cases.

78. Right of kudikidappukaran to be herita~le but riot ahenable.

79. Right of kud1kidappukaran to maintain, repair, et~., home· stead or hut. '

80. Register of kudikidappukars. ,, ---------------------------------------------

CHAPTER III

Restriction on ownership and possession of land in excess ot ceiling area and disposal of excess lands

81.

82.

83.

84.

85.

86.

87.

88.

89.

90.

91.

92.

93.

94.

95.

96.

97.

98.

Exemptions. Ceiling area. Families and adult unmarried persons not to own or hold lands in excess of the ceiling area.

Certain voluntary transfers to be null and void;

(

Surrender of excess lands. Vesting of excess lands in Government. Excess land obtained by gift, etc., to be surrendered. Perso~s surrendering la~d entitled to compensation. Payment of advance towards compensatiOn. Preparation of compensation roll.

Payment of compensation.

Payment of compensation and amount of encumbranCe. Payment of compensation t~ be full discharge. Assignment of rights vested in the Government to small holders. Application for assignment of land.

Assignment of lands by Land Board.

Payment of purchase price. Management of surrendered lands till assignment.

CHAPTER IV .

Mi&cellaneous

99. Constitution of Land Tribunal.

100. Constitution of Land Board. I

101. Powers of the Land Board and the Land Tribunal.

102. Appeals.

103. Revision by High Court.

104. Proceedings by or against joint families, etc.

105. Authorised officer empowered to obtain information from persons.

106. Special provisions relating to leases for commercial or industrial purposes.

107. Costs.

108. Application of the provisions of section 5 of the Indian Limitation Act.

109. Constitution of Agnculturist Rehabilitation Fund.

110. Special provisions for application of the Act.

111. Rent under certain contracts of tenancy not to be affected.

.L .

112. Apportionment of land value in cases of acquisition. I 13. Prices published under section 43 to be deemed to be

market rates. ~ · ""

114. Amendments to certain enactments.

115. Appearance before Land Tnbunal or Land Board.

116. Court fees.

117. Members ~f Land Board and Land Tribunal to be'deemed public servants.

118. Penalty for failure to furnish return. 1"·

119. Penalty for furnishing false returns or information.

120. Penalty for making false declaration. 121; Penalty for contravention of any lawful order. I 22. Penalty for cutting trees or for re~oving any machinery, etc.

123. Cognizance of offences.

124. Protection of action taken under Act.

125. Bar of jurisdiction of courts. 126,'

. 127.

128:

Construction of references to acres and cents. Act to override other laws, etc . Power to 'remove difficulties.

129. Power to make rules. ' ''

130. Laying of rules and notifications· before the Legislative Assembly.

131. Limitation. ··

132. Repeal and savings. Schedule I ·

Schedule II

Schedule III

Schedule IV.

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THE KERALA LAND REFORMS ACT, 1963

(Act I of 1964)*

An Act to enact a comprehensive legislatwn relattng to land reforms zn the State of Kerala.

Preamble.-\\ HEREAS it is expedient to enact a comprehensive legis- -1 ation relating to land reforms in the State of Kerala ; BE it enacted in the Fourt~enth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY

l. Short title, extent and commencement.-(!) This Act may be called

"the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963.

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.

(3) The provisions of this Act, except this section which shall come into force at once, shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint:

Provided that different dates niay be appointed for different provi- sions of this Act, and any reference m any such provision to the com- mencement of this Act, shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.

2. Defmitions.-In this Act,- unless the context otherwise re- quires,-

( I) "agricultural labourer" means a 'person whose principal means of livelihood is the income he gets as wages, in connection w1th the agricultural operations he performs ;

(2) "agricultural year" means• the year commencing with the 1st April in any year and ending with the 31st March of the year next succeeding, except in the case of kole mlams in which case it shall be the year commencing with the 15th June in any year and ending with the 14th June of the year next succeeding :

Provided that the District Collector may, with respect to any crop, area or category of land within his district, by notification in the Gazette, specify the year between such other dates as he may deem fit as an agricultural year ;

(3) " ceiling area " means the extent of land specified in sec- tion 82 as the ceiling area ; .

(4) "Cochin" means the area comprising-

(i) the portion of the State of Kerala which before the first tiay of July, 1949, formpd the State of Cochin, excluding

• Published in the Gazette Extraordinary dated 14th January, 1964 Received the assent of the President on the 31st December, 1963. • For statement of objects and reasons, see Gazette Extraordinary dated 16th September, 1963.

' For report of the Select Committee, see Gazette Extraordinary dated 21st October, 1963.

the enclaves absorbed in the Malabar district under the Provinces and States (Absorption of Enclaves) Order, 1950; and

(iz) the enclaves which formed part of the Malabar district absorbed in the State of Travancore-Cochin under the said Order;

(5) "commercial site" means any land (not being a kudiyi· ruppu or a kudikidappu) which is used principally for the purposes of any trade, commerce, industry, manufacture or business ;

(6) " court " means, where a particular court is not specifically mentioned, the court having jurisdiction under the Code of Civil Pro- cedure, 1908, to entertain a suit for the possession of the holding or part thereof to which any legal proceeding under this Act relates ;

(7) ''cultivate" with itS grammatical variations means culti- vate either solely by one's own labour or with the help of the members of his family or hired labourers or both, or personally direct or supervise cultivation by such members or hired labourers or both, provided that such members or hired labourers have not agreed•to pay or to take any fixed proportion of the produce of the land they cultivate as com· pensatlon for being allowed to cultivate it or as remuneration for culti- vating it.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this clause, "members offamily"

shall mean,-

(a) in the case of lands held by a joint family, membersofsuch family; and

(iz) in any other case, wife or husband, as the case .may be, and the lineal descendants ;

(8) "cultivating tenant" means a tenant who is in actual possession of, and is entitled to cultivate, the land comprised in his holding ;

(9) " customary dues " means anything, other than rent, michavaram or renewal fees,- ·

(i) payable in cash or in kind by a tenant to his landlord; or (zi) allowed to be taken by the landlord from the holding, periodically or on the happening of any event or on the occasion of any festival, and includes onakazhcha, utsa.vakoppu, perunnalkazhcha and aradiantharam ;

• (I 0) " double-crop nilam " means nilam on which more than one crop of paddy is ordinarily raised in an agricultural year ;

(11) "dry land'' means land which is not nilam, garden, palliyal land or plantation ; •

( 12) " eviction " means the recovery of possession of land from a tenant or the recovery of a kudikidappu from the occupation of iQ.e kudikidappukaran ;

(13) "fair rent" means the rent payable by a cultivating tenant under section 27 or section 33 ;

(14) "family" means husband, wife and their unmarried minor children or such of them as exist ;

(15) r" garden " means land used principally for growing cocoa- nut trees, arecanut trees or pepper vines, or any two or more of the same;

( 16) " gross produce ", in the case of a mlam, means the nor· mal produce of that mlam less the cost of harvestmg and, in the case of a garden or dry land, means the normal produce of that garden or dry land:

Provided that in determining the gross produce in the case of any double crop nilam, account shall be taken as though only a single paddy crop, which shall be the principal crop, has been raised on the land if it had been converted from single crop into double crop nilam at the tenant's expense, and as though two paddy crops have been raised on the land in other cases.

Explanatwn.-For the purposes of this clause, "normal produce"

in respect of any land means the produce which would be raised if the rainfall and the seasons were of a normal character ; ( 17) "holding" means a parcel or parcels of land held under a smgle demise by a tenant from a landlord and shall include any portion of a holding as above defined which the landlord and the ten- ant have agreed, or are bound under section 48 or otherwise, to treat as a separate holding ;

· (18) the term " improvement " shall have the meaning as- signed to it under the Kerala Compensation for Tenants Improvements Act, 1958 ;

(19) "intermediary" means any person who, not being a land· owner or mortgagee, has an interest in the land and is entitled, by reason of SUCh interest, tOJJOSSeSS!On thereof, but has transferred such possession to any other person otherwise than by way of mortgage ;

• (20) "joint family" means a Hindu undivided famdy, a Marumakkathayam tarwad or tavazhi, an Aliasanthana kutumba for kavaru or a Nambudiri Illam.

(21) " kaipad system of cultivation " means the system of cultivation, by whatever name called, under which paddy is cultivated on saline land by raising small mounds of earth and planting seedlings thereon;

(22) "kanam" means the transfer for consideration, in money or in kind or in both, by a landlord of an inte-rest in specific immovable property to another person for the latter's enjoyment, whether descnbed in the document evidencing the transaction as kanam or kanapattam, the incidents of which transfer include-

( a) a right in the transferee to hold the said property liable for the consideration paid by him or due to him ;

(b) the liability of the transferor to pay to the transferee in- terest on such consideration unless otherwise agreed to by the parties ; and

and, in areas in the State other than Malabar, includes such transfer of interest in specific immovable property which is described in the document evidencing the transaction as otti, karipanayam, panayam,

nerpanayam or by any other name and which has the incidents specified in sub-clauses (a) and (b) above and also the following incidents :-

( z) renewal on the expiry of any specified period ; and (iz) payment of customary dues:

Provided that kanapattam or any other' de'llise governed by the Travancore Jenmi and Kudiyan Act of 1071 or the Kanam Tenancy Act, 1955, shall not be deemed to be a kanam. Explanation.-For the purposes of this clause, where there has been no stipulation in the document evidencmg the transaction for renewal on the expiry of any specified penod, but there has been a renewal or payment of renewal fees, it shall be deemed that there had been a provision for such renewal in the. document ;

(23) '' kanam-kuzhikanam " means and includes a transfer by a landlord to another person of garden lands or of. other lands or of both, with the fruit bearing trees, if any, standing thereon at the time of the transfer, for the enjoyment of those trees and for the purpose of planting such fruit-bearing trees thereon, the incidents of which 1 transfer in- clude-

. '

(a) a right m the transferee to hold the said lands liable for the consideration pa1d by him or due to him, which consideration is called ' kanartham ' ; and 1 1 , , •

(b) the liability of the transferor to pay to the transferee .interest on the kanartham unless otherwise agreed to by the parties :

Provided that a usufructuary mortgage as defined in the Trans- fer of Property Act, 1882 (Central Act 4 of 1~82), shall not be deemed to be a kanam-kuzhikanam ; '¹

(24) " kole nilam" means land in the bed of any kayal, or lake, or any water-logged land in areas adjoinmg or lying within' the vicinity of any kayal, lake or nver, on which paddy is cultivated by raising bunds on one or more s1des and drainmg the water away by mechanical or other means, and includes- ' ·

( z) kole or punjakole nilam in the districts of Palghat arid Trichur ; and

(i1) water-logged land in the taluks ofHosdrug and Kru.aragod commonly known as "Avi" land, on which paddy is cultivated by raising bunds on one or more sides and draining the water away by baling;

(25) " kudikidappukaran" means a person who has neither a h'omestead nor any land, either as owner or as tenant in possession, on which he could erect a homestead and ·

· (z) who has been permitted with or without an obligation to pay rent by a person in lawful possession of any land to have the use and occupation of a portion of such land for the purpose of erecting a homestead ; or

(ii) who has been permitted by a person in lawful possession of any land to occupy, with or without an obligation to pay rent, a hut belonging to such person and situate in the said land, · ·· ' ' J 1 • .h.·

but otherwise has no interest in the land; ·and " kudikidappu " means the land and the homestead or the hut so permitted to be erected or occupied together with the easements attached thereto :

Provided that a person shall not be deemed to be a kudikidap- pukaran if the aforesaid permission was granted after the ll th day of April, 1957, by a mortgagee in possession or by a tenant from whom the land in which the kudikidappu is situate is liable to be resumed :

Provided further that a person shall not be deemed to be a kudi- kidappukaran if the aforesaid permiSSion was granted in respect of any hut not belonging to him and situate-

( a) in a plantation; or

(b) in any area of land which is appurtenant to a mill, factory or workshop,

and in connection with the employment of such person in the plantation, mill, factory or workshop, unless he was, immediately before the commencement of this Act, entitled to the rights of a kudikidappukaran or the holder of a protected ulkudi or kudikidappu under any law then jn force.

E~plahation I.-For the purposes of this clause, 'hut' means ~ny dwelling house which was constructed at a cost not exceeding four hun- dred rupees, . or could have, at the time of construction, yielded a mo!lthly rent not exceeding four rupees.

Explanation 'II.-Any person who was in occupation of a kudi- kidappu on the II th day of April, 195 7, and who continued to be in such' occupation at the commencement of this Act, shall be deemed to be in occupation of such kudikidappu with permission as required under this clause.

Explanation /l/.-Where any kudikidappukaran secures any mortgage with possession ovrr the land in which the kudikidappu is situate, his kud1kidappu right shall revive on the redemption of the mortgage, provided that he has at the tin,e of the redemption neither a homestead nor any land, etther as owner or as tenant in possession, on which he could erect a homestead;

(26), " kud1yiruppu " means a holding or part of a holding con- sisting of the site of any residential building, the site or j sites of other. buildings appurtenant thereto, such other lands as are necessary for the convenient enjoyment of such residential building and easements attached thereto, but does not include a kudikidappu;

(27) .• ~.'. Kuttanad area " means the area covered by the villages specified ·in Schedule I; . ·

(28) " kuzhikanatrl " means and includes a transfer by a land- lord to another penon of garden lands or of other lands or of both, with the fruit-bearing trees, if any, standing thereon at the time of the transfer, for the enjoyment of those trees and for the purpose of planting such fruit-bearing trees thereon, bu.t shall not include a usufructuary mortgage as aefined in the Transfer of Property Act, 1882; (29)' " landlord " means a person' under whom a tenant holds and to whom he is liable 'to pay rent, and mcludes a landowner;

(30) " landowner " means the owner of the land comprised in a holding and includes-

(z) a landholder holding Sree Pandaravaka lands on pattam, otti, jenmam, kudijenmam, danam or any other tenure; and (iz) a land holder holding Sreepadam lands on Sreepadam pattam or other favourable tenure;

(31) " Land Board" means the Land Board constituted under section I 00;

(32) " Land Tribunal " means a Land Tribunal constituted under section 99;

(33) " licensee" means any person who is in occupation of any nilam belonging to another and who, under any local custom or usage or under an agreement, cultivates that nilam with paddy for a rf'muneration and with the risk of cultivation, but does not include a person who cultivates the nilam of another merely as an agent or servant;

(34) "Malabar" means the Malabar district referred to in sub-section (2) of section 5 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956;

(35) "member of the Armed Forces" means a person in the service of the Air Force, Army or Navy of the Union of India;

(36) " michavaram" means whatever is agreed by a kanamdar to be paid periodically as residual rent, in money or in kind or in both to, or on behalf of, the landlord, but does not include customary dues;

(37) " net income" means income derived from any property after deducting therefrom the cultivation expenses or charges for main- taining fruit trees, timber trees or other useful trees and plants, and taxes and cesses due to the Government or any local authority;

(38) " nilam " means land adapted for the cultivation of paddy;

(39) " odacharthu " means an agreement for cutting bamboos m Malabar; · ' · . . '

- (40)' "owner" means a person entitled to the 'absolute proprie- torship of land and iilcludes- , ~ .'. :" ,' - 1, ' ~

(a) a trustee in respect thereof; .. , , l

(b) a pattadar of ryotwari land; ·, '^1" {c) a kudiyan as defined in the Travancore Jenmi and Kudiyan Act of 1071 and a kanam tenant as defined in the Kanam Tenancy·· Act, 1955, but does not include a jenmi as defined in the sa1d Acts;

. (41) "palliyalland" means land which is used ordinarily for' raising seedlings of paddy and mcludes land so used and known as ' pallimanayal, myal, potta, njal, njattadi or banabettu;

(42) "pay" with its grammatical variations includes deliver'; ( 43) " person " shall include a company, family, joint family, association or other body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, and any institutiOn capable of holding property;

~·

(44) cc plantati6n" means any land used by a person principally for the cultivation of tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, cardamom or cinnamon (hereinafter in this clause referred to as 'plantation crops') and includes- ( a) land used by the said person for any purpose ancillary to the cultivation of plantation crops or for the preparatiOn of the same for the market ;

(b) land contiguous to, or in the vicinity of, or within the boundaries of, the area cultivated with plantatiOn crops, not exceeding twenty per cent of the area so cultivated and reserved by the said person and fit for the expansion of such cultivation ;

(c) agricultural lands interspersed within the boundaries of the area cultivated by the said person with plantation crops, not exceeding such extent as may be determined by the Land Board as necessary for the protection and efficient management of such cultivation. Explanation.-Lands used for the construction of office buildings, godowns, factories, quarters for workmen, hospitals, schools and play grounds shall be deemed to be lands used for the purposes of sub- clause (a); ,

(45) "possession" in relation to land includes occupation of land by a person deemed to be a tenant under section 4, section 5, section 6, section 7, section 8, section 9 or section I 0;

(46) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(47) "private forests" means forests to which the Madras Prec;ervation of Private Forests Act, 1949 (Act XXVII of 1949),applies, excluding-

(i) areas which are waste and are not enclaves within wooded areas;

(ii) areas which are gardens or nilams; (1i1) areas which are planted w1th tea, coffee, cocoa, ru l)ber, cardamom or cinnamon; and

(iv) other areas which are cultivated with pepper, arecanut,• cocoanut, cashew or other fruit-bearing trees or are cultivated with any other agricultural cr.op;

(48) (i) "punam or kumri cultivatiOn ' ¹means fugitive or jntermittent cultivation of paddy on dry lands in Malabar; (it) "punam or kumri cultivator" means a person who has raised crops by punam or kumri cultivation in any year between 1953 and 1959 and, where there are successive cultivators in respect of the same land, the cultivator who ra1sed crops last by such cuhivation during the said period ; ' ·

(49) "rent" means whatever is lawfully payable in money or in kind or in J;>oth by a person permitted to have the use and occupation of any land to the person so permitting, and includes michavaram, but does not include customary dues ;

(50) "resumption" means the recovery of posse~sion of land from a tenant ;

(51) "seaman¹¹means every person (including a master, pilot or apprentice) employed or engaged as a member of the crew of a ship or a sailing vessel to which the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (Central Act 44 of 1958), applies ;

(52) 'small holder' means a landlord who does not have interest in land exceeding eight standard acres or twenty-four acres in extent, whichever is less, as owner, intermediary, or cultivating tenant, or in two or more of the above capacities, so however that the extent of non- resumable land in his possession as owner, or as cultivating tenant, or partly as owner and partly as cultivating tenant, does not exceed-

(i) four standard acres; or

(ii) four acres in extent, whichever is greater. Explanation.-For the purposes of this clause, a person who was in possessiOn of, or had interest in, land exceeding the limits specified in this clause immediately before the 18th December, 1957, but such, extent of land was reduced to the said limits or below by partition or transfer effected after the date mentioned above, shall not be deemed to be a small holder ; nor shall such partition or transfer entitle the allottee or transferee to exercise the rights of a small-holder in respect of the land allotted or transferred to him ; '

(53) "Sreepadam lands" means the lands registered in the revenue records as " sreepadam vaka " and known as sreepadam lands, but does not include sreepadam thanathu lands;

(54) "Sree Pandaravaka lands" .means the lands owned by the Sree Padmanabhaswamy ;

• \1 •

(55) "standard acre" means, in relation to any class of land specified in Schedule II situate in the district or taluk mentioned there• in, the extent of land specified against it in that Schedule ;

(56) "State " means the State of Kerala;

(57) "tenant " means any person who has paid or has agreed to pay rent or other consideration, for his being allowed by another to posses~ and to enjoy the land of the latt~r, and includes- ( a) 1an intermediary,· • ··

(b) a•kanamdar, !. ') , .. , ~. (c) a kanam-kuzhikanamdar,

(d) a kuzhikanamdar, 1 (e) a mulgenidar, ·

. ' I dl ·"'J.t, ··(f) a verumpattamdar of any· description (incluCling ahcus- tomary verumpattamdar),

(g) the holder of a chalgeni lease,

(h) the holder of a kudiyiruppu,

(z) the holder of a vaidageni lease, and I ''

(J) 'a person who is deemed to be a tenant under section '4-, section 5, sectwn 6, section 7, section 8, section 9 or section 10.

E:xplanation.-For the purposes of this clause,- i

(i) "holder of a chalgeni lease" means a lessee or sub-lessee or specific immovable property situate in the taluk of Hosdrug or Kasara· god in the district of Cannanore, who has contracted either expressly or impliedly to hold the same under a lease, whether for a specified period or not;

(ii) '' mulgeni" means a tenancy in perpetuity at a fixed invariable rent created in favour of a person called mulgenidar; ( izi) " vaidageni lease " means a lease for a term of years;

(58) "timber trees" means trees, the yield or income from which has not to be taken into account for the determination of fair rent;

(59) "to hold land" means to be in possession of land as owner or as tenant or partly as owner and partly as tenant;

(60) "varam" means an arrangement for the cultivation of nilam with paddy and sharing the produce, made between the owner or other person in lawful possession of the nilam and the person who undertakes cultivation under such arrangement, and includes the arrangements known as pathivaram, pankuvaram anr pankupattam; and "varamdar" means the person who undertakes cultivation under a varam arrangement;

(61) "vechupalc:uthy" means a transaction whereunder a landowner permits another person to be in joint possession with him of any land with the following stipulations:-

(i) the vechupakuthidar shall improve the land within a specified period;

1 (ii) at the end of the period so specified- ( a) the land shall be partitioned between the landowner and the vechupakuthidar in a specified proportion;

(b) upon such partition, all the rights of either party over the portion of the land set apart for the other shall stand transferred to and vest in the other, and

(iii) during the period between the date of the transaction aforesaid and the partition of the land the vechupakuthidar shall pay to the landowner such rent as may be specified;

(62) (i) "verumpattamdar" means a lessee or sub-lessee of immovable property, whether called verumpattamdar, or venpattamdar, who has expressly or impliedly contracted to hold the same under a lease with or without security for rent, and includes a tharikuthukaran in the Palghat district, but does not include a kanamdar, kanam- kuzhikanamdar, or kuzhikanamdar;

, (ii) "customary verumpattamdar" means any verumpattarr. dar of immovable property situate in any area to which the Mala bat Tenancy Act, 1929, extended, who, before the commencement of the Malabar T<."nancy· (Amendment) Act, 1951, was entitled, by the cust~m of the locality in which the land was situated, to possess10n of the said land for a definite period of years, and for whose continuance thereon, after the termination of that period, for a further period, a renewal fee had to be paid to the landlord as an incident of the tenure. 3/26-2

CHAPTER II

PROVISIONS REGARDING TENANCIES

Exemptions

3. Exemptions.-( 1) Nothing in this Chapter shall apply to- ( i) leases of lands or of buildings or of both belonging to or vested in the Government of Kerala or the Government of any other State in India or the Government oflndia or a local authority or a cor- poration owned or controlled by the Government of Kerala or the Government of any other State in India or the Government of India:

Provided that in the case ofkandukrishi lands sub-leased by a tenant holding such lands under the Government, the provision-s of sections 13 to 26 shall, so long as the lease granted by the Government subsists, apply to the tenants holding under the sub-lease as they apply to tenants holding lands other than Government lands.

Explanation /.-"Lands belonging to or vested in the Government of Kerala" shall, for the purposes of this clause, have the same meaning as "Government lands'' under sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Kerala Government Land Assignment Act, 1960, but leases of lands escheated to the Government shall not be deemed to be leases of lands belonging to or vested in the Government if such leases subsisted at the time of the escheat and continued to be in force at the commencement of this Act. Explanation ll.-For the purposes of this clause, "kandukrishi lands" means lands covered by the Kandukrishi Proclamation, 1124, and includes kandukrishi pattam and kandukrishi thanathu lands, but shall not include lands assigned on reg1stry under the Kandukrishi Land Assignment Rules, 1958; or

(ii) leases only of buildings, including a house, shop or ware- house, and the site thereof, with the land, if any, appurtenant thereto. Explanation.-Permission given to a kudikidapukaran to occupy a hut shall not be deemed to be a lease of building for the purposes of this clause ; or

(zii) leases of land or of buildings or of both specifically granted for industrial or commercial purposes ; or

(iv) tenancies ofland or of buildings or of both created by the Administrator-General or the Official Trustee or an Official Receiver or officer appointed by a court under the provisiOns' of any law, or by the court of wards, or by any person holding under or, deriving title from any of the officers or the court afCOlresaid : . Provided that the provtstons of this clause shall cease to apply to any tenancy created by the court of wards, where the landlord on whose behalf the tenancy was created does not terminate the tenancy by registered notice withm a period of six months from the date on which the property was released from the superintendence of the court of wards ; or · · · · '

(v) tenancies in respect of land or of buildings or of both created by mortgagees in possession or by persons denving title from such mortgagees: ·

~~ -r

Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to a cultivat• ing tenant holding land in the taluk of Hosdrug or Kasaragod in the district of Cannanore, to which the Malabar Tenancy Act, 1929, did not extend, under a lease granted before the 15th day of February, 1961, by a usufructuary mortgagee as defined in the Transfer of Pro- perty Act, 1882; or

(vi) tenancies in respect of land or of buildings or of both created by persons having only life interest or other limited interest in the land or in the buildings or in both :

Provided that the provisions of sections 13 to 26 relating to fixity of tenure shall apply to tenancies falling under clauses (v) and

(vi) solong as the mortgage, or, as the case may be, the hfe mterest or otherlimited interest subsists:

Provided further that the provisions of this Chapter, other than sections 53 to 72, shall apply to a tenancy created by a nissanthathi kavaru as defined in the Madras Aliyasanthana Act, 1949, in respect of lands or of buildings or of both, over which the nissanthathi kavaru has only a life interest.

Explanatzon.-For the purposes of clause (vi), a sthani or trustee or owner of any temple, mosque, church or other place of pub- lic religious worship or of any other public religious or charitable institution or endowment shall not be deemed to be a person having only life interest or other limited interest in ownership; or

(vii) leases of private forests:

Provided that nothing in clauses (i) to (vii) shall affect the rights of persons who were entitled to fixity of tenure immediately before the 21st January, 1961, under any law then in force; or

(viii) tenancies in respect of plantations exceeding thirty acres in extent :

Provided that the provisions of this Chapter, other than sections 53 to 72, shall apply to tenancies in respect of agricultural lands which are treated as plantations under sub-clause (c) of clause.

(44) of section 2 ; or

(ix) tenancies in respect of kayal padasekharams of Kuttanad area specified in Schedule IV, so long as such padasekharams are used for the cultivation of paddy or such other crops as the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, specify:

Provided that the provisions of sections 4 to 52, 73 and 74 shall apply to such tenancies ; or

(x) tenancies in respect of sites, tanks and premises of any temple, mosque or church (including sites on which rehgious ceremonies are conducted) and sites of office buildings and other buildings attach- ed to such temple, mosque or church, created by the owner, trustee or manager of such temple, mosque or church:

Provided that nothing in this clause shall affect the rights to which a tenant was entitled immediately before the commencement of this Act under the contract of tenancy or under any law then in force; or

(xi) lands transferred for felling trees ; or 3/26-2a

. (xii) any transaction relating only to the usufruct of trees or to the tapping of cocoanut or other palm trees or to the tapping of rubber trees.

(2) The Government may, if they are satisfied that it is necessary so to do in public interest, by notification in the Gazette, ocempt any lease or leases of lands other than nilams, or of such lands and build· ings, situate within the limits of a municipal corporation or munici- pality which was in existence at the commencement of this Act and belonging to, or vested in, the Travancore Devaswom Board or the Cochin Devaswom Board, from the operation of all or any of the pro• visions of this Chapter.

Deemed Tenants

4. Cert4in Odach~trthudars and persons claimint under Odacharthudars to be deemed tmants.-Notw1thstanding anythmg to the contrary contained in any law or in any contract, custom or usage, or in any judgment, decree or order of court,-

(i) an odacharthudar; or

(ii) a person claiming under an odacharthudar, who was actually cultivating on the 11th day of April, 195 7 and was continuing to cultivate at the commencement of this Act, the land or any portion of the land to which the odacharthu relates, s~all be deemed to be a tenant in respect of the land or the portion of the land so cultivated.

5. Certain mortgagees wzth possesswn to be deemed tenants.-( 1) Notwith· standing anything to the contrary contained in any law or in any con· tract, custom or usage, or in any judgment, decree or order of court, a mortgagee with possession of immovable property situate in Cochin shall be deemed to be a tenant, if-

(a) the property comprised in the mortgage consistS of agri- cultural land other than land planted with rubber, coffee, tea or cashew; and

(b) the interest on the mortgage amount IS less than forty per cent of the total rent fixed in the mortgage document.

(2) The mortgage money or any portiOn thereof may, at the option of the mortgagor, be treated as security for rent. The mortgagor shall return the mortgage money or the portion thereof which he does not elect to treat as security for rent to the tenant within six months from the-commencement of this Act.

6. Certain mortgagees who were holdtng land on verumpattam on •or after j 1st Ching am, 1111, to be deemed tenants -( 1) Notwithstanding anyth~ng to 1/ the contrary contained in any law or 111 any contract, custom or usage, or in any judgment, decree or order of court, a mort~agee with posses- sion of Immovable property situate 111 Cochin shall be deemed to be a tenant, if-

(a) the property comprised in the mortgage consists. of agricul- tural land;

(b) he was by himself or through any member of llis family or tarwad holding the property comprised m the mortgage as a verumpat- tamdar on or after the first day of Chingam; 1111; and

• -----------------------------------------

(c) the verumpattam was terminated after the first day of Chingam, 1111 and before the commencement of this Act, but he con- tinued in possession of the property, without interruption, by himself or through any member of his family or tarwad, as a mortgagee with possession from the date of such termination till the commencement of this Act.

(2) The mortgage money or any pmtion thereof may, at the option of the mortgagor, be treated as security for rent. The mortgagor shall return the mortgage money or the portion thereof which he does not elect to treat as security for rent to the tenant within six months from the commencement of this Act.

7. Certain persons occupyzng land honestly believing to be tenants, to be deemed tenants.-Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any law, or in any contract, custom or usage, or in any judgment, decree or order of court, any person who, on the II th day of April, 195 7, was continuously in occupation of the land of another situate in Malabar, for not less than two years, honestly believing himself to be a tenant and continued to be in occupation of such land at the commen- cement of this Act, shall be deemed to be a tenant.

8. Certain persons who were cultwating land on varam arrangement to be dtemed tenants.-Notwithstandmg anything to the contrary contained in any law, or in any contract, custom or usage, or in any judgment, decree or order of court, any person who, by virtue of the provisions of section 6 of the Kerala Stay of Eviction Proceedings Act, 1957, was entitled to cultivate any nliam after the lith day of April, 1957, and was cultivating the nilam at the commencement of this Act, shall be deemed to be a tenant, notwithstanding the expiry of the term fixed under the varam arrangement.

9. Certain persons who surrendered leasehold rtghts but continued in possession, to be deemed tenants.-Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any law, or in any contract, custom or usage, or in any judgment, decree or order of court, where, on or after the II th day of April, 1957, a tenant holding land less in extent than the ceiling area, had executed a deed surrenderll?g hi~ leasehold right to the landlord, but had not actually transferred po~tsession of the land to the landlord before the commencement of this Act, such deed shall be deemed to be invalid and such person shall be deemed to be a tenant.

10. Certain other persons to be deemed t~nts.-Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any law, or in any contract, custom or usage, or in any judgment, decree or order of court, the following classes of persons shall be deemed to be tenants :-

( i) a punam or kumri cultivator;

(ii) a licensee in Kuttanad area; (tii) a varamdar;

(iv) a vechupakuthidar; and r (v) a person holding land situate in any part of the taluk of Hosdrug or Kasaragod to which the Malabar Tenancy Act, 1929, did not extend, under a transaction de~cribed in the document evidencing it as bhogya, otti, nattotti, arwar, illida.rwar or krithasartha illidarwar, but not being a usufructuary mortgage as defined in the Transfer of property Act, 1882.

11. Sambalapattamd«r, stzmbalachzttudar, etc., in Pal ghat district to be presumed tenants.-Where, in a document, a person is described as a sambalapattamdar, sambalachittudar or coolipattamdar in respect of any nilam situate in the Palghat district, he shall be presumed to be a tenant for all purposes of this Act:

Provided that such presumption shall stand rebutted if it is proved that the sambalapattamdar, sambalachittudar or coolipattamdar has not undertaken any risk of cultivation.

12. Rzght to prove real nature of transaction.-( I) Notwithstanding anything in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Central Act l of 1872), or in any other law for the time being in force, any person interested in any land may prove that a transaction purporting to be a mortgage, otti, karipanayam, pan a yam .or nerpanayam of that land is in substance a transaction by way of kanam, kanamkuzhikanam, kuzhikanam, verumpattam or other lease, under wh1ch the transferee is entitled to fixity of tenure in accordance with the provisions of section 13 · and to the other rights of a tenant under this A~t.

(2) Where under sub-section ( l) the court or the Land Tribunal holds that the transferee is entitled to fixity of tenure in accordance With the provisions of section 13, it shall be lawful for the court or the Land Tribunal to pass a decree or order containing direc- tions regardmg the application of the sum, if any, advanced to the landlord and making other suitable alteratiOns in the terms recorded in the instrument executed by the parties.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, or in any other law for the time being in force, a person descri- bed as an agent or servant in a document evidencing the contract for the cultivatiOn of any nilam, may prove that he is a licensee.

Fixity of Tenure

13. Right of tenants to fixity of tenure.-( l) Notwithstanding any- thing to the contrary contained in any law, custom, usage or contract, or in any decree or order of court, every tenant shall have fixity of tenure m respect of his holdiz:g, and no land from the holding shall be resumed except as provided in sections 14 to 22. _. 1 (2) Nothing in sub-section .. (l) shall confer fixity of tenure on a tenant holding under a landlord-

(z) who is a member of the Armed Forces or is a seaz:nan, if the tenancy was created by such landlord within a period of three months before he became a member of the Armed Forces or a S!!aman, or wh1le he wis serving as such member or seaman ; or

(ii) who is the legal representative of the landlord referred to in clause (z) : '

Provided that no such landlord shall resume any land from his tenant, if he is already in possession of an extent of land not less than the ceiling area; and, where he is m possession of an extent of land less than the ceilmg area, the extent of land that may be resumed shall not, together with the land in his possession, exceed the ceiling area:

Provided further that such tenant shall be deemed to have fixity

of tenure in respect of his holding if- · l

(a) the landlord referred to in clause (i) has not claimed re- sumption of the land comprised in the holding within one year from the date on which he ceased to be a member of the Armed Forces or a seaman, or within one year from the commencement of this Act, or within one year from the expiry of the period of tenancy, whichever period expires last ;

(b) the landlord referred to in clause (ii) ha~ not claimed resumption of the land compnsed in the holding Within one year from the date on which he received intimation of the death of the member of the Armed Forces or seaman, or within one year from the com- mencement of this Act, or within one year from the expiry of the period of tenancy, whichever period expires last :

Provided also that the provisions of this sub-section shall not apply to tenants who were entitled to fixity of tenure immediately before the 21st January, 1961, under any law then in force.

14. Resumptton for extension of places of public religious worshzp.- A trustee or owner of a place of pubhc religious worship may resume from a tenant the whole or any portiOn of h1s holding when the same is needed for the purpose of extendmg the place of public religious worship and the Collector of the district certifies that the same is so needed.

15. Resumption for construction of residential buildings.-A land· lord (other than a sthani or the trustee or owner of a place of public religious worship) who is not in possession of any land or is in posses- sion of land less than five standard acres and who needs the holding for the purpo&e of constructmg a building bona fzde for his own 1 residence or for that of any member of his fam1ly may resume from his tenant-

(i) an extent of land not exceeding 20 cents, where resump· tion is sought on behalf of one person ; and (zi) an extent of land not exceeding 50 cents, where resump· tion is sought on behalf of two or more persons:

Provided that, by such resumption, the total extent of land in the possession of the landlord shall not be raised above 5 standard acres and the total extent of land in the possession of the tenant shall not be reduced below twenty cents:

Provided further that no landlord shall be entitled to resume under this section any land m the possession of a tenant belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.

Explanatzon.-For the purposes of this section and section 16•

"member of h1s family" shall mean,-

(z) in the case of a landlord who has granted a lease on behalf of a joint family, member of such family; and

(u) in any other case, wife or husband, as the case may be, or a lineal descendant of the landlord.

16. Resumpt1on for personal cultivation from tenant holding more than cezling area.-A landlord (other than a sthani or the trustee or owner of a place ofpubhc religious worship) who requires the holding bona· fide for cultivation by hi~self, or any member of his family, may

resume from his tenant, who is in possession of land exceeding the ceding area, the whole or a portiOn of the holding, subJeCt to the con- dition that. by such resumption, the total extent of land in the possession of the landlord 1s not raised above the ce1ling area and the total extent of land in the possessiOn of the cultivating tenant is not reduced below the ceiling area.

Explanatwn.-ln this section, references to the ceiling area in rela- tion to the landlord or the tenant shall, where such landlord or tenant is a member of a family, be construed as references to the ceiling area m relation to that family.

I 7. Resumptzon by small holder.--Without prejudice to the right of resumption under section 16, a small holder (other than a stham or the trustee or owner of a place of public religious worship) may resume from h1s tenant a portion of the holding not exceeding one-half:

Provided that, by such resumption, the total extent of land in the possess10n of the small holder shall not be raised above four standard acres or four acres in extent, whichever is greater:

Provided further that, except as provided in sub-sections (2) and

(3) of section 53, no land shall be resumed under this section from a tenant who was entitled to fixity of tenure in respect of his holding 1mmediately before the 2 I st January, I 96 I, under any law then in fu~. .

18. Genewl conditions and restrictzons applzcable to resumption under Sectzons 14, 15, 16 and 17.-Resumption of land under sections 14, 15, 16 and I 7 shall also be subject to the following conditions and restrictions, namely:-

( l) In respect of tenancies subsisting at the commencement of this Act, no apphcation for resumption shall be made after a period of one year from such commencement:

Provided that where the landlord is (i) a minor,' (ii) a person of unsound mind, (ui) a member of the Armed Forces or a seaman and the tenant is ent1tled to fixity of tenure, or (iv) a legal representative of such member or seaman, the application for resumption may be made,-

(a) by the minor, within one year from the date on which he attains majonty;

0 (b) by the person of unsound mind, within one year from the date on which he ceases to be of unsound mind;

(d) by the legal representative, within one year after the member of the Armed Forces or seaman ceases to be such member or seaman, or withm one year from the date on· which , intimation of his death is rece1ved, wluchever period expires later;

(2) the nght of resumption in respect of a holding shall be exercised only once, and the order of the Land Tribunal allowing resumption shall be given effect to only at the end of an agricultural year;

(3) no kudiyiruppu shall be resumed, --------------------------------~

19. Resumption of agricultural land interspersed wrthin a plantation.-A landlord may resume from a tenant any holding or part of a holdmg compnsing agricultural lands of the descnption specified in sub-clause

(a) if such holding or part thereof is necessary for the purposes of the plantation; or

(b) if the tenant wilfully commits any act of material waste in the plantation:

Provided that the order of the Land Tribunal allowing resumption shall be given effect to only after the expiry of the penod, if any, fixed under the contract of tenancy and only at the end of an agricultural year.

20. Tenants from whom land is resumed to be paid compensatwn for improvements, and solatwm:-(1) A tenant from whom land is resumed under the provisions of this Act shall be entitled to- and

(i) compensation for the improvements belonging to him;

(u) a solatium of an amount equal to one year's rent.

(2) The compensation payable under clause (i) of st,;b-ssction (I) shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Kerala Compensation for Tenants Improvements Act, 1958.

21. Priorzty for resumptton.-Where in respect of any holding there are more landlords than one, the landlords mentioned below and in their order of priority shall be entitled to resumption:-

(a) small-holder;

(b) any person, other than a small-holder, entitled to fixity of tenure in respect of the holding immediately before the 21st January, 1961, under any law then in force;

(d) landowner, not being a small holder:

Provided that where there are more landlords than one falling under the same category, the landlord nearer the cultivating tenant shall have preferential right over the landlord more remote.

22. Procedure for resumption.-( I) A landlord desiring to resume any land shall apply to the Land Tribunal within whose jurisdictiOn the land is situate for an order of resumption. The application shall be in such form and shall contain such part1culars as may be prescribed.

(2) The Land Tribunal shall duly enquire into the application and pass appropriate orders thereon. Where the order allows resumption, it shall specify the extent and location of the land allowed to be resumed, the rent payable in respect of the portion, if any, that would be left after resumptiOn and such other particulars as may be prescribed and directing the landlord to make, within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed, payments to extmguish the rights of the culti- vating tenant and the intermediaries, if any, who would be affected by such resumption. ·

(3) The Land Tribunal may, for sufficient reasons, extend the time prescnbed under sub-section(2)for making payments by the land- lord.

( 4) In deciding the location of the portion of the holding allowed to be resumed, the Land Tribunal shall have regard to the nature, fertility and other conditions of the portion of the land which may be allowed to be resumed and the portion left with the cultivating tenant.

(5) Where the application is for resumption under section 16 from a tenant who is in possession of land exceeding the ceiling area and there are other landlords under whom the tenant holds, the Land Tribunal shall give notice of the application to all other landlords so far as known to it, specifying a date within which they may apply for resum- ption of any land from such tenant. The Land Tribunal shall consider all applications from landlords for resumption from such tenant received within the specified time together, and, where the extent of land in the possession of the tenant in exce'>s of the ce1ling area is less than the aggregate of the extent of land applied to be resumed by the landlords, the Land Tribunal shall allow resumption by all the landlords equitably having regard to all circumstances.

(6) Where any land is resumed after making the payments as directed .by the Land Tribunal, all the rights of the cultivating tenant and intermediaries, if any, holding between the landlord resuming the land and the cult1vating tenant in respect of the land, shall stand extingmshed.

(7) An order for resumption may be executed through the court as if the order were a decree passed by it.

(8) Where a landlord fails to deposit the amounts in accordance with the directions of the Land Tribunal, the order of resumption shall be treated as cancelled and the landlord shall have no further right for resumption.

23. Tenant's right to sue {or restoration of possesszon of land.-( 1) In any case in which any land has been resumed on the ground specified in section 11 or section 15 or section 16 or clause (a) of section 19, if, within three years of such resumption, the person who resumed the land fails without reasonable excuse to use the land for the purpose for which it was resumed, the cultivating tenant shall, subject to the pro- visions ofsection 24, be entitled to apply to the Land Tribunal for the restoration to him of the possession of the land or a portion of the land which was resumed and to hold it wah all the rights and subject to all the liabilities of a cultivating tenant:

Provided that a cultivating tenant shall not be entitled to restora- tion under this sub-section If he is in possession of land equal to or exceeding the ceiling area, nor shall a cultivating tenant be entitle-d to restoration of an extent of land which together with the extent of land in his possession will exceed the ceiling area.

(2) The provisions of section 22 shall, mutatts mutandzs, be appli- cable to the form and procedure in regard to the application for res- toration and the manner of execution of the orders of resto_ratton.

1 ...

24. Limitation for application for restoration under sectton 23.-Any application for restoration under section 23 shall be made w1thin one year from the expiry of three years after the resumption.

25. Per~ons entitled to restoratton.-( I) Where restoration of any land resumed Is ordered und("r section 23, the cultivating tenant shall hold the land directly under the landlord from whom restoration has been ordered, and the rights of the mtermedianes extinguiShed under sub-section (6) of section 22 shall not revive.

(2) Before such restoration, the cultivating tenant shall pay to the person who resumed the land-

(t) the amounts paid by such person to the cultivating tenant and to the intermediary, if any, towards the value of the improvements effected by them and existmg at the time of restoration ;

(u) the value of the improvements, if any, effected bona [tde by such person between the date of resumption and the date of the application ; and

(iit) any amount other than solatium received by the cultiva- ting tenant from such person on account of the resumptiOn.

(3) The rent payable by the cultivating;tenant after the restor· ation of the holding shall be the fair rent.

26. Recovery of arrears of rent by summary procedure.-( 1) The Land Tribunal shall be competent to d1spose of applications for recovery of arrears of rent, where the amount of such arrears does not exceed five hundred rupees.

(2) Any landlord may apply to the Land Tribunal for recovery of arrears of rent in such form as may be prescribed.

(3) In disposing of the application, the Land Tribunal shall follow the procedure prescribed for the trial of small cause suits. ,' (4) The order of the Land Tnbunal under this section may be executed through the court as 1f 1t were a decree passed by it.

Fail- Rent

27. Fair rent.-( 1) The fair rent in respect of a holding shall be the rent payable by the cultivating tenant to his landlord and it shall be the rent calculated at the rates specified in Schedule III applicable to the class of lands comprised in the holding or the contract rent, whichever is less.

Explanalton.-Where the fa1r rent in respect of a holding has been determined under any law in force immediately before the 21st january, 1961, the fair rent so determined shall be deemed to be the contract rent for the purposes of this sub-section.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section ( 1), the fair rent m respect of a holding, where the cultivating tenant or an intermediary is holdmg under a small-holder, shall, at the option of the small-holder, be-

(a) the rent calculated at the rates spec1fied in Schedule III applicable to the class of lands comprised in the holding; or

(b) where the fair rent in respect of the holding has been determined under any law in force Immediately before the 2Istjantiary, 1961, such fair rent, or, where fair rent has not been so determined, 75 per cent of the contract rent :

Provided that the fair rent payable by a cultivating kanamdar or a cultivating customary verumpattamdar shall not exceed the micha- varam payable by such kanamdar or the rent payable by such custo- mary verumpattamdar, as the case may be.

28. Excluston of certain lands from lzability to fatr rent.-Notwith- standing anything contained in section 27, where any land included in a holdmg is set apart for communal purposes, and IS used for such purposes, the extent of the land so set apart shall not be taken into account when determmmg the fair rent of the holding in accordance with that section.

29. Preparation of record ofrights.-(l) Any cultivating tenant may, at any time within one year from the commencement of this Act, apply to the Land Tnbunal for the preparation of a record of rights in respect of his holding. The Land Tribunal ~all admit such application 1f it is prima faci8 satisfied that the application has been made bona fide.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section ( 1), the Government may suo motu d1rect the Land Tribunal for the preparation of a record of rights in respect of any holding.

(3) Where an application for the preparation of a record of rights is admitted or when directed by the Government to prepare such record, the Land Tribunal shall direct the Revenue Divisiona~ Officer having jurisdictiOn over the area in which the holding is situate to prepare a record of rights in respect of the holding. ( 4) The record of rights shall be prepared in such manner as may be prescribed, after giving an opportunity to the landlord and all other interested persons to be heard. The record of rights shall contain-

( a) the description and extent of the holding ;

(b) the name and address of the owner ;

(c) the nature of the applicant's interest in the hold~g ;

(d) the names and addresses of the intermediaries in respect of the holding and the nature of the interest of each of such inter- mediaries ; and

(e) such other particulars as may be prescribed.

(5) The Revenue Divisional Officer shall, for the purposes of proceedings under this section, have all the powers of a civil court while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, in respect of the following matters, namely:- .. ,

(a) summoning and enforcing the attenda~ce of any person' and examining him on oath ; 'l '

(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document;

(c) receiving evidence on affidavit; and '

,rj

(d) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or for local investigation.

(6) The record of rights prepared under this section shall be admissible in evidence before any court or tribunal.

(7) Where an application for the preparation of a record of rights in respect of a holding is admitted, no application under section 31 for determination of fair rent m respect of that holding shall be disposed of till the record of rights is prepared under this section.

30. 'Rent payable by an intermediary.-Where in respect of a holding there is an intermediary at the commencement of this Act and as a result of the determination of the fair rent there has been a reduction or increase in the rent payable by the cultivating tenant, the rent paya- ble by the intermediary to his landlord shall be reduced or increased in the same proportion as the rent to which he was entitled was reduced or increased.

31. Determination of fair rent by Land Tribunal.-( I) The cultivating tenant or any landlord may apply, in such form as may be prescribed, to the Land Tribunal for determining the fair rent in respect of a holding.

(2) On receipt of an application under sub-section (I), the Land Tribunal shall issue notices to all persons interested and after enquiry, determine by an order-

( i) the fair rent in respect of the holding ;

(ti) if there is an intermediary or intermediaries, the rent payable by such intermediary or intermediaries to his landlord or to their respective landlords ;

(iiz) the instalments, if any, in which the rent shall be payable; and

(iv) the date or dates on which the said rent or instalment shall be payable.

(3) In determining the fair rent under sub-section (2), the Land Tribunal may take into account the statistics published under section 44.

32. Bar of suits for evictwn, etc., pending application jor determmation of fazr rent.-During the pendency of an application for determination of fair rent before a Land Tnbunal, no court shall entertain any suit for eviction of the apphcant from the holding to wh1ch the application relates, or pass any order of injunction prohibiting him from entering the holding or pass any order staying the proceedmgs before the Land Tribunal.

33. Agreement as to fair rent.-Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing sections, it shall be competent for the landlord and the tenant to agree as to what shall be the fair rent payable in respect of the holding and, where such an agreement signed by the landlord and the tenant is filed with the Land Tribunal, the Land Tribunal shall pass orders determining such agreed rent as the fair rent in respect of the holding :

Provided that the agreed rent shall not exceed the fair rent under section 27, in respect of the holdmg :

Provided further that where there 'are intermediaries or other persons having an interest in the holding, the landowner, the cultiva· ting tenant and all the intermediaries and other persons interested shall be parties to such an agreement :

Provided also that this section shall not apply to a case where the landlord is a religious, charitable or educational il\'ltitution of a public nature.

34. Date from which order determining fair rent, etc., is to take effect.- The order determining the fair rent under section 31 or section 33 and the rent payable by an intermediary shall take effect from the begin- ning of the agricultural year in which the tenant or the landlord filed the application for such determination or the agreement under section 33, and any amount paid by the tenant in excess of the rent so deter- mined to the landlord till the date of determination shall be adjusted towards the payment of future rent or the purchase price payable under section 55, and, where the amount of rent paid to the landlord is less than the rent so determmed, the balance payable by the tenant shall be paid along with the rent payable immediately after the determina· tion of the rent.

35. Rent payable when Land Tribunal has not determined fair rent.- Where in a case the rent payable in respect of a holding has not been determined by the Land Tribunal, either under sectiOn 31 or section 33, the landlord shall be entitled to receive and the tenant shall be bound to pay the rent that was payable immediately before the commence- ment of this Act.

Explanatwn.-For the purposes of this section, "the rent that was payablfe immeddiatelyh b

fore theh commencefmehnt ohf thisfAhct •

•, idn

thde -~ case o a varam ar, s a meant e average o t e s are o t e an or in the produce for the three years immediately preceding such com- mencement, or, where the varamdar was not cultivating the land continuously for the said period of three years, the share of the landlord for the year in which the varamdar cultivated the land last, immedi- ately before such commencement.

36. Mode of payment of rent.-( I) Where the rent is payable in kind, it shall be paid either m kind or in money at the option of the tenant.

(2) Where the rent payable is the rent determined under section 31 calculated at the rates specified m Schedule III or the agreed rent determined under section 33 and such rent 1s payable in kind, the money value of such rent shall be computed with reference to the rates published in the Gazette under section 43 for the date on which the rent is payable and, if no rate IS published for that date, at the rate for ,..J the nearest previous date for which the rate IS so published : _,..__; Provided that where in respect of any commodity the price has not been published in the Gazette, the money value of such commo- dity shall be calculated at the market rate prevailing on the date on which the rent became due.

(3) The tenant shall be entitled to send by money order the rent payable by him to his landlord.

37. Liabzlity for assessment.-( I) As between the tenant and the landlord, the former shall be liable for any cess or special charges --------------------------------------~

leviable by the Government for special or additional crops raised, where such special or additional crops have not been taken into account in fixing the fair rent.

(2) A tenant making any payment to the Government or any local authority towards land revenue or any tax in respect of the land comprised in the holding and payable by the landlord, shall be entitled to deduct the same from tl">e rent payable by him to the landlord:

Prov1ded that no such deduction shall be made if the rent pay- able by the tenant to the landlord is equal to or less than the land revenue or other tax so payable.

38. Remwzon of rent.--( 1) Where there has been a damage to, or a failure of, crops owmg to causes beyond the control of the tenant in any holding, the tenant shall be entitled to a remission of the rent payable by h1m in proportion to the extent of such damage or failure.

(2) The D1strict Collector or any other officer authorised by the Government, by notificatiOn in the Gazette, in this behalf, shall, on an application to him by the tenant, determine after such enquiry as may be prescribed the extent of damage to, or failure of, crops under sub- section (I) and order such remission of rent as appears to him just and proper. The decision of the Collector or such other officer shall be final and the tenant shall be entitled to get the benefit of the remission so ordered.

(3) If, in any proceeding under sub-section (2), any question arises as to whether a person IS or is not a tenant, it shall be competent for the District Collector or the officer authorised by the Government under sub-section (2) to decide the question, subject to the orders of any competent civil court.

(4) Where, in respect of a holding, there is an intermediary and the rent to which the intermediary is entitled is reduced as a result of the remission granted under sub-section (2), the rent payable by the intermediary to his landlord shall be reduced in the same pro- portion.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, the term "crops"

shall include cereal as well as cash crops.

39. Abatement or reduction of rent.-( 1) The fair rent determined under this Act shall not be liable to alteration or revision except on the application made by the cultivating tenant to the Land Tnbunal on the grounds specified m sub-sections (2) and (3).

(2) Where a portion of the land comprised in the holding is acquired under any law for the time being in force for the compulsory acquisition of land for pubhc purposes, the tenant shall be entitled to an abatement in the rent in the same proportion as the yield from the portion acquired bears to the yield from the entire holding.

(3) Where any material part of the holding is wholly destroyed or rendered substantially and permanently unfit for the purpose for which it was let, by fire or flood or any other act of God, the rent pay- able shall be proportionately reduced.

(4) Where in respect of a holding, there is an intermediary and the rent to which the intermediary is entitled is reduced as a result of

the abatement in the rent granted under sub-section (2) or reduction of rent granted under sub-section (3), the rent payable by the interme- diary to his landlord shall be reduced in the same proportion.

40. Invaluiity of claims of dues other than rent payable.-Notwith- standing any contract to the contrary, express or implied, no tenant shall be liable to pay to his landlord any customary dues or renewal fees or anything more or anything else than the rent payable under this Act.

41. Arrears y rent to bear mterest.-Arrears of rent shall bear interest at the rate of six per cent per annum or at the contract rate, whichever is less.

42. Priorzty of claim for arrears of rent.-Arrears of rent due to the landlord, together with interest thereon, shall be a charge on the interest of the tenant, from whom they are due, in the holding and shall, subject to the priority of the rights of the Government and any local authority for arrears of land revenue, tax, cess or other dues~ be a first charge on such interest of the tenant.

43. Publicatton of prices of commodities.-The District Collector shall cause to be published every quarter, in such manner as may be prescribed, prices prevailing in each taluk of paddy, coconut, arecanut, peppt>r, groundnut, tapioca, cashewnut and any other crop notified by the Government in this behalf:

Provided that, before publishing such prices, the District Collector shall cause notice to be !!iven to the public, in such manner as he thinks fit, of the prices proposed to be published and consider objections, if any, received within two weeks from the date of the notice.

44. Publication of statistics relating to gross produce of landJ.-The Government shall cause to be published statistics of gross produce of different crops for different classes of land for different areas.

45. Tenant's rzght to obtam receipt.-(!) Every tenant paying any rent shall be entitled to receive and the landlord shall be bound to grant a receipt containing such particulars as may be prescribed.

(2) If any landlord fails to grant a receipt as provided under sub-section ( 1), the tenant shall be entitled to send by money order, after deducting the charges for doing so,-

(z) the money, if the rent is payable in money; and ( ti) the money value of the rent, if it is payable in kind.

46. Applicatzon to Land Trzbunal when landlord refuses to accept a tender.--(1) If the landlord refuses to accept a tender of the rent or if the tenant is doubtful as to the person entitled to rece1ve the same and no suit has been brought agamst the tenant or application made for recovery of the said dues, the tenant may apply to the Land Tribunal in the prescribed manner for permission to pay the same through the Land Tribunal.

(2) Along with the application under sub-section ( 1) the tenant shall deposit with the Land Tribunal the said dues together with interest, if any, accrued thereon.

47. Procedure on application under section 46 -(1) When an appli· cation and deposit have been made under section 46, the Land Tribunal shall cause wntten notice thereof to be given at the cost of the applicant to every person, who, in the opmion of the Land Tnbunal, is entitled to be heard thereon and, after hearing such of them a'!> appear, order the payment of the amount to the person entitled or bound to receive it and make directions regarding any mterest, costs and such other matters as the Land Tnbunal may deem fit.

(2) Nothing in sub-section ( 1) shall affect the right of any person to recover the said amount by suit from the person to whom it is paid, but the order allowing the application under section 46 shall be deemed a full acquittance to the tenant in respect of the amount covered by it.

48. Apportionment of rent on severance of mtrrest of landlord or tenant.-

(1) Where, by act of parties or by operation of law, the interest of the landlord or of the tenant in the land demised has been severed, the landlord or the tenant may apply to the Land Tribunal for the appor· tionment of the rent and the security for rent, if any.

(2) The application shall be in such form as may be prescribed.

(3) The Land Tribunal shall, after giving an opportunity to all persons interested to be heard, pass an order on such application apportioning the rent and the security for rent, if any, and directing the execution of a lease deerl on the basis of such apportionment within a specified period and make such order as to the costs of the application as it may deem fit.

(4) If, within the time fixed by the Land Tribunal, such deed is not executed, the Land Tribunal shall, on the application of the person in whose favour such deed is to be executed and on the deposit by such person of such amount as the Land Tribunal may direct, execute the deed on behalf of the person in default ; and the Land Tribunal shall, by order, direct that the cost of the executiOn of the deed may be realised by the applicant from the person in default.

(5) The order of the Land Tribunal under sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) regarding cosls may be executed through the court as if it were a decree passed by it.

49. Notice to landlord and intermedzary when the interest zn the 'oldz11g of the tenant ts acquired. -( 1) Any person denving an interest in the holding or part of the holding of a tenant by virtue of a title acquired by act of parties or by operation of law shall, where such interest is acquired after the co ;1mencement of this Act, within sixty days from the date of such acquisition, give registered notice of his interest in the holdmg or part of the holdmg to the landlord and the mtermediaries, if any. The said notice shall contam particulars of the property, its extent, the nature of the intere1t acquired and the date of acqUisition of such interest.

(2) Where default is made by a tenant in the payment of rent, his landlord shall give registered notice of the default to the persons who have acquired mtere~t in the holding or part of the holdmg prior to the date of such default ami who have notified the existence of their 3/26-3

interest under sub-section (1). The persons having interest in the holding shall be entitled to pay the arrears and the landlord shall be bound to receive such payment:

Pcovided that a person who has acquired interest only in a part of the holdmg, shall be bound to pay only so much of the rent or arrears of the same, as will on apportionment fall on such 'portion of the holding.

(3) Where there has been no agreement among the persons interested as to the apportionment refen ed to in the proviso to sub- section (2), the person who has acquired interest in the part of the holdmg may, within sixty days from the date of service of the now·e of default, apply to the Land Tnbunal for the apportionment, and the Land Tnbunal shall, by order, make the apportiOnment.

(4) The order of the Land Tribunal under sub-section (3) may be executed through the court as If it were a decree passed by 1t.

50. Rights of tenant to be l!entah/1' and alunable.-Subject to the pro- visions of th1s Act, all rights which a tenant has in his holding shall be hentable and alienable.

51. Surrender by tenant.-Notwithstanding anythmg contained in this Act, a tenant may terminate the tenancy in respect of any land held by him at any time by surrender of h1s interest therein in favour of the landlord :

Provided that such surrender shall not be effective unless 1t is made in wntmg and is admitted by the tenant before the Land Tribu· nal and is made m good faith and is registered in the office of the , Land Tribunal in the prescnbed manner : ~

Provided further that the extent of land, the interest over which a cultivatmg tenant may surrender to his landlord, shall not exceed the extent, if any, which the landlord would have been entitled to resume from the tenant under section 14, section 15, section 16 or section 17.

52. Rzghts as to timber trees.-( 1) Notwithstanding any law, custom or contract to the contrary, all timber trees planted by the cultivatmg tenant or l11s predecessor-m-interest or spontaneously sprouting and growing in th~ holdmg after the commencement of the tenancy m favour of the cultivating tenant or h1s predccessor-m-interest, shall belong to the cultJvatmg tenant.

(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-sections (3), (4) and (5), in the case of timber trees standmg in the holding of a cultivating tenant I at the commencement of his tenancy, the cultivating tenant and, if he dol's not require, the landowner or the mtermediary, as the case may !. be, shall have the right to cut and remove such trees, provided that the , ight conferred by this sub-section shall be e>.ercisable by the inter- mediary only m case such t1mber tre.;~ were either planted by him or had spontaneously sprouted and grown during the penod in which he was m possessiOn of the holding.

(3) Where the cultivating tenant exercises his right under sub- section (2), he shall be liable to pay to the landowner or the inter- mediary, as the case may be, one-half of the market value of the timber trees so cut and removed.

(4) Where the landowner or the intermediary exercises his right under sub-section (2), he shall be liable to pay to the cultivating tenant one-half of the market value of the timber trees so cut and removed.

(5) The nght conferred by sub-section (2) shall not be exercis- able unless reasonable notice thereof in wnting 1s given to the party to be affected by the exerc1se of the said right.

(6) If any d1spute arises as to the nghts of the landowner, in- termediary and cultivating tenant over timber trees, the Land Tribunal shall, on the application of the landowner, intermed1ary or cultiVating tenant, by order, decide the question after hearing all the persons interested.

Purchase of Landlords' rights by Cultivating Tenants

53. Cultwatzng tenant's right to purchase landlord's rigl!ts .-(I) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), a cultivating tenant (including the tenant of a kudiyiruppu), entitled to fixity of tenure under section 13, shall be entitled to purchase the right, title and interest of the land- owner and the mtermed1aries, 1f any, m respect of the land compri~ed in h1s holdmg :

Provided that-

(z) if the landlord is entitled to resume any portion of the hold· ing under this Act and he applies for such resumption, the cultivatmg tenant shall be entitled to purchase the right, title and interest of the landowner and the intermed1anes only m respect of the remaining portion of the holdmg ;

(ii) no cultivating tenant shall be entitled to purchase the tight, title and interest in respect of any land under this section if he, or if he is a member of a family, such family, owns an extent of l~nd not less than the ceiling area ;

(izi) where the cultivating tenant or, if he is a member of a family, such family, does not own any land or owns an extent of land which is less than the ceding area, he shall be ent1tled to purchase the right, title and interest in respect of only such extent of land as w1ll, together with the land, 1f any, owned by him or his family, as the case may be, be equal to the ceiling area.

Explanatzon.-In calculating the extent of land owned by the culti- vating tenant or, where he is a member of a family, by such family, for the purposes of clau~e (u) or clause ( m) of the prov1so to th1s sub-sectwn, the portion ol the land owned by such cultivating tenant or by the family, which is liable to be purchased by the cultivating tenants hold- ing under such tenant or family, shall not be taken into account.

(2) Notwithstanding anythmg contained in sub-sectwn (I), where the landowner or an mtermediary 1s a small holder and the cultivating tenant was entitled to fixity of tenure immediately before the 21st January, 1961, under any law then in force, the cultivating tenant shall not be entitled to purchase the right, title and inte1 est of the land- owner and the intermediaries, unless the cultivating tenant agrees in writing that the small holder may exerCise the right of resumption in respect of the holding under sectiOn 17.

3f26-3a

(3) Where a cultivating tenant agrees under sub-section (2) that the small holder may exercise the right of resumption,-

(i) the small holder shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the second proviso to section 17 and notwithstanding the expiry of the period fixed under clause (I) of section 18 for making application for resumption, be entitled to exercise the right of resumption under that sub-section to the same extent and in the same manner as If the cultivating tenant was not entitled to fixity oftenure immediately be- fore the 21st January, 1961 ; and

(it) the cultivatmg tenant shall be entitled to purchase the right, title and interest of the landowner anrl the intermediaries in respect of the remaining part of the holding left after resumption.

54. Appluation for purchase of landlord's rights by cultiuatwg tenants.- ( I) A cultivating tenant, entitled to purchase the right, title and inte- rest of the landowner and the intermediaries under section 53, may apply to the Land Tribunal for the purchase of such right, title and interest.

(2) The application for the purchase under sub-section (I) shall be in such form and shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed. The application from a cultivating tenant referred to in sue-sectiOn (2) of section 53 shall be accompamed by a statement agreeing to the exer- cise of the right of resumption by the small holder.

(3) Where a cultivating tenant is entitled to purchase the right, title and interest in respect of only a portion of the land held by him, he may indicate in the application, his choice of the portion, the right, title and interest over which he desires to purchase.

55. Purchase pnce.-The price payable by the cultivating tenant for the purchase of the right, title and mterest of the landowner and the intermediaries, if any, shall be the aggregate of-

(z) sixteen times the fair rent in respect of the holding or part thereof to which the purchase relates ;

(zi) the value of structures, wells and embankments of a perma· nent nature belonging to the landowner or the intermediaries, if any ; and

(izi) one-half of the value of timber trees belonging to the land- owner or the intermediaries, If any.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this sectiOn, where the rent is payable in kind, the money value of the rent shall be computed at the average of the prices of the commodity for the six years Immediately preceding the year of determination of the purchase price, and, in cal- culatmg the average of the prices, the pnces, if any, published under section 43 may also be taken into account.

56. Purchase Price to be dzstrzbuted among the landowner and mtermedia- ries.-( I) Where the right, title and interest of the landowner and the intermediaries in respect of a holding have been purchased by the culti- vating tenant, the purchase price paid by the cultivatmg tenant shall be paid to the landowner or apportioned among the landowner and the mtermediaries, as the case may be, in accordance with the proVISIOns of sub-sections (2) and (3).

~ ~I

••

(2) Where there is no intermediary, the landowner shall be entitled to the entire purchase price paid by the cultivating tenant.

(3) Where there is an intermediary or there are interme- diaries,-

(z) the amount of 16 times the fair rent paid by the cultivating tenant shall be apportioned among the landowner and the mtermediary or mtermediaries in proportion to the profits derived by them from the holding ; and

(it) the value of structures, wells and embankments of a per- manent nature and half the value of the timber trees paid by the culti- vating tenant shall be payable to the landowner or the intermediary to whom such structures, wells, embankments and timber trees belong. Explanatzon.-" Profits derived from the holding" shall, for the purposes of this sub-section, mean, in the case of the landowner, the rent to which he is entitled and, in the case of an intermediary, the difference between the rent due to him from his tenant and the I ent for which the intermediary is liable to his landlord.

57. Procedure before the Land Trzbunal.-(1) As soon as may be after the receipt of the application under section 54, the Land Tribunal shall give notice to the landowner, the intermediaries and all other per- sons interested in the holding, to prefer claims or objections with regard to the app!tcation. The Land Tribunal shall also by notice inform the landowner or the intermediary, if such landowner or intermediary is entitled to resumption and has not already applied for such resumptiOn, that he may apply for resumption.

(2) The Land Iribunal shall, after considering the claims and objections received and hearing any person appearing in pursuance of the notice issued under sub-section (I) and after makmg due enquiries, pass ordei s-

(i) on the application, if any, whethe1 pending before it or filed in pursuance of the not1ce under sub-sectiOn (I) from the land- owner or intermediary for resumption, in acc01·dance with the provisions of section 22 ; and

(u) on the application for purchase under section 54.

(3) Where the cultivatmg tenant is entitled to purchase only a portion of the land left after resumption, the Land Tnbunal shall, as far as possible, allow the purchase of the portion indicated in the appli- cation under sub-sectiOn (3) of sectiOn 54.

(4) An order under clause (n) of sub-section (2) allowing the application shall specify-

•

(1) the purchase pnce payable by the cultivating tenant; (iz) the amount due to the landowner and each of the inter- mediaries, if any, on the apportionment of the purchase pnce paid by the cultivating tenant ;

(m) the value of encumbrances subsisting or claims for main- tenance or alimony charged on the right, title and interest of the land- owner and the intermediaries, If any;

(iv) the amounts payable to the holder of the encumbrance or the person entttled to the mamtenance 01 alimony , and

(v) the amount payable to the landowne1 and each of the intetmedtaries after deductmg the value of the encumbtance or the claims for mamtenance or ahmony.

(5) If the landowner or intermediary is liable to pay any amount to the cultivatmg tenant under this Act, the Land Tnbunal shall, in passing orders on the application for purchase, set off such amount agamst the purchase price payable to the landowner or the mter- mediary.

(6) The land Tribunal shall, as soon as may be, forward a copy of the orders under sub-sect10n (2) to the Land Board.

58. Purchase przce payable tn znstalmeuts or m lump.-The purchase price determined under section 57 shall be payable in Sixteen equal annual instalments :

Provided that where the purchase pnce is less than Rs. 160, the number of instalments shall be so fixed by the Land Tnbunal that the amount payable m each mstalment shall not be less than Rs. 10:

Provided further that 1t shall be open to the cultivating tenant to pay the entire purchase price in a Jump, in wh1ch case the amount payable shall be only seventy-five per cent of the purchase pnce.

59. Deposzt of purchase pnce and zssue of certrfzcate oj purchase.-(!) Where an apphcahon under sect1on 54 has been allowed and the purchase price determined under sectwn 57 by the Land Tnbunal, the cult1vatmg tenant shall deposit with the Land Tribunal to the cred1t of the Land Board,-

( z) where the purchase price is proposed to be paid in a lump, the ent1re amount due within one year ; or

( u) where the purchase price is proposed to be paid in instal- ments, the fust instalment thereof within three months, from the date on wluch the penod prescnbed for preferring appeal from the orders of the Land Tnbunal has exp1red or, where there was an appeal, from the date on wh1ch the appeal was disposed of.

(2) On the deposit of the purchase pnce in a lump or of the first mstalmen t of such price, the Land Boat d shall 1ssue a certificate of purchase to the cultivatmg tenant and thereupon the right, title and mterest of the landowner and the inte1 medtanes, tf any, shall vest in the cult1vatmg tenant free from all encumbrances with effect from the datett>f such deposit. The certificate of purchase shall be conclusive proof of the purchase by the tenant of the right, title and mterest of the landowner and the mtermediary, if any, over the holding or portion thereof.

(3) Where a cultivating tenant fails to deposit the purchase price in lump or the first mstalment thereof on or before the due date, the order of the Land 1 nbunal under sect1on 57 shall stand cancelled and thecult1vatmg tenant shall continue as cultivatmg tenant.

(4) Where the purchase price is paid in instalments, the second and subsequent instalments shall be deposited in the Government treasury in the prescribed manner to the credit of the Land Board.

60. Purchase price to bear interest.-The purchase p1 ice payable shall bear mterest at the rate of 4! per cent per annum from the date on which the nght, title and interest of the landowner and the inter- mediaries vested m the cultivating tenant. Where the purchase price is paid in instalments, the second and subsequent instalments shall be deposited together with interest on the amount outstanding on the date ( of deposit.

6 I. Cultivatmg tenant to pay rent pending purchase.-Notwithstanding the filing of an application under section 54, a cultivating tenant shall be liable to pay rent to h1s landlord unttl he makes the deposit under sub-section (I) of section 59.

62. Recovery of znstalments of purchase Przce on default.-For the purchase pnce payable by the cult1vatmg tenant, there shall be a first charge on the land to which the purchase relates, subject to the charges for any dues payable to the Government. \'\'here the second or any subsequent mstalment IS not deposited on the due date, the Land Board may, on apphcat10n from any person entitled to the mstalment of the purchase price in default or any part thereof, pass an order directing the payment of the amount; and the order of the Land Board may be executed through the court as 1f it were a dec1ee passed by it:

Provided that where the right, title and interest of the landowner or intermediary which is a religious, charitable or educational mstitution of a public nature have vested m the Government under section 66, the instalment of the purchase price in default or any part thereof due to the Government shall be recoverable as an arrear of l:ind revenue under the provis1ons of the Revenue Recovery Act for the time being in force.

63. Payment of purchase price, amount of encumbrance, mazntmance or alzmony.-( I) The purchase pnce payable to the landowner and the intermed1anes shall be distributed by the Land Board accordmg to the provisiom. of sub-sections (2) to (9).

(2) Where the right, title and mterest of the landowner or the intermed1aries arc not subject to any encumbrance or charge for mam- tenance or ahmony, the purchase price pa1d by the cult1vatmg tenant shall be paid to the landowner or apportioned among the landowner and the mtermed1aries in the manner specified in sub-section (2) or sub- section (3), as the case may be, of section 56.

'• (3) Where the right, title and interest of the landowner or the intermediaries in the holdmg are subject to any encumbrance or charge for mamtenance or alimony, the value of such encumbrance, main- tenance or alimony shall be deducted from the purchase pnce payable to the landowner or the mtermediary, as the ca'ie may be, and the balance amount shall be paid to the landowner or apportioned among the landowner and the intermediaries in the manner spec1fied in sub- section (2) or sub-section (3), as the case may be, of sect10n 56. If the total amount of such encumbrance, mamtenance or ahmony is equal to or more than the amount of the purchase pnce payable to the

landowner or the intermediary, the whole amount shall be reserved for payment to the holder of the encumbrance, or the person entitled to the mamtenance or ahmony and no amount shall be pa1d to the landowner or the intermediary, as the case may be.

(4) Where the right, title and interest of the landowner or the intermediary vested in the cultivating tenant form part of the secunty for any encumbrance or charge for mamtenance or alimony, the Land Tribunal shall, for the purpose of discharging the same, apportion the entire encumbrance or the charge for the maintenance or alimony between the portion of the land, the right, title and mterest over which vested in the tenant and the portion remaining after such vesting, in proportion to the values of the two portions of the property, and dis- charge only the liability pertaining to the portiOn to wh1ch the purchase relates.

(5) Where any amount has been deducted or resened for pay- ment to the holders of the encumbrances or the persons entitled to the maintenance or alimony, the same shall be pa1d m the1r order of prio- nty to the persons entitled thereto.

(6) Where the cultivating tenant pays the purchase price in instalments, the amount of each mstalment shall be distributed in the manner specified above. The interest on the purchase price paid by the cultivating tenant shall also be paid to the landowner, intermediary, holder of the encumbrance or the person entitled to the mamtenance or alimony, as the case may be.

(7) Where a person entitled to the purchase price or the value of the encumbrance, mamtenance or alimony d1es before it is paid to him, it shall be paid to his legal representatives.

(8) Where the person entitled to receive the purchase price or the value of encumbrance is a pnvate tru~t or endowment or a minor or a person sulfermg from some legal disabJIIty or a hm1ted owner, the purchase pnce or the value of encumbrance may, notwithstanding anything contamed m any law, but subject to any general direction that the Government may g1ve, be deposited for and on behalf of the person with such authority or bank as may be prescribed.

(9) Where before any court or authority any suit or proceeding is pcndmg wh1ch directly or md1rectly affects or is !tkely to affect the right of any per~on to recetve the whole or part of the purchase price or the amount of encumbrance or maintenance or alimony payable under this Act the court or authority may requ1re the Land Board to place at its d1sposal the.: amount so payable and thereupon the ~arne shall be dis- posed of in accordance with the orders of the court or authority. \/

64. Payment of purchase pnce to the landowner or zntermedzary to be full ~ dzscharge.-The payment of purchase pnce or the value of encumbrance maintenance or alimony to the landowner or intermediary or other persons entitled thereto m the manner specified· in section 63 shall be a full discharge of the !tability for payment of purchase price to the landowner and the mtermediaries, and no further claims for payment of purchase price shall lie.

65. Speczal proviszons re!atzng to rclzgzo?ts, chantable and educational znstztutzons of a publzc 11ature.-( 1) Notwithstanding anything contained in

sections 53 to 64, where, in respect of a holding, the landowner or the mtermediary is a re!Jgious, charitable or educational institution of a public nature, such institution may choose-

(i) whether the nght, title and interest of the institution in .respect of the holding may be permitted to be purchased from the insti· tution by the cultivating tenant on payment of the purchase price; or ( iz) whether such right, title and interest should be vested m the Government in consideration of the payment of an annuity in per- petuity by the Government :

Provided that the choice of the institution under this sub-section shaJl be the same in respect of all lands held by tenants under it.

(2) The annuity payable to the institution in consideration of the vesting m the Government of its right, title and interest in respect of a holding shall be a sum equal to the annual rent which the institution was entitled to receive Immediately before the 21st January, 1961, after deducting 2~ per cent thereof by way of collection charges :

Provided that where, in respect of a holdmg held by a tenant referred to m section 4, section 5, section 6, sectiOn 7, section 8, section 9, section l 0 or sectiOn ll, there was no stipulation for payment of any rent Immediately before the2lstJanuary, 1961, the annuity shaJl be an amount equal to 4~ per cent of sixteen times the fair rent m respect of the holding determmed under section 31.

Explanatzon.-Where the rent payable to an institution is in kind, the annuity payable shall be commuted into money at the average of the prices of the commodity for s1x years immediately preceding the year in which the annuity is determined.

66. Procedure for vesting of rzghts qf relzgious, charitable or educatzo11al instztutions in Govemment and determznatwn qf annuzty.-( l) A religious, chantable or educational institution of a public nature may apply to the Government to vest its right, title and interest in respect of all lands held by tenants under it, m the Government and for the payment of the annuity.

(2) The application shall be in such form as may be prescri- bed.

(3) On receipt of such application, the Government shall direct the Land Tnbunal to determme the annuity payable to the insti- tution.

(4) The Land Tribunal shall thereupon determine, after due enquiry, the annuity payable to the institution in respect of all lands _held by tenants under it.

(5) As soon as rna y be after the determination of the annuity, the Government shall issue a notification in the Gazette declaring that the right, title and interest of the institution m respect of all lands held by tenants under it shall vest in the Government With effect from a date to be specified in the not1ficatwn, and all such right, title and interest shall accordingly vest in the Government free from all encumbrances.

67. Payment qf annuzty.-The Government shall pay the annuity payable to the mstitution every year in perpetuity on such date or dates and in such manner as may be prescribed :

Provided that where the right, title and interest of the institution are subject to any encumbrance,-

(z) the value of the encumbrance shall be paid to the holder of the encumbrance ; and

( zz) five pet cent of the value of the encumbrance shall be deduc- ted from the annmty and the balance, if any, alone shall be paid to the mstitution :

Provided further that where the value of the encumbrance is more than twenty times the annulty,-

(i) 1f there is only one encumbrance, twenty times the annuity shall be paid to the holder of the encumbrance; and

(u) 1f there are more than one encumbrance, twenty times the value of the encumbrances shall be paid to the holders thereof m the1r order of priority,

and no amount by way of annuity shall be payable to the institution.

68. Vestzng of the rzghts of relzgzous, charztable or educatzonal mstztu- tzons zn the Government not to operate as bar to the purchase of landlord's rzghts by cultwatzng tenants -The filmg of an applicat1on by a reltgious, chari- table or educational inst1tut10n of a public nature under sub-sect1on (I) of section 66 or the vesting of the 1 ight, title and interest of the institu- tion m the Government under sub-section ( 5) of the said section shall not affect the right of the cultivating tenant to purchase such right, title and interest in accordance With the provisiOn~ of sections 53 to 64.

69. Choice for annuity where cultwating tenant applw for purchase.- Where a religious, chantable or educational mst1tution of a public nature receives under sectwn 57 not1ce of an application by a cultivat- ing tenant for the purchase of the right, title and mterest of the institu- tion, the institutiOn may file a statement w1th the Land Tribunal spec1fying 1ts choice that the right, title and interest of the institution in respect of all lands held by tenants under it may be vested in the Government and the institution be patd the annu1ty to which it is entitled under section 65. On 1ece1pt of the statement, the Land -Tribunal shall forward a copy of the same to the Government together w1th the application received from the cultivating tenant for the purchase of the right, title and interest of the landowner and inter- medianes. Thereupon, the provisions of sections 65 to 67 shall apply as if the statement were an apphcat1on under sectwn 66; and orders on the apphcation of the culttvatmg tenant shall be passed only after the right, title and interest of the mstttutwn are vested in the Government.

70. Purchase of rzght, t!lle and interest of znstztutwns.-Where, on receipt of a notice under section 57, the mstitution does not file a state- ment of its ch01ce as provided in section 69, the institution shall be deemed to have chosen to permit the culttvatmg tenant to purchase its right, title and interest and the provisions of sections 53 to 64 shall apply to the purchase of the right, title and interest of the landowner and the intermediaries, the payment of purchase price and the dischar- ge of liabiltties.

71. Tenant holdzng under the institutwn to contwUe as tenant under the Govemment.-(1) Where a cultivating tenant does not apply for the purchase of the right, title and interest vested in the Government

under section 66, the tenant holding directly under the religious, chari- table or educational mst1tut1on of a public nature shall contmue as tenant under the Government.

(2) The rent payable by such tenant to the Government shall, on default, be recoverable as an arrear of land revenue under the Revenue Recovery Act for the t1me being m force.

72. Vestzng if landlord's rzghts zn tenants.-(!) At any time after the expiry of the period allowed under clause ( 1) of section 18 for applying for resumption of land, or, where any appeal hac; been preferred from the orders of the Land Tribunal under sectiOn 22, after the disposal of the appeal, the Government may, by notifkation m the Gazette, declare that the nght, title and interest of the landowners and intermediaries in respect of holdmgs, which have not been purchased by cultivating tenants, shall vest m the cultivatmg tenants free from all encumbrances; and different notifications may be 1ssued for different areas m the State:

Provided that no declaration under this sub-section shall apply to a holding where the landowner or an intermediary 1s a small holder and the cult!vatmg tenant was entitled to fixity of tenure Immediately before the 2 I st January, 1961, under any law then in force.

(2) Upon the issue of a notification under sub-sectian (I), the right, title and interest of the landowners and intermediaries in respect of holdmgs to which the declaration applies shall vest in the cultivating tenants of such holdings free from all encumbrances, and the provisiOns of sectwns 55 to 64 shall, as far as may be, apply in regard to the pur- chase price payable by the cultivatmg tenants, the distnbution of the purchase pnce among the landowners and the intermediaries, the pay- ment or recovery of purchase price and the discharge of encumbrances, as if the cultivating tenants had applied for the purchase of the nght, title and interest of the landowners and mtermedianes:

Provided that where in respect of a holding the landowner or .intermediary is a religious, chan table or educational institution of a public nature and such institutiOn had, before the issue of such notifica- tiOn, expressed Its choice for annuity instead of purchase price, the Government shall pay to such institutiOn the annuity that would have been payable to the mstitut10n under sectiOn 6 7 if its nght, title and interest had vested in the Government, and the Government shall be entitled to the pU!chase pnce that would have been payable to the institution.

73. Dtscluzrgr of arrears if rent.-( I) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contamed in any other law for the time being m force or m any contract, or in any decree or order of court, all arrears of rent accrued due from a-tenant during the period and outstanding on the date specified in column (2) below, shall be deemed to be fully discharged by payment to the landlord, or deposit in court for payment to the Iandi lrd, of the amount referred to m the correspondmg entry in column (3), together with mterest at the rate of six per cent per annum, w1thin the period specified in column ( 4) •

•

Pertods durzng whzch Sl. the arrears accrued No. due and the dates on whzch they were Amount qf the rmt to Period wtthtn which

the payment is to

be made outstandwg be pazd for dzscharge 0_2_ ------'---(2-'--)- ----- -(3) ----- -_-__ (4) ( l)

( ti)

(ill)

Al\ arrears out-

standing on

ll-4--1957

Arrears ofrent

accrued due on or

after ll-4-1957

and outstanding

on 15-2-1961

Arrears of rent

accrued due on or

after 15-2-1961

and outstandmg

at the commence-

ment ofth1s Act

F1fty per cent of such 3 months from arrears, provided that the commence- the amount payable ment of th1s

shall not be less than an Act.

amount equal to one

year's rent or the actual

amount in arrears,

whichever is less, and

shall not be more than

an amount equal to

three years' rent

Seventy-five per cent

of such arrears

Seventy-five per cent

of the con tract rent or,

where fair rent has been

fixed under any law

in fm ce immediately

before 15-2-196 I , at

the rate of such fair rent

3 months from

the commence-

ment of tillS

Act

6 months from

the commence-

ment of this

Act:

Provided that where an intermediary has collected rent in excess of the amount payable under thts sub-section for any period and has not paid the same to hts landlord, he shall be liable to pay such ex- cess also to his landlord.

Explanation.-FO! the purposes of this sub-sect1on, arrears of rent due from a varamdar shall be calculated on the basis of the average of the share of the landlord in the produce for the three years immedia- tely preceding the commencement of th1s Act or, wheze a varamdar was not cultivating the land c

(2) Where a tenant has paid or depostted under section 6 of the Kerala Tenants and Kudikidappukars Protection Act, I963, before the commencement of this Act, any amount towards the arrears of rent referred to in 1tem ( t), item ( zt) or item ( m) of sub-section ( 1), such amount shall be deducted from the amount to be pa1d or deposi- ted under that item, and it shall be suffictent if' the tenant pays or depostts the balance, if any, after such deduction, and where thC"

amount so paid or deposited exceeds the amount to be paid or deposited under su b-sect1on (I) for the discharge of the arrears, the excess shall be adjusted towards the rent accrued due thereafter. ~I

(3) Notice of any deposit made under sub-section ( 1) shall be given to the landlord by the court, and the cost of the notice shall be paid by the tenant so depositing the rent, and the landlord shall be at liberty to Withdraw such amount under the orders of the court.

(4) Where the rent is payable m kind, the amount to be paid or deposited under sub-section (I) shall be computed at the market rate of the commod1ty prevailmg on the date on which the rent became payable under the contract of tenancy or under any law or under any custom or usage.

(5) Where any amount deposited under sub-section (I) is found to be less than the amount to be deposited under that sub-sec- tion computed in the manner specified in sub-section (4) due to bona jzde error m the computation, the court may allow the person who has deposited the amount, reasonable t1me for depositing the balance amount, and, where the balance amount is deposited withm the tlme so allowed, the person who has so depostted shall be deemed to have deposited the amount Within the time allowed under sub-sec- tion (I).

(6) Where a tenant fails to make the payment 01 deposit as required under 1tem (z), Item (zz) or Item (m) ofsub-section (I) withm the period ~peCified the1 efor, the tenant shall forfeit the benefits conferred by that sub-sectiOn m so far as 1t relates to the arrears of rent specified in that item, and he shall be liable to pay the entire arrears lawfully recoverable for the period to which such arrears relate.

(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in this sectton, a tenant who has pa1d the amount as provided m section 34 of the Kerala Agranan Relations Act, I960, or in sectiOn 5 of the Kerala Ryotwari Tenants and Kudtkidappukars Protection Act, i962, for the discharge of arrears of rent outstandmg on the II th Apnl, 195 7, or the arrears of rent accrued due after the II th April, I957 and outstanding on the 15th February, 1961, on or before the d.1te ~pectfied in those Acts for the payment of the amount, ~hall not be hable to pay any amount towards arrears of rent for that period.

(8) The assignment by a landlord of his right to receive arrears of rent to any other person shall not affect the rights of the tenant under this section for the discharge of arrears of rent.

74. Prohibitzon of future tenauczes.-( I) After the commencement of this Act, no tenancy shall be created m respect of any land:

Provided that any landowner who IS-

(z) a minor, (!!) a widow; ( w) an unmarried woman ;

(w) a d1vorced woman;

(v) a person incapable of cultivating land by reason of any physical or mental disability ; or

(vz) a serving member of the Armed Forces or a seama.1, may create a tenancy, but the tenant shall not be entitled to any right conferred on a tenant under th1s Chapter.

(2) Any tenancy created in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (I) shall be invalid.

Rights and Liabilities of Kudikidappukars

7 5. K udzkidappukaran to have jzxiry.- (I ) No K ud ikidappukaran shall be liable to be evicted f10m his kud1k1dappu except on the following grounds, namely :-

{z) that he has alienated his right of kudikidappu to another person ;

(u) that he has rented or leased out his kudikidappu to another person ;

(m) that he has ceased to reside in the kudikidappu continu- ous! v for a period of two years ; or

(w) that he has another kudikidappu or has obtained ownership and possession of land which IS fit for erecting a homestead Explanation.-For the purposes of this sub-section, a kud•kidappu- karan shall not be deemed to have ceased to reside in a kudikidappu, notwithstanding the fact that he was not actually residing therein, 1f any ofhis near relatives who was residing with him m the kudikidappu for a continuous perio:J of not less than one year contmues to reside in the kudikidappu ; and in such a case the near relative who contmues to reside in the kudik1dappu shall be liable for the rent payable by the kud1kidappukaran ; and 'ncar relative' shall mean husband or wife, children, grand children, father, mother, brother or sister.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sect• on ( l), the person in possession of the land on which there is a ho!llestead or hut (hereinafter in this sub-sectiOn referred to as the landholder) in the occupation of a kud1kidappukaran may, 1f he bona jzde requires the land-

(a) for building purposes for h1mself or any member of his family including major sons and daughters ; or

(b) for purposes in connection with a town planning scheme approved by the competent authority ; or

(c) for any industrial purpose, require the kudikidappukaran, to shift to a new site belongmg to him, subject to the followmg conditions, namely :-

(z) the landholder shall pay to the kud1kidappukaran the price of the homestead, if any, erected by the kudi- kidapukaran ;

( 21) the new site shall be fit for erecting a homestead and shall be within a distance of one m•le from the existmg kudikidappu ;

(m) the extent of the new site shall be the extent of the existing kudikidappu, subject to a mm1mum of three cents and a maximum of ten cents ;

(w) the landholder shall transfer ownership and possession of the new site to the kudik1dappukaran and shall pay to him the reasonable cost of shifting the kudikidappu to the new site.

-------------------------------------------

Where the above conditions are complied with, the kudikidappu- karan shall be bound to shift to the new site.

(3) Notwithstanding anythmg contained in sub-sections ( 1) and (2), where a person does not hold more than 25 cents of land and there is a hut in the occupatiOn of a kudikidappukaran on such land, he may, if he requires the land occupied by such hut, for constructmg a buildmg for his own residence, apply to the Government for the acquisi- tion of land to which the kudikidappu may be shifted. In such appli- cation he shall offer to deposit, whenever called for, the cost of acquisition of land equal to the extent of the existmg kudikidappu, sub- ject to a minirr,um of three cents and a maximum of ten cents. An officer authonsed by the Government in this behalf may, after collecting the cost of acquisition from the applicant, acquire the necessary land under the Kerala Land Acqusltlon Act, 1961, give possession of the land to the kudikidppukaran and require him to shift to the said land. The kudikidappukaran shall thereupon be bound to shift to the new site. The kudikidappukaran shall be entitled before he so shifts to receive from the person in possession of the land on which his hut was originally located, the expenses as determined by such officer to be reasonably required to shift to the new site.

(4) Where the owner of the land in which there is a kudikidappu considers that the kudikidappu is so located as to cause inconveni- ence to him, he may reqmre the kudiktdappukaran to shift to another part of the land :

Provided that the site to which the kw:hkidappu is required to be shifted IS fit for the location of the kudikidappu :

Provided further that the owner of the land shall transfer to the kudikidappukaran ownership and possession of land equal to the extent of the existing kudikidappu, subject to a minimum of three cents and a maximum of ten cents and pay the price of the homestead, if any, erected by the kudikidappukaran and the cost of shifting the kudi- kidappu.

76. Rent payable by kud1kzdappukaran.-( 1) All arrears of rent, if any, payable by a kudikidappukaran on the date of the commence- ment of this Act, whether the same be payable under any law, custom or contract or under a decree or order of court, shall be deemed to be fully discharged if he pays one year's rent or the actual amount in arrears, whichever is less.

(2) On and after the commencement of this Act, notwithstand- ing any contract, decree or order of court, a kudikidappukaran shall not be required to pay more than Six rupees yearly as rent in respect of his kudikidappu which i~ not Situated within the limits of any municipal corporatiOn or any mumcipality :

Provided that a kudikidappukaran who was not liable to pay any rent in respect of his kudik1dappu Immediately before the com- mencement of this Act shall not be liable to pay any rent ; nor shall a kudikidappukaran be hable to pay any rent in excess of that which he was paying before the commencement of this Act.

77. Filing of suzts against kud1krdappukaran in ccrtam cases.-If the kudlkidappukaran does not comply with the requisition made by the person in possession of the land under sub-section (2) of section 75 or

by the owner under sub-section (4) of that section to shift to a new site, the person in possession of the land or the owner, as the case may be, may institute a suit against lum for the purpose. The court, on being satisfied that such person has complied with all the conditions men~ tioned in sub-section (2) or sub-section ( 4) of section 75, may pass a decree for shiftmg the kudikidappu :

Provided that no such suit shall be instituted without giving the k.udikidappukaran one month's notice by registered post.

78. Rzght of kudikidappukaran to be heritable but not alienable.-The rights of a kudikidappukaran in his kudikidappu shall be heritable, but not alienable except to a member of his famtly.

79. Rzght of kudz~idappukaran to mazntain, repazr, etc.,homestead or hut.-The kudikidappukaran shall have the right to maintain, repair and reconstruct with the same or different materials, but without increasing the plinth area, the hut belonging to the person who per- mitted occupation by the kudikidappukaran, or the homestead, at his own cost.

80. Register of kudzkzdappukars.-(1) The Government shall cause a register of kudikidappukars to be prepared and mamtained in each village.

(2) The register shall show- ( a) the description of the land in which the kud1kidappu is situate ;

(b) the location of the kudikidappu and its extent ;

(d) the name and address of the kudikidappukaran; and

(e) such other particulars as may be prescribed.

(3) The register shall be prepared and maintained by such officer and in such manner as may be prescnbed.

( 4) The prescribed officer shall, before the preparation of the register, publish a nottce in the village inviting applications from kudikidappukars for registration, to be presented before such date as may be specified in the notice.

(5) On receipt of an application within the time specified in the notice or within such further time as may be allowed by him, the prescribed officer shall, after enquiry and after giving an opportunity to the land owner or other person in possession of the land to be heard, register the kudikidappukaran or reject the application.

CHAPTER III

RESTRICTION ON OWNERSHIP AND POSSESSION OF

LAND IN EXCESS OF CEILING AREA AND

DISPOSAL OF EXCESS LANDS

81. Exemptzons.-( I) The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to-

(a) lands owned or held by the Government of Kerala or the Government of any other State in India or the Government of India or

a local authority or any other authority which the Government may, in public interest, exempt, by nottfication m the Gazette, from the provisions of this Chapter.

Explanatzon.-"Lands owned by the Government of Kerala" shall, for the purposes of this clause, have the same meaning as "Government lands" under sub-section (I) of section 2 of the Kerala Government Land Assignment Act, 1960;

(b) lands taken under the management of the court of wards :

Provided that the exemption under this clause shall cease to apply at the end of three years from the commencement of this Act;

(c) lands comprised in milb, factorie~ or workshops and which are necessary for the use of such mills, factories or workshops;

(d) private forests;

(e) plantations; (/) cashew estates existing at the commencement of this Act and having a contiguous extent of ten acres or more. Explanation.-For the purposes of this clause, "cashew estate" shall mean dry lands principally cultivated with cashewnut trees;

(g) pure pepper gardens and pure arecanut gat dens existmg at the commencement of this Act and having a contiguous extent of five acres or more.

Explanatzon I.-For the purposes of this dame, " pure pepper garden '' shall mean a garden planted wtth not less than 300 pepper vines per acre and "p•Jre arecanut garden" shall mean a garden planted with not less than 600 arecanut trees per acre.

Explanatzon ll.-For the purposes of this clause, in calculating the number of pepper vines in a pure pepper garden, the vmes, tf any, trained on cocoanut trees or arecanut t1 ees shall not be taken mto account;

(h) lands Rlortgaged to the Government, or to a co-operative society (including a co-operative land mortgage bank) registered or deemed to be registered under the Co-opera,ive Societies Act for the time being in force, or to the Kerala Financial C0rporation, or to the Kerala Industrial Dl"velopment Corporatton, or to the State Small Industries CorporatiOn, as secunty far any loan advanced by the Government or by such society or CorporatiOn, so long as the mortgage subsists :

Provided that the exemption under this clause shall cease to apply at the end of three years from the commencement of this Act;

(i) lands purchased by the Kerala Co-operative Central Land Mortgage Bank or a primary mortgage bank under sectwn 18 of the Kerala Co-operative LJ.nd Mortgage Banks Act, 1960, so long as such lands contmue 111 the possession of the bank;

(J) lands purchased by the Kerala Financial Cm poration or lands the management of whtch has been taken ove1 by that Corpora- tion, under sect10n 32 of the State Fmancia1 Co rpm atwns Act, 1951, so long as such lands remain in the ownershtp, or contlllue under the management, as the case may be, of the said Corporation; 3/26-4

(k) lands belonging to or held by an industrial or commercial undertaking at the commenceme11t of this Act, and set apart for use for the industrial or commercial purpose of the undertaking:

Provided that the exemption under this clause shall cease to apply if such land is not actually used for the purpose for which it has been set apart, within such time as the Distnct Collector may, by nOtice to the undertaking, specify in that behalf;

(l) kayal padasekharams of Kuttanad area specified in Sched- ule IV, so long as such padasekharams are used for the cultivation of paddy or such othei crops as the Government may, by notification m the Gazette, specify;

(m) house sites, that is to say, sites occupied by dwellmg houses, tanks, wells or any other structures, together with the land necessary for the convenient enjoyment of the same;

(n) unculturable waste lands;

(o) Sites of temples, churches, mosques and cemeteries and burial and burning grounds;

(P) sites of buildings including warehouses;

(q) commercial sites;

(r) lands occupied by educational institutions including land necessary for the convenient use of the institutions and playgrounds attached to such institutions;

(s) lands vested in the Bhoodan Yagna Committee;

(t) lands owned or held by- ( z) a University established by law; or

(n) a religious, charitable or educational mstltution of a public nature; or

(m) a public trust (which expression shall mclude a wakf):

Provided that-

(z) the entire income of such lands is appropriated for the University, institution or trust concerned, and (zi) .where the University, mstitut!On or trust comes to hold the said lands after the commencement of this Act, the Government have certified previously that such lands are bona jzde required for the purposes of the U mversity, institution or trust, as the case may be, and

(u) lands granted to defence personnel for gallantry.

(2) The Government may exempt any land required by any person bo11a fide for any industrial or commercial purpose, the promotiOn of which will, in the opmion of the Government, be in the public interest :

Provided that such land shall be used for the purpose for which it is intended within such time as the Government may specify in that behalf, and, where the land is not so used within the time specified, the exemptiOn shall cease to be in force,

(3) The Government may, if they are satisfied that it is necessary to do so in public interest on account of any special use to which any land is put, or on account of any land being bona fzde required for the purpose of conversion into plantation or for the expansion or preserva- tion of an existing plantation, or for starting dairy farms or cattle breedmg farms, by nottfication in the Gazette, exempt such land from the provisions of this Chapter, subject to such restrictions and conditions as they may deem fit to impose.

82. Cezlmg area.-(l) The cellmg area of land shall be,-

(a) in the case of an adult unmarried person or a family consisting of not more than five members, twelve standard acres; and

(b) in the case of a famdy conSISting of more than five members, twelve stand:trd acres increased by one standard acre for each member in exces, of five, so however that the total extent of the ceihng area shall not exceed twenty standard acres:

Prov1ded thc:~t the ce1ling area shall, in no case, be- ( z) less than fifteen acres in extent, or

(zz) more than thirty-stx acres in extent.

(2) For the purposes of this Chapter, all the lands owned or held individually by the members of a fam1ly or jomtly by some or all of the members of such family shall be deemed to be owned or held by the family •.

(3) In calculating the extent of land owned or held by a family or an adult unmarried person, the shares of the members of the fam1ly or the adult unmatried person, as the case may be, in the lands owned or held by a co-operative society, or by an institutton, or by a joint famdy, shall be taken into account.

Explanatzon.-For the purposes of this sub-section, the share of a member of a family or an adult unm.1rned person in the lands owned or held by a co-operative soc1ety, or by an institutiOn, or by a joint family, shall be deemed to be the extent of land whtch would be allotted to such member or person had such lands been dtvided or partitioned, as the case may be, on the date notified under sub-secuon (I) of sectton 83.

(4) Where, after the commencement of this Act, any class of land spectfied m Schedule 11 has been converted mto any other class of land spectfied therein, the extent of land that may be owned or held by a fam1ly or adult unmarned person O\"vning or holding such land at the time of the conversion shall be determined Without taking into account such convers1on.

(5) The lands own<'d or held by a private trust or a private institutiOn shall be deemed to be lands owned or held by the person creating the trust or estabhshmg the mstttution, or, 1f he 1s not ahv(', by Ius successors-m-intercst.

(6) In computing the ceilmg area, lands exempted under section 81 shall be excluded.

Explanatzon I. -For the purposes of this section, where a person has two or more legally wedded w1ves hving, the husband, one of the w1ves named by him for the purpose and their unmarried minor children shall 3/26-4a •

be deemed to be one family; and the other wife or each of the other wives and her unmarried minor children shall be deemed to be a separate fam1ly.

Explanation Il.-For the purposes of this section, an adult unmar- ried person shall include a divorced husband or divorced wife who has not remarried :

Provided that if such divorced husband or divorced wife is the guardian of any unmarried minor ch1ld, he or she together with such unmarned child shall be deemed to be a family.

83. Farndies and adult unmarried persons not to own or hold lands i11 excess of the mlzng area.-( 1) Subject to the provisions of sub-sectiOn (2), with effect from such date as may be notified by the Government in the Gazette, no family or adult unmarried person shall be entitled to own or hold or to possess under a mortgage lands in the aggregate in excess of the ceilmg area.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (I), it shall be lawful for any adult member m a family to own or hold land in excess of the ceilmg area to the extent necessary to make up the ceiling area of his lineal descendants, other than h1s minor unmarried ch1ldt en, who arc ahve on the date notified under sub-section (I) and who would inherit his lands on his death :

Provided that the aforesaid adult member shall take into account all acquisitions of land or mterests in land made by such lineal descend- ants or the members of their families for fixmg the total extent that such adult member shall be entitled to own or hold, from time to time, and shall be bound to surrender the excess.

Explanatzon I.-In the case of !meal descendants who are members of other families, the ceiling area shall be that applicable to their families.

Explanatwn I! -For the purposes of this sub-section, " to hold land " shall include possessmg land under a usufructuary mortgage.

84. Certazn voluntary transfers to be null and vozd.-Notwtthstanding anything contained in any Jaw for the t1me being in force, all voluntary transfers effected after the date of publication of the Kerala Land Re- forms Bill, 1963, in the Gazette, otherwise than-

(z) by way of partition; or

(21) on account of natural love and affection; or (iu) in favour of a person who was a tenant of the holding before the 27th July, 1960, and contmued to be so till the date of transfer; or

(w) in favour of a religiOus, charitable or educatiOnal mstttution 't;J . of a public nature solely for the purposes of the mstitutton, I by a family or any member thereof or by an adult unmarned person ownmg or holdmg land m excess of the cetlmg area, ~hall be deemed to be transfers calculated to defeat the provtsions of this Act and shall be invalid :

Provided that, without prejudice to any other right of the parties to any such transfer, when any purchase pnce IS payable under section 56 or any compensatiOn IS payable under section 88 for any land

covered by the said transfer, it shall be competent for the Land Tri· bunal to award to the transferee, out of the purchase price or compen- sation amount in respect of such land, such sum as the Land Tribunal may consider just and proper.

85. Surrender of exces& lands.-( I) \Vhere a family or an adult unmarried person owns OI holds land m excess of the ceilmg area on the date notified under sub-section (I) of section 83, such excess land shall be surrendered by the person who is competent to do so within such time and to such authority as mav be prescribed :

Provided that where any person bona jzde believ<'s that the owner- ship or possession of any land owned or held by him or by the members of his family is liable to be purchased by the cultivating tenant or to be resumed by the landowner or the intermediary under the provisions of this Act, the extent of the land so hable to be purchased or to be resumed .,hall not be taken into account in calculating the extent of the land to be surrendered under this sub-sectiOn.

Explanation.-Where any land owned or held by a family or adult unmarried person owning or holding land in excess of the ceiling area was transferred by such family or any member thereof or by such adult unmarried person, as the case may be, after the 18th December, 1957,and on or before the date of publication of the Kerala Land Reforms Bill, 1963, in the Gazette, otherwise than-

(i) by way of partition; or ( zi) on account of natural love and affection; or (iu) in favour of a person who was a tenant of the holding before the 18th December, 1957, and continued to be so till the date of transfer ; or

(tv) in favour of a religious, charitable or educational institution of a pubhc nature solely for the purposes of the institution, the extent of land owned or held by such family or adult unmarried person shall be calculated for purposes of fixing the extent of land to be surrendered under this section as if such transfer had not taken place, and such family or adult unmarried person shall be bound to surrender an extent of land which would be m excess of the ceilmg area on such calculation, or, where such family or person does not own or hold such extent of land, the entire land owned or held by the family or person; but nothmg in this Explanation shall affect the rights of the transferee under the transfer.

· (2) Where a family or an adult unmarried person owns or holds land in excess of the ceilmg area, the husband, or in his absence, the wife, or in the absence of both, the guardian of the mmor children, or, as the case may be, the adult unmarned person, shall, within a penod of three months from the date n7ti11ed under sub-section (I) of section 83, file a statement before the Land Board mtimating the loca- tion, extent and such other particulars as may be prescribed, of all the lands owned or held by the family or adult unmarned person, and indicating the lands proposed to be surrende1 ed.

Exp!anatwn 1.-Where lands owned or held by a family stand m the name of more than one member of the family, the identity of the land, the ownership or possession or both of which is or are to be

surrendered, shall be ind1cated as far as practicable with the concur- rence of all the members in whose names they stand. Explanation I/.-Where land to be surrendered is owne I or held by two or more persons jointly, whether or not as members of an in- stitution or of a jomt family, the identity of the same shall be indicated as far as practicable with the concunence of all the persons who own or hold such land.

Explanation {//.-Where a family or adult unmarried person owns or holds lands, includmg shares m the lands owned or held by a co-operative society, in excess of the ceiling area, the excess lands to be surrendered shall be lands other than shares m the lands owned or held by the co-operative society.

(3) Where, after the final settlemer.t of claims for resumption of lands held by a family or an adult unmarried person as tenant, such family or person holds land in excess of the ce.Img area, or where, after the purchase of the right, title and mterest of the land- owner and the intermediary by the cultivatmg tenant m respect of lands owned by a family or adult unmarned person, such family or person owns land m excess of the ceiling area,

such excess shall be surrendered by the person who IS competent to do so withm a period of three months from the date of the final settlement 01 purchase, as the case may be. At the t1me of the surrender, he shall file a statement before the Land Board contaming the particulars specified in sub-sectiOn (2) of the lands held or owned by h1m. The provisions of sub-section (2) shall, as far as may be, apply in regard to the calculation of the excess land and the procedure for the surrender of the same.

( 4) Where a member of a joint family surrende1 s under this section, any land belongmg to the JOint fam1ly and the surrender is accepted hy the Land Board with or w1thout modification m extent or 1dentity of the lands surrendered, he shall be deemed to have become d1vided in status from the other members of the family, w1th effect from the date of the surrender, and the lands, the surrender of which has been accepted, shall be deemed to have been lands allotted to the share of such member on pa1 titian.

(5) On receipt of the statement under sub-section (2) or sub- section (3), the Land Board shall-

(a) cause the particulars mentioned m the statement to be venfied ;

(b) ascertain whether the family or person to wh1ch or to whom the statement relates, owns or holds any other lands ; and

(6) In determining the rdentity of the land, the Land Board shall, as far as practicable, accept the chorcc mdicated under sub- sectiOn (2) or sub-section (3) :

Provided that where in such determination the interests of other persons are also likely to be affected, the Land Board ~hall, except in cases where all the persons interested have agreed to the choice -------------------------------------~

l l \

)

indicated, afford an opportunity to such otht>r persons to be heard and pass suitable orders regarding the land to be surrendered.

(7) Where any per!>on fails to file the statement specified under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3), the Land Board shall, after necessary enquiries, by order, determine the extent and other particulars of the land, the ownership or posses!>ion or both of which is or are to be sun endered :

Provided that before such determination the Land Board shall g-ive an opportunity to the pe1 sons interested m the land, to be heard.

(8) Where the Land Board determines the extent of the land to he surrendered by any person without hearing any person interested, such person may, within sixty days from the date of such determina- tiOn, apply to the Land Board to set aside the order and, if he satisfies the Land Board that he was prevented by any sufficient cause from appearmg before the Land Board, it shall set aside the order and shall proceed under sub-sect1on (5) or sub-section (7), as the case may be. Explanation.-For the pm poses of this !>ection and section 86, ' hold " w1th reference to land shall include " posses~ land under mortgage with possession ''.

86. Vestzng of excess lands in Govermnent. -(I) On the determination of the extent and other particulars of the lands, the ownership or pos- session or both of which is or are to be surrendered under section 85, the Land Board shall issue a notice to the person bound to surrender demanding the surrender, before a specified date, not being earlier than thirty days from the date of the notice, of the lands or the ownership of lands to such authority as may be specified therein and intimating that in case of default the ownership or possession or both, as the case may be, of the lands determined by the Land Board shall be assumed by the Government before a specified date.

(2) On receipt of such notice, such person shall make the sur- render demanded, in such manner as may be prescribed.

(3) Where any person fa1ls to make the surrender demanded, the Land Board may authorise any officer to take possession or assume owne•ship of the land m such manner as may be prescnbed.

(4) Upon the surrender under sub-section (2) or the assumption under sub-section (3), the land or the ownership or possession of the land shall, as the case may be, vest in the Government free from all encumbrances. Where the ownership of any such land is surrendered or assumed, the rights of the intermediary, 1f any, m respect of the land shall stand extinguished; and, where the possession of any such land is surrendered by, or assumed from, a cult1vating tenant, the ownersh1p of such land shall ve~t in the Government and the rights of the inter- medmry, if any, in respect of the land, shall stand extinguished.

87. Excess land ob.amed by gift, etc., to be surrendered.-( I) Where any pe1son comes by any land after the date notified under sub-section

(I) of sect1on 83 on account of gift, purchase, mortgage with possession, lease, surrender or any other kind of transfer inter-vtvos or by bequest or mhcritance or otherwise and in consequence thereof the total extent of land owned or held by the family of such person, or by such per.on, if

he is an unmarried adult, exceeds the ceiling area, such excess shall be surrendered to such authonty as may be prescnbed within six months of the date of his coming into ownersh1p or possesswn.

(2) The provisions of sections 85 and 86 shall, as far as may be apply to the surrender to, and vestmg in, the Government of the owner- ship or possess1on or both of lands under sub-section (I).

88. Persons surrendenng land entttled to compensatton.-( I) Where ownersh1p or possessiOn or both of any land JS surrendered by, or assumed from, a person or is vested m the Government under section 86 or sectiOn 87, such person shall be ent1tled to compensatiOn. Where the nghts of an intermediary are extingmshed, such mtermediary shaiJ also be entitled to compensation.

(2) The compensation payable to an owner for the surrender or assumpt1on of ownership and possess1on of land shall be fifty-five per cent of the market value of the land and improvements, if any, thereon.

(3) The compensation payable to the landowner, intermediary, or cult1vatmg tenant for the surrender, assumptiOn, vesting in the Government or extmguishment of the1r nghts shall be the portion of fift) ·five per cent of the market value of the land and the improvements, if any, thereon that will fall to his share if such value were apportioned among the landowner, cultivating tenant and intermed1ary, if any, m respect of the land, accordmg to the following provisions :-

(t) the portion of the compensatiOn for any budding or other improvements shall be set apart to the person to whom such building or other improvement belongs ;

( 11) ninety per cent of the portion of the compensation for the s1te of any homestead or hut m the occupation of a kudikidappukaran shall be deducted from the total amount of compensation , (tu) the balance remaining after deducting the amounts referred to in clauses (t) and (tt) shall be apportiOned among the land- owner, the mtermed1aries and the cultivating tenant in p10portion to the profits derivable by them from the land Immediately before the sun ender, assumption or vestmg in the Government, as the case may be.

Explanatton.-" p, ofits derivable from the land " shall be deemed to be equal to (z) in the case of a landowner, the rent which he was entitled to get from the tenant holding JmmedJatcly under him; (ti) m the case of an intermediary, the difference between the rent which he was entttled to get from h1s tenant and the rent for which he was liable to his landlord, and (m) in the ca~e of a cultivating tenant, the d1fference between the net income and the rent payable by him , and the rent payable by the cultivatmg tenant and the intermediary for the purposes of this explanation shall be as calculated under the provisions of this Act

( 4) Where a mortgagee in po~session surrenders possession of the land mortgaged to hlm,-

(i) where the ownership of the land mortgaged has been surrendered by the owner of the land, the mortgagee shall Le treated as ~I

-----------------------'

a holder of an encumbrance m respect of the land, and the encum· brance shall be discharged as provided in sections 91 and 92 ; (it) in other cases, the Government shall pay to the mortgagee the amount to wh1ch he would have been entitled under clause (t) if the ownership of the land mortgaged had been surrer.dered to the Govern- ment, and hold the land as mortgagee with pos>ession w1th all the rights and liabilities of the mortgagee.

89. Payment ~f advance towards compensatwn.-Pendmg the determi- nation of the amount of compensatiOn payable to any person under section 88, 1t shall be competent for the Land Board to pay such amount as it considers proper to such person as part payment of the compensa- tion On takmg proper secunty, in case it IS found that he is entitled to such amount. The amount so pa1d shall be deducted from the com- pensation payable to such person and the Land Board shall pay to him only the balance.

90. Preparation of compensation roll.-( I) As soon as may be after the Land Board has determmed the extent and particulars of any land, the ownership or possession or both of which is or are to be surrendered the Land Board shall, forwarding the necessary documents, d1rect the Land Tribunal to prepare and submit to the Land Board a compensa- tion roll showmg-

(a) the 'description of the land or the interests in the land surrendered or assumed ;

(b) the name and address of the person surrendering the same or from whom the same was assumed ;

(c) the names and addresses of the landowner, intermediary and the cultivating tenant and the amount of compensation payable to each;

(d) the names of the holders of the encumbrances (including mortgagees who have surrendered possession of excess lands), main• tcnance or alimony and the value of the encumbrances or of the claim! for maintenance or alimony ; and

(e) such other particulars as may be prescribed.

(2) On receipt of the direction under sub-section (I), the Land Tribunal shall, after giving an opportumty to all persons interested to be heard and after making such inquiry as it considers necessary, prepare the draft compensation roll and furnish copies thereof to the persons interested.

(3) Where any land, the ownership or possession or both of which is or are surrendered to, or assumed by, the Government, forms part of the security for an encumbrance, mamtenancc or al1mony, the Land Tribunal shall for the purpose of discharging the same apportion the entire encumbrance, maintenance or ahmony between the land surren. dered to, or a~sumed by, the Government and the portion of the security remaining, in proportion to the values,of the two portions of the security.

(4) W1thin two weeks after the expiry of the period of appeal from the orders of the Land Tnbunal prescribed under section 102, or, where there has been an appeal, withm two weeks after the disposal

of the same, the Land Tribunal shall prepare a final compensation roll showmg the particulars mentioned in sub-section (I). A copy of the final compensatiOn roll so prepar<:d shall be forwarded to the Land Board by the Land Tribunal.

91. Payment oj compensatwn.-( l) On receipt of the compensa- tion roll under section 90, the Land Board shall pay the compensation to the persons entitled thereto, subject to the provisions of sub-sectiOn (2).

(2) Where the land or the ownership or possession of land which has vested in the Government, is subject to any encumbrance, mam- tenance or alimony, the value of the encumbrance, maintenance or alimony shall be deducted from the compensation amount payable to the person liable for such encumbrance, maintenance or alimony. If the total amount of such encumbrace, maintenance or alimony is more than the amount of compensation, the compensation amount shall be distributed to the holders of the encumbrance and persons entitled to the maintenance or alimony in the order of pnority.

(3) The Land Board shall also pay the mortgage amount pay- able to a mortgagee under clause (zi) of sub-section (4) of sectiOn 88.

92. Payment of compensatzon and amount of encumbrance.-( l) The compensation or the amount of encumbrance, as the case may be, shaH be paid either in cash or in negotiable bonds redeemable in s1xteen years and carrying interest at the rate of 4! per cent per annum with effect from the date on which the ownership or possession or both of the land has or have vested in the Government under sectiOn 86 or section 87, or partly in cash and partly m such bonds, in such manner as may be prescribed.

(2) The provisions of sub-sections (7), (8) and (9) of section 63 shall, as far as may be, apply in regard to the payment of compensation and other amounts under this section.

93. Payment of compensatzorz to be full dzschargt.-The payment of compensation in the manner specified in section 92 shall be a full dis- charge of the liability for payment of compensation, and no further claim therefor shall lie.

94. Assignment ofrzghts 'Jested in the Government to small holders.-( I) Where the landowner whose ownership of the land is vested in the Government or the intermediary whose rights are extmguished under sub- sectiOn (4) of section 86 was a small holder and the cultivating tenant of the holding was entitled to fixity of tenure immediately before the 21st january, 1961, under any law then in force, the ownership or possession or both of such land vested in the Government shall be assigned to such small holder :

Provided that where there are more than one such small holder in respect of such land, the small holder nearest to the cultivating tenant shall have priority for such assignment.

(2) The purchase price payable by the- small holder referred to in sub-section (I) for assignment of the ownershtp or possessiOn or both of the land shall be fifty-five per cent of the market value of such rights.

(3) The purchase price shall be payable either in a lump or in sixteen equal annual instalments.

(

~I ---------------------------------------

(4) A small holder entitled to the assignment of the onwnership or possession or both of the land vested in the Government may apply to the Land Board for the assignment of the same within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed.

(5) On receipt of an application under sub-section (4), the Land Boatd shall,after due cnquny and on bcmg satisfied that the appli- cant IS entitled to su :h assignment, assign the ownership or possession or both of such land to the small holder on payment of the purchase p1 icc in a lump or the first imtalm~nt of the purchase price.

(6) The provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 97 shall, as far as may be, apply to the payment and recovery of the instalments of the purchase price and mtc1 est thereon and as regards the charge for the amounts due from the assignee.

95. Appltcatzon (or asszgnment of land.-Any person who doe$ not possess any land or possesses only less than five acres of land in extent may apply to the Land Board for assignment on registry of lands to him.

96. Asszgnment of lands by Land Board.-( 1) Subject to the pro- VISions of section 94, the Land Board shall, after reserving in each village the lands necessary for public purposes, assign on registry the remaining lands vested in the Government under section 86 or section 87, as specified below ·-

(z) the holdmgs in wh1ch there are kudik1dappukars shall, as far as possible, be assigned to such kudikidappukars.; (tt) out of the rcmaimng area available for assignment- ( a) fifty per cent shall be assigned to the landless agri- cultural labourers of which one-half shall be assigned to the landless agricultural labourers belongmg to Scheduled Castes 01 Scheduled Tnbes residmg in the same village or adjacent villages; ~

(b) twenty-five per cent shall be assigned to small holders and other landlords vvho are not entitled to resume any land;

(c) the rcmaming twenty-five per cent shall be assigned to the cultivators who do not possess more than 5 acres of land in extent:

Provided that in assigning lands under th1s sub-sectiOn to the per- sons specified in sub-clause (a), sub-clause (b), or sub-clause (c), first preference shall be given to ex-servicemen belonging to the respective classes, and, subject as above, preference shall be gtven to co-operative societies formed by persons specified in the 1espective sub-clauses:

Provided fUI ther that where the excess land that is avatlable for assignment IS either kayal or kole 111lam, such land shall be as_signed only to co-operative societies formed by landless agricultural labourers. Explanalzon.-For the purposes of this sub-section, a kudikidappu- karan or a tenant of a kudtyiruppu shall be deemed to be a landless agricultural labourer 1f he does not possess any other land.

(2) The Land Board shall not assign to any person more than 5 acres in extent of land.

(3) Where a person possesses any land, only so much land as will make the extent of land in his possession five aCI es shall be assigned to him.

97. Payment of purchase price.-( I) The purchase price of the land assigned on registry under section 96 shall be an amount equal to fifty- five per cent of the market value of the land and improvements, if any, thereon, and shall be payable either in lump or in sixteen equal annual instalments. The assignment shall be made on payment of the purchase price either in lump or the first mstalment thereof.

(2) Where the purchase price is payable in instalments, the amount outstanding after payment of each mstalment shall bear inte- rest at the rate of 4! per cent per annum.

(3) All amounts due from an assignee shall be a first charge on the land assigned and shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue under the Revenue Recovery Act for the time being in force.

98. Managemerzt of surrendered lands tzll assignment.-The Land Board shall, subject to such rules as may be made by the Government in this behalf, manage the lands vested in them untli they are assigned under sections 94 and 96, b'y making arrangements for their cultivation and protection.

CHAPTER IV

MISCELLANEOUS

99. Constitut•on of Land Tnbuwzl.- The Government may, by notification in the Gazette, constitute for any area or for any class of cases specified therein a Land Tribunal consistmg of a sole member who shall be a judicial officer of the rank of a M unsiff, for the purpose of performmg the functions of a Land Tnbunal under this Act.

100. Constitutzon of Lmd Board.-(!) The Government shall con- stitute a Land Board for the whole State for performing the functions of the Land Board under this Act. The Board •hall consist of a sole member, who shall be the Head of the Land Revenue Department, or of three members.

(2) Where the Board consists of three members, the members shall be- ·

(i) the Head of the Land Revenue Department who shall be the Chairman;

(zt) a judicial officer not below the rank of a District Judge nominated by the Government in consultation With the High Court; (in) an officer of the Government nominated by the Government.

(3) (a) The functions of the Board, where it consists of three members, may be exercised by a Bench consisting of all the members of the Board or by a Bench cons1stmg of two members constituted by the Chairman or, in the event of the office of a member other than the Chairman being vacant, by a Bench consisting of the Chairman and the other member.

(b) Where any matter is heard by a Benc.h consisting of all the three members of the Board and the members d1ffer in opimon on any point, the point shall be decided in accordance with the opmion of the majority.

(c) Where any matter is heard by a Bench consisting of two memhf'rs and the members are divided in their cpinion on any point, they shall state the pomt upon which they differ and the matter shall then be heard upon that point only by the third member and such point shall be decided according to the opimon of the third member.

101. Powers of the Land Board and the Land Tnbunal.-(1) The Land Board and the Land Tribunal constituted under this Act shall have all the powers of a civil court while trying a suit under the C0de of Civ1l Procedure, 1908, in respect of the following matters, namely:-

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;

(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document;

(d) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or for local investigation; and

(e) any other matter which may be prescribed.

(2) The Land Board shall have superintendence over all the Land Tribunals, and the Land Board. may-

(a) call for returns from the Land Tnbunals;

(b) make and issue general rules and' prescribe forms for re- gulating the practice and proceedings of the Land Tribunals;

(d) on the application of any of the parties and after notice to the parties and after hearing such of them as desire to be heard, or of Jts own motion, without such notice, transfer any application or other proceeding pending'before any Land Tnbunal to any other Land Tribunal or retransfer the same for trial or disposal to the Land Tribunal from wh1ch 1t was originally transferred.

(3) Where in any proceeding before the Land Tribunal a question arises whether a person IS a small holder or not or whether a person is or is not a tenant, 1t shall be c0mpetent for the Land Tribunal to decide the quest10n.

(4) If, for the purposes of sub-clause (b) of clause (44) of section ~. any question attses as to whether any land is m the vicinity or w1thm the boundane~ of the area cultivated with the crops referred to in the satd sub-clause, or whether 1t is reserved and fit for the expan- ·" sion of such cultivation, the question shall be decided by the Land Board, and the decisiOn of the Land Boa1d shall be final.

(5) If any question ames as to whether any land 1s princi- pally used for the purposes specified in clause ( 5) of section 2, the question shall be decided by the Land Board, after takmg into account the extent of, the amount mvested m, and the income from, the portion

of the land so used and the remaining portion and other relevant rna tters, and the decision of the Land Board shall be final. I 02. Appeals.-( I) Any person aggrieved by the orders of the Land Tribunal under sub-section (2) of section 12, section 22, section 23, section 31, sectiOn 4 7, sub-sectwn (3) or sub-sectiOn ( 4) of section 48, sub-section (3) of sectiOn 49, sub-section (6) of section 52, section 57, sub-section ( 4) of section 66, section 90 01 sectiOn I 06 may appeal agamst such order Within such time as may be piescnbed to the Subor- dinate Judge havmg junsdiction over the area in which the holding or part thereof IS situate. He shall hear the appeal as a persona deszgnata and his decision thereon shall be final, subject to the provisions of sec- tion 103.

(2) The Subordinate Judge shall have power to pass interlo- cutory orders or to remand any case to the Land Tribl'nal for recon- sideration in accordance with his directiOns

(3) Where thcie has been any modification in appeal from the orders of the Land Tribunal, such orders shall be modified accord- ingly.

I 03. Revmon by Hzgh Court.-( I) Any person aggneved by-

(z) any final order passed man appeal against the order of the Land Tribunal; or

( zz) any final order passed by the Land Board under this" Act, may, withm such time as may be prescnbed, prefer a petition to the High Court against the order on the ground that the appellate autho- rity or the Land Board, as the case may be, has either decided erro- neously, or failed to decide, any questiOn of law. t2) The High Court may, after giving an opportunity to the parties to be heard, pass such orders as it deem:- fit and the orders of the appellate authonty or the Land Board, a~ the case may be, shall, wherever necessary, be modified accm 3mgly.

(3) The High Court may, for the purpose of satisfying itself that an order made by the Land Tribunal under section 26 was accor- ding to law, call for the records and pass such order with respect thereto as it thinks fit.

104. Proceedzngs by or agaznst;ozntfamilzes, etc.-(\) Where, in any proceeding under this Act, a jomt family is a party, it shall be sufficient to Implead the manager, karanavan or yajaman and the seniormost male member of such family and, in the case of a Marumakkathayam

(2) Where any such proceedmg relates to any property or part thereof under the management of a receiver appoinLed by a court, It shall be sufficient to Implead the receiver as party to the proceeding.

105. Authorised o.ffzcer empowered to obtam mformatzonfrom persom.- ( I) For the purpose of carrying mto effect the proviswns of this Act, any officer, not below the rank of a Tahsrldar, authorised by the Government in this behalf (hereinafter in this section referred to as the authonsed officer) may, by notice, reqmre any person to furnish any t

-------------------

information relating to the extent of land held by such person, the number of members of the family, if any, of such person, and sucll other pdrticulars as may be prescribed. The person aforesaid shall furnish the mformation to such officer within such time as may be speci- fied in the notice or Within such further time not exceeding thirty days as the authorised officer may, in his discretiOn, allow.

(2) (a) Where any person on whom notice under sub-section ll) has been served farls to furnish the information within the time speci- fied in that notice or w1thm the further time allowed by the authorised officer under sub-section (I), the authorised officer may obtam, in such mannei as may be ptescribed, the necessary information either by himself or through such agency as he thinks fit.

(b) The authonsed officer shall, as soon as may be after obtaining the information under clause (a), give to the person concerned .t 1 casonable opportumty of makmg his representation and of adducing evidence, If any, in respect of such tnformation and consider any such representation and evidence and pass such orders as he deems fit. I 06. Spectal prouuio11s relattng to leases for commemal or mdustrzal

"urposes .-(I) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, or in any other law, or in any contract, or order or decree of court, where, on any land leased for commercial or industrial purpose, the lessee has constructed buildings for such commercial or industrial purpose before the 18th December, 195 7, he shall not be liable to be evicted from such land, but sball bt> hable to pay rent under the contract of tenancy. Such rent shall be liable to be varied every twelve years on the motion of the lessor or the lessee, in such manner as may be prescribed.

(2) If, between the 18th December, 195 7 and the date of com- mencement of this Act, any decree or order of court has been executed and any person dispossessed by delivery, such person shall, on applica- tion before the land Tribunal, be entitled to restoration of possession :

P10vided that, before restoration, such person shall be liable to pay-

(i) the compensation paid by the landlord for any improvements in the land and subsisting at the time of restoration; (iz) the compensation for any improvements effected subsequent to the delivery:

Provided further that he shall not be entitled to restoration If the property has passed on to the possession of a bona j1de transferee for value.

107. Costs.-( I) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the costs of and incrdent to all proceedrngs before the Land Tr.bunal shall be in its dIscretiOn and it shall have full power to determine by whom or out of what property and to what extent such costs are to be paid and to give a II necessai y du ections for the purposes aforesaid. The fact that any proceedmg before the Land Tribunal is without jurisdiction shall be no bar to the exercise of such powers.

(2) An order passed by the Land Tribunal in exercise of the powers vested in it under sub-!>ection (I) may be executed through the court as if the order were a decree passed by it.

108. Application ej the provisions of section 5 of the Indian Limitation Act.-Unless otherwise specifically provided in this Act, the provisions of section 5 of the Indian Limitation Act, !908, shall apply to all pro- ceedings under this Act.

109. Constttutzon of Agrzculturist Rehabditation Fund.-A fund called the Agriculturist Rehabilitation Fund may be constituted by the Gov- ernment to be administered by the Revenue Department, in such manner as may be prescnbed. It shall consist of grants or loans by or from the State Government or the Central Government and other moneys, if any, raised by the Government in accordance w1th the rules made by the Government in this behalf. The fund shall be utilised for rendering help by way of loan, grant or otherwise to persons affected hy this Act who are eligible for the same in accordance with the rules made by the Government.

110. Special proviszons for appltcatzon of the Act.-( I) If any difficulty arises in the application of the provisions of this Act to any area on account of local variations or difference in nomenclature between the tenures prevailing in that area (by whatever name such tenurts may be known) and the c orrespondmg tenures prevailing in the remaining part of the State, the Govelllment may, subject to the provisions of sub- section (2), by notd1catiOn in the Gazette, direct that the said pro- visions shall apply to the aforesaid area subject to such adaptations, exceptioPs and modifications as may be specified in this behalf in such notification.

(2) A draft of the notification proposed to be issued under sub- section (I) shall be laid before the Legislative Assembly for a penod of ten days, and the Legislative Assembly may approve the draft with or without modification or d1sapprove the draft during the period in which it is so laid. On approval of the draft by the Legislative Assembly, the Government shall publish the notification as approved, in the Gazette. If the Legislative Assembly does not-

(i) approvP. with or without modification ; or (it) disapprove,

the said draft during the period aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the Government to publish the notification m the Gazette in terms of the draft.

111. Rent under certazn contracts of tmancy not to be a.ffectcd.-Not- withstanding anythmg contained in sub-section (2) of section 5 of the Cochin Verumpattamdars Act, VIII of 1118, the pattam payable by a verumpattamdar, to whom the provisions of the sa1d sub-section applied, for the penod subsequent to the first day of Chingom, 1124, till the date of commencement of this Act, shall only be the amount payable immediately before the commencement of the sa1d Verumpattamdars Act, whether or not such contract was renewed after such commence. ment.

112. Apportionment of land value in cases of acqumtion.-( I) Where the land comprised in a holdmg IS acquired under the law for the time bemg m force prov1dmg for the compulsory acquisitiOn of land for public purposes, the compemation awarded under such law in respect of the land acqmred shall be apportioned among the landowner, ~I

intermediaries: cultivating tenant and the kudikidappukaran in the manner specified in sub-sections (2) to ( 4).

(2) The compensation for any building or other improvements shall be awarded to the person entitled to such building or other im- provements.

(3) The kudikidappukaran shall be entitled to ninety per cent of the value of the land occupied by his homestead or hut.

(4) The balance remaining after making the payments referred to in sub-st>ctions (2) and (3) shall be apportioned among the land- owner, the intermedianes and the cultivating tenant in proportion t') the profits denvable by them from the land acquired immediately before such acquisition.

Explanation.-" Profits derivable from the land" shall be deemed to be equal to ( i) in the case of a landowner, the rent which he was en- titled to get from the tenant holdmg Immediately under h1m; (!!) m the case of an intermediary, the difference between the rent wh1ch he was entitled to get from his tenant and the rent for which he was liable to his landlord ; and (m) in the case of a cultivating tenant, the difference between the net income and the rent payable by him; and the renf payable by the cult1vatmg tenant and the intermediary for the purpose of this explanation shall be as calculated under the provi~1ons of this Act.

(5) Where the land acquired is comprised in the holding of a kudiyan a defined in the Travancore J enmi and Kudiyan Act of I 0 71, or of a kanam tenant as defined in the Kanam Tenancy Act, 1955, the compensation amount to be apportioned under sub-sections (2) to (4) shall be the share of the kud1yan or the kanam tenant as ascertained under section 45 of the Travancore Jenmi and Kudiyan Act of I 07 I, or section 48 of the Kanam Tenancy Act, 1955, as the case may be.

113. Prices publzshed under sect10n 43 to be deemed to be market rates.- If, for the purposes of this Act, the price of any commodity referred to in section 43 has to be commuted into money at the market rate for any date, such commutation shall be made at the price of that com- modity published by the District Collector under the sa1d section for the relevant quarter.

114. Amendments to certam enactments.-(!) Sections 7 and 9 of the Devaswom Verumpattamdaras (Settlement) Proclamation, XXII I of 1118, shall be omitted.

(2) In Explanation I to sect10n 45 ofthe Travancore Jenmi and Kudiyan Act of 1071, for the words "sixteen and two-third times" the words " eight and one-th11 d times" shall be substituted. 1 (3) In Explanation I to section 48 of the Kanam Tenancy Act, 1955 for the words " sixteen and two-third times", the words "eight and one-third times " shall be substituted.

115. Appearance before Land Tribunal or L'lnd Board.-( I) Any appearance, apphcation or act in or to any Land Tribunal or the Land Board required or authorised by law to be made or done by a party in such Land Tnbunal or the Land Board, may be made or done by the party m person or by his recognised agent or by a pleader appeanng, applying or acting, as the case may be, on his behalf 3/26-5

Provided that any such appearance shall, if the Land Tribunal or Land Board so directs, be made by the party in person.

(2) The recognised agents of parties by whom such appearance, application and act may be made or done are persons holding powers of attorney authorising them to make and do such appearance, applica- tion and act on behalfofsuch parties. -

116. Court fees.-Notwithstanding anything contained in the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1959, every application or appeal made und~r this Act to the Land Tribunal or the Land Board shall bear court fee stamp of such value as may be prescribed.

117. Members of Land Board and Land Tribunal to be deemtd publtc servants.-The members of the Land Board and the Land Tribunal and any officer appointed under this Act shall be deemed to be public servants within the !l'eaning of sectiOn 21 of the Indian Penal Code.

118. Penalty for fadure to furmsh return.-( 1) If any person who is under an obligation to furnish a·return or information under this Act refuses or wilfully fails to furnish the return or mformation within the t1me specified for the purpose, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees.

(2) If any person who, after having been convicted under sub- section ('), continues to refuse or to wilfully fail to furnish the return or information, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to fifty rupees for each day after the previOus date of conviction durmg which he contmued so to offend.

119. Pwalty for furnishtng false returns or information.-If any person who is under an obligation to furnish any return or informati01 fur· nishes any return or information which he knows or has reason to believe to be false, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.

120. Penalty for making false declaration.-( 1) After the date notified uncer sub-section ( 1) of sectiOn 83, no document relating to any transfer of land shall be reg1stered unless the transferee makes a declaration in such form as may be prescribed in wnting (in duplicate) as to the total extent of land held by him. The reg1stering officer shall forward a copy of the declaration to the officer authonsed by the Government for such action as may be necessary.

(2) If any person makes any declaration before the registering officer under sub-section (I), which he knows or has reason to bel!eve to be false, he shall be pumshable with fine not exceeding one thousand rupees.

121. Penalty for contraventiOn of any lawful order .-If any person wilfully contravenes any lawful order pas~ed under th1s Act or obstructs any person from lawfully takmg possession of any land under any of the provisions of th1s Act, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.

122. Penalty for cuttzng trees or for removing any machmery, etc.-Any person causing destruction or damage to, or removal of, trees, buildings machmery, plant, or apparatus, situated on any land indicated as land ~I

_______ j

to be surrendered under sub-section (2) of section 85 shall be punishable with Imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine not exceedmg one thousand rupees, or with both.

123. Cogni;::a11ce of ojfeTICes.-( l) No court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Act, except on complaint m writing made by an officer authonsed by the Government in this behalf.

(2) No court inferior to that of a Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence pumshable under this Act.

124. Protectzon of actzon taken under Act. -No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedmg shall lie against any officer for anything 111 good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rules made thereunder. -

125. Bar of junsdictzon of courts.-No order of the Land Tribunal or the Land Board under this Act shall be called in questiOn in any court, except as provided in this Act.

126. Constructwn of r~{ereTICes to acres and cents .-All references in this Act to areas of land expressed in ter.ns of acres (but not standard acres) an -1 cents shall be construed as references to areas expressed 111 terms of hectares and ares, converted thereto at the 1 ates specrfied 111 the Schedule t0 the Standards of Weights and Measures (ConversiOn of Land Areas) Rules, 1960.

127. Act to ovemde other laws, etc.-The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anythmg in any other law or any custom or usage or in any contract, express or i'llplred, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.

128. Power to remove diffzcultus.- If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisrons ofthis Act, the Government may, a~ occ sion may require, by order, do anythmg not inconsistent w1th the provisrons of th1s Act, which appears to them necessary for the purpose of remo- ving the difficulty.

129 Power to make ru'eJ .-( l) Tne Government may ma!.e rules to carry out all or any of the purposes of this Act.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for the following matters:-

( a) the fees payable on applications or claims made bef01e the Land Tnbunal or the Land Board and the persons by whom and the period w1thin which such fees shall be paid ;

(b) the regrsters to be kept and maintained by the Land Tnbunal and the Land Board and the particulars to be entered therein ;

(d) the filmg, of statements before the Land Tribunal and the Land Board ;

(e) the procedure to be followed by the Land Tribunal and the Land Board ;

3/26 -5a

(f) for the joint consideration by the Land Tribunal of two or more applications involvmg the same question ;

(g) the assignment of lands by the Land Board under sections 94 and 96;

(h) the management of land before assignment under section 98;

(i) any other matter which under this Act is to be, or may be, prescribed.

130. Laying of rules and notificatzons before the Legzslative Assembly.- Every rule made under this Act and every notification issued under clause (a) of sub-section (l) or sub-section (3) of section 81 shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made or issued before the Legislative Assembly while it is in session for a total period of fourteen days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session in wh1ch it is so laid, or the session immediately following, the Legislative Assembly makes any modification in the rule or notification or decides that the rule or notification ~hould not be made, or Issued, the rule or notification shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the ca~e may be ; so however that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or notification.

131. Lzmztatzon.-In computing the period of limitation for the institution of suits or proceedmgs under thi~ Act, the time during which such suits or proceedings were prohibited or stayed under any of the enactments repealed by this Act, shall be excluded.

132. Repeal and savmgs.-(1) (a) The Proclamation XVI of 1122 (Cochin), dated the 14th February, 1947, the Proclamation VI of 1124 (Cochin), dated the 12th January, 1949, the Kerala Ryotwari Tenants and Kudikidappukars Protection Act, 1962 and the Kera1a Tenants and Kudikidappukars Protection Act, ! 963, are hereby repealed, and all suits, appeals, revisions, reviews and proceedmgs in execution of decrees stayed by the said enactments may be disposed of by the courts in which they were pending at the commencement of this Act, in accord· ance with the provisions of this Act.

(b) The costs m respect of the suits, appeals, revisions, reviews and execution proceedings stayed by the enactments specmed in clause (a) shall be in the discretion of the court.

(2) The followmg enactments as in force in any part of the State of Kerala are hereby repealed, namely .-

(t) The Cochin Verumpattamdars Act, VIII of 1118. ~

(ii) The Tra"ancore-Cochin Prevention of Eviction of J Kudrkidappukars Act, 1955.

(m) The Malabar Tenancy Act, 1929. (tv) The Madras Cultivatmg Tenants (Pa} ment of Fair Rent) Act, 1956.

(3) Notwithstanding the repeal of the enactments mentwned in sub-section (2),-

--------------------------------------------------------~

(a) any decree passed before the commencement of this Act for the eviction of a tenant f1om his holding, pursuant to which eviction has not been effected, may, on the applicatiOn of the tenant or the landlord, be reopened and the matter may be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this Act ;

(b) any suit for restoration filed under section 24 or section 26 or sub-section (3) of section 53 of the Malabar Tenancy Act, 1929 or any applicatwn for determinalJon of fa1r rent made under section 16 of that Act or any application for fixation of fair rent made under section 9 of the Madras Cultivating Tenants (Payment of Fair Rent) Act, 1956, and pendmg disposal at the commencement of th1s Act shall be disposed of in accordance w1th the provis1ons of the said Acts as if those Acts had not been repealed ;

(c) (t) where the decree-holder, plaintiff, appellant or peti· tioner, as the case may be, is a person entitled to resumption of land under this Act, he shall have the right to apply to the court to allow resumption of the holding or any part thereof to which he is entitled ;

(u) the application under sub-clause (1) shall be made within one) ear from the commencement of this Act and shall contain a statement of facts in support of the claims of the applicant and also the names and addresses of all persons who have mterest in the hold· ing, either as owner, lessee or kuddudappukaran ; ( tii) the court shall d1spose of the application as if 1t were an application for resumption before the Land Tribunal under this Act ;

(d) notwithstanding anything contained in section 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the right conferred on the decree-holder, plamtiff. appellant or petitioner, as the case may be, under sub-clause

(t) of clause (c) shall not be deemed to take away or in any manner affect his right to apply for resumption under thiS Act.

(4) (t) The Kerala Agrarian Relations Act, 1960, JS hereby repealed.

(it) Notwithstandmg the repeal of the Kerala Agrarian Rela· tions Act, 1960 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act),-

(a) all applications for determinatiOn of fair rent filed or purported to have been filed under the said Act, in which no order determinmg the fa1r rent had been passed by the Land Tribunal, shall be deemed to have been filed under th1s Act and shall be disposed of accor- dmg to the provisions of tillS Act;

(b) where the Land Tribunal constituted or purported to have been constituted under the sa1d Act had passed an order determining the fair 1 ent in respect of a holding, but an appeal or apphcatwn for revlSlon in respect ot such order was pendmg before the appellate or revising authonty at the time when the said Act was declared

unconstitutional by the Supreme Court or the High Court, or the proceedmgs under the sa1d Act were sta- yed under the Kerala Tenants and Kud1kidappukars Protection Ordmance, 1962, as the case may be, in Its or their apphcation to the land comprised in the holdmg, such appellate or revising authority shall reopen the matter and dispose of 1t m accordance With the pro- visiOns of this Act, and, for that purpose, shall have all the powers of the appellate or revismg authonty, as the case may be, under th1s Act;

(c) where the Land Tribunal const1tuted or purported to have been const1tuted under the sa1d Act had passed an order determming the fair rent m respect of a holding, but the time for prefernng appeal or revis10n in respect of such order had not exp1red at the time when the said Act was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court or the High Court, or the proceedmgs under the said Act were stayed under the Kerala Tenants and Kud1k1dappukars Protection Ordinance, 1962, as the case may. be, m 1ts or the1r apphcatwn to the land compnsed m the holdmg, any party aggrieved by the order of the Land Tribunal may, Within three months from the commencement of th1s Act, prefer an appeal or an application for revlSlon against such order before the appellate or rev1sing authority under tillS Act, and thereupon such authority shall reopen the matter and dispose of1t in accordance w1th the provisions of this Act;

(d) in cases where orders dete1 minmg fair rent have been passed or purported to have been passed under the sa1d Act and such orders had become final, such orders shall be deemed to have been passed under this Act for pur- poses of payment of fa1r rent;

(e) notwithstandmg anything contained m this Act, the fair rent referred to m sub-clause (d) shall be the rent payable by the cultivating tenant, but such fa1r rent shall not be taken as the bas1s for the determination of the purchase pnce under section 55, and the fair rent for the determination of such purchase price shall be the fair rent determmed under th1s Act.

(zit) Subject to the provisions of clause (u), the said Act or the rules, uotifications or orders made or issued thereunder, shall not be deemed to have conferred any right or imposed any hability on any person, as if the sa1d Act had not been enacted.

(

ScHEDULE I [ See section 2 (27) ]

Kuttanad Area

ALLEPPEY DISTRICT

Taluk Vtllage

"' 1. Ambalapuzha 1. Prakkad

2. Ambalapuzha

3. Alleppey

4. Aryad South

5. Punnapra

2. Kuttanad 6. Pulincunnoo

7. Chennamkari

8. Kainakari

9. Champakulam

10. Nedumudy

II. Thakazhy

12. Kozhimukku

13. Thalavady

14. Neelamperoor

15. Veliyanad

16. Muttar

17. Ramankari

3. Shertallai 18. Panavalli

19. Vayalar West

20. Vayalar East

21. Thuravoor South

22. Thuravoor North

23. Aroor

24. Thycattussery

4. Karthigapally 25. Pathiyoor

26. Cheppad

27. Pallipad

28. Haripad

29. Veeyapuram

30. Cheruthana

31. Karuvatta

5. Mavelikara 32. Thamarakulam

33. Kannamanga1am

34. Thri poorun thura

35. Chennithala

36. Mavelikara

37. Chunakma

38. Thazhakara

39. Noornad

40. Palamel

41. Pandalam South

42. Thonaloor

SCHEDULE 1-(cont.) ALLEPPEY DisTRICT-(contd.) Taluk

6. Thiruvalla

7. Chengannoor

8. Kottayam

9. Changanacherry

10. Vaikom Vzllage

43. Kizhakumbhago•n

44. Kadapra

45. Peringara

46. Kavumbhagom 4 7. Thiruvalla

48. Cherianad

49. Venmony

50. Mannar

51. Kurattisseri 52 .• Puhyoor KoTTAYAM DISTRICT

53. Thiruvarppu

54. Kottayam

55. Nattakam

56. Panachikkad

57. Vijayapuram

58. Aymanam

59. Kumarakom

60. Ka1puzha

61. Onamthuruthu

62. Puthuppally

63. Kurichi

64. Vazhappally West

65. Vazhappally East

66. Changanacherry

67. Madappally

68. Thrikodithanam

69. Vakathana'll.

70. Naduvlle

71. Thalayazham

72. Kallara

73. Vechoor

74. Manjoor

75. Vadayar

76. Kaduthuruthy

l ! ' I

~-, \I

• ... --------------------------------------

ScHEDULE II [See section 2 (55) ]

PART I

Lands other than nilams

TRIVANDRUM DISTRICT

Class of land Standard acre

I. Garden 1.50 acres

2. Dry land principally cultivated with cashew 2.00

" • 3 . Other dry land 4.00 " 4. Palliyal land 4.00

" 5. Rubber plantation 1.75

" 6. Tea plantation 0.75

" 7. Coffee plantation 1.00

" 8. Cardamom plantation 1.50

" 9. Cinnamon plantation 1.50 ,

10. Cocoa plantation 1.50

" QurLoN Drs rRICT

I. Garden 1.00 acres

2. Dry land principally cultivated with cashew 2.00

" 3. Other dry land 3.00

" 4. Palliyal land 3.00

" 5. Rubber plantation 1.75

" 6. Tea plantation 0·75

" 7. Coffee plantation 1.00

" 8. Cardamom plantation 1.50 ,

9. Cinnamon plantation 1.50 ,

10. Cocoa plantation 1.50

" ALLEPPEY Drsl!RrCT

I. Garden 1.00 acres

2. Dry land prmcipally cultivated with cashew 2.00 ,

3. Other dry land 4.00

" 4. Palliyal land 4.00

" 5. Rubber plantation 1.75

" 6. Tea plantation 0.75

" 7. Coffee plantation 1.00

" 8. Cardamom plantation 1.50 ,

9. Cinnamon plantation 1.50

" 10. Cocoa plantation 1.50

" KoTTAYAM DuTRICT i I. Garden 1.25 acres I 2. Dry land principally cultivated with cashew 1.75 "

3. Other dry land 3.00

" 4. Palhyal land 3.00 ,

5. Rubber plantation 1.75

" 6. Tea plantation 0.50

" 7. Coffee plantation 1.00

" 8. Cardamom plantation 1.50 ,

9. Cinnamon plantation 1.50

" 10. Cocoa plantation 1.50

ScHEDULE II-(cont.)

ERNAKULAM DISTRICT

Class of land

I. Garden

2. Dry land principally cultivated with cashew

3. Other dry land

4. Palliyal land

5. Rubber plantation

6. Tea plantation

7. Coffee plantation

8. Cardamom plantation

9. Cinnamon plantation

10. Cocoa plantation

TRICHUR DISTRICT

l. Garden

2. Dry land principally cultivated with cashew

3. Other dry land

4. Palliyal land

5. Rubber plantation

6. Tea plantation

7. Coffee plantation

8. Cardamom plantation

9. Cinnamon plantation

10. Cocoa plantation

PALOHAT DISTRICT

I. Garden

2. Dry land principally cultivated with cashew

3. Other dry land

4. Palliyal land

5. Rubber plantation

6. Tea plantation

7. Coffee plantation

8. Cardamom plantation

9. Cinnamon plantation

10. Cocoa plantation

KOZHIKODE DISTRICT

1. Garden

2. Dry land principally cultivated with cashew

3. Other dry land

4. Palhyalland

5. Rubber plantation

6. Tea plantation

7. Coffee plantation

8. Cardamom plantation

9. Cinnamon plantation

10. Cocoa plantation

CANNANORE DISTRICT

1. Garden

2. Dry land principally cultivated with cashew

3. Other dry land

4. Palliyal land Standard acre

1.00 acres

1. 75 ,

3.00 "

2 .2.1 ,

1.00 ,

1.50 "

1.00 acres l. 75 "

3.00 ,

2.25 "

0.50 ,

1.00 ,

1.50 ,

1.50 "

1.00 acres

2.25 "

4.00 "

2.25 ,

0.50 "

0.75 ,

1.50 ,

1.50 "

I ·50 ,

0.75 acres

I. 75 ,

3.00 ,

3.00 "

2.25 "

0.50 "

0.75 "

1.50 "

1.50 ,

1.00 acres

1.50 "

3.00 "

3.00 ,

ScHEDULE Il-(cont.) CANNANORE DISTRICT-(cont.) Class of land

5. Rubber plantation

6. Tea plantation

7. Coffee plantation

8. Cardamom plantation

9. Cinnamon plantation I 0. Cocoa plantation Standard acre

2.25 acres o. 75 "

0.75 "

1.50 ,

1.50 ,,

1.50 "

ScHEDULE II-( cont.)

PART II

StaD.dard acres of nilam

Sl. Taluks Double crop Single crop No. nilam (acre) nilam (acre) N eyyattinkara l Trivandrum Nedumangad } I·OO 2·00 Chirayinkil

2 Quilon ~ Kottarakara Kunnathur I·25 2·00 Pathanapuram Pathanamthitta J

3 Karunagappally I Karthiga ppally I I ·25 2·00 Mavelikara

4 Chengannur I Thiruvalla r 1·50 2·00 Kuttanad

5 Ambalapuzha } 2·00 3·00 Sherthalai

6 Changanacherry I Kanjirappally I Peermade

Kottayam

1·50 2·50 Vaikom Meenachi1

Devicolam

J U dum bancho1a

7 Thodupuzha

Muvattupuzha 1·25 2·50 Cochin Kanayannur

8 Kunnathunad ' A1waye s I·75 3·00 ~ Parur

9 Cranganore ~ Mukundapuram Trichur I ·75 3·00 Tha1appilly J

10 Chittur ~ Alathur 1·00 2·00 Palghat J --------------------------------

I^•

ScHEDLUE II-(cont.) Sl. Taluks Double crop Single crop .No. nilam (acre) nilam (acre)

11 Ottapalam } Perintalmanna 1·25 2·50 Ernad

12 Chow ghat } Ponnani 2·00 3·00 ..... Tirur

13 Kozhikode } Quilandy 2·00 4·00 Badagara

14 S. Wynaad } 2·00 3·00 N. Wynaad

15 Tellicherry 1 Cannanore I

Ta1iparamba

1·75 4·00 Hosdrug Kasaragod

Sl. No. (l)

Class of land

(2)

SCHEDULE II I

(See section 27)

Rates of fair rent

I. Nilams-

(z) Land converted into nilam by tenant's labour not falling under items (v), (vz) and (viz)

(ii) Other nilam not falhng under items (v), (vi) and (viz) (iiz) Kole land

(w) Land not being Karinilam cultivated on the Kaipad system

(v) Karmilam

(a) Converted into wet by tenant's labour

(b) Other Karinilam

(m) Nilam in the .'Iorth Wynaad and South Wynaad taluks-

(a) Converted by tenant's labour

(b) Other nilam 1 ...------

Rate of fazr rent

(3)

I /8th of the gross paddy produce. I /4th of the gross paddy produce. lf6th of the gross paddy produce. l /6th of the gross

paddy produce

( For the districts of

I Cannan ore, Erna-

~ kulam, Alleppey and

1 Kottayam. No such I land in other dis- l tricts

I /9th of the gross ( paddy produce. I For the districts of Kottayam, Alleppey and Ernakulam -< I /5th of the gross I paddy produce l

No such land in other

d1stricts

l /20th of the gross paddy produce l /12th of the gross paddy produce y

....._,

C»

•

...._ -*-

(viz) Nilam in the Devicolam, Peermade and Udumban- chola taluks and the Attappady valley- ( a) Converted by tenant's labour

(b) Other wet land (viiz) Nilam where fishing is carried on for part of the year by a varamdar

(ix) Nilam not used for paddy cultivation (but not cultivated with sugarcane)

2. Garden-

(i) Cocoanut trees in respect of which the landlord is bound to pay compensation under the Kerala Compensation for Tenants Improvements Act, 1958 (it)

( ziz)

Cocoanut trees m respect of which the landlord is not bound to pay compensation under the Kerala Compensation for Tenants Improvements Act, 195B Arecanut trt>es in respect of which the landlord is bound to pay compensation under the Kerala Compensation for Tenants Improvements Act, 1958

A ...

1 fl6th of the gross paddy produce I /8th of the gross paddy produce Aggregate of rent fixed as for nilam and lf8th of the gross annual income derived from fishing in such manner as may be prescnbed

Rent that would have been payable had the land been used for cultivation of paddy If lOth of the gross cocoanut produce lf3rd of the gross cocoanut produce lflOth of the gross arecanut produce

........

ScHEDULE III-(contd.) Sl. No.

(1)

Class ofland

(2)

(w) Arecanut trees in respect of which the landlord is not bound to pay compensation under the Kerala Co!!lpensation for Tenants Improvements Act, 1958

(v) Pepper-vines in respect of which the landlord is bound to pay compensation under th! Kerala Compensation for Tenants Improvements Act, 1958 (vz) Pepper-vines in respect of which the landlord is not bound to pay compensation under the Kerala Compensation for Tenants Improvements Act, 1958

3. Dry land-

(a) Cultivated with groundnut or other crops notified by the Government

(b) In other cases

4. Palliyal land 5 . Land under Punam or Kumri cultivation

6. Land under sugarcane cultivation

7. Land not falling under any of the above items Rate of fazr renl

(3)

lf4th of the gross arecanut produce 1 /8th of the gross pepper produce l/4th of the gross pepper produce lj8th of the gross produce Rs. 4 per acre

1 /8th of the gross produce of the crop grown on the land or Rs. 4 per acre, whichever lS higher Rs. 3 per acre

lf4th of the gross sugarcane produce Contract rent

(;¥)

1^~------ _____ :______ ____ __[_ ____ _

ScHEDULE IV [See sections 3 (I) (tx) and 81 (l) (l)]

Kayal Padasekharams in Kuttaoad area

Distnct: ALLEPPEY Vzllage Senal Name of K ayal Approxzmate l'xtent No. Ac•u Conts

Pulincunnu !. 'D' Bloc~ Kayal 1800 00

2. Madathi Kayal 385^IS

3. Padwjare Venattukari 99 86

4. Mathi Kayal 713^OS

5. Sreemoolamangalam Kayal 590 82 Chennamkary 6. Raja Ramapuram Kayal 769^~9

7. Pallithanam Kayal 269 02

8. Cherukara Kayal 309 80

9. Mangalam Kayal (including Manikkamanga lam and Pazhaya Kayals) 843 59 l 0. E. Block Ka\'al 2366 00

II. H. Block Ka.yal 1396 00

12. I. Block Kava!^3jl60

13. K. L. Block Kayal and Appu Kay a! 827 31

Kainakary 14. 'R' Block Kayal 1425 99

15. S. Block Kayal 584^(Q

16. T. Block Kayal 315 00

17. Q Block Kayal (includmg Kuthakapattam area of 161 acre3 60 cents) 716⁽⁰ Kainakary and Alleppey

18. C. Block Kayal 647 30 Kainakary 19. Cherukah Kayal 251 55

20. Arupanku Kayal 486 03

21. Paruth1valavu Kayal 370 08

22. Pandarakkalam Kayal 152 24

23. Punathuram Kayal 103 61 Alleppey and Aryad South

24. Kakka Kayal 200 00

7 Dzstrzct: KOTTAYAM Nattakom and 25. 'r~' Block Kayal (excludmg Thiruvarpu Karapadam) 713 24

Kumarakom and 26. M. N. Block Kayal (exclu-

Thiruvarpu dmg Karapadam) 473 65 Kumarakom 27. Seminari Kayal 423 66 28. Thumbc Kayal 90 40 29. Roonatha Kayal 213 24 3{26-6

ScHEDULE IV-(contd.) Village Serial Name of Kayal Approximate extent No. Acres Cents

District: KoTTAYAM-(contd.)

Kumarakom 30. Karavattu Kayal 22 90

31. Vadakke Konchumada 22 73

32. Nalupanku Kayal 52 52

33. Krishna Vilasom Kayal 27 00

34. Konchumada Thundan Kayal 29 28

35. Thekke Konchumada Kayal 45 40

36. Vilakkumaram Kayal 81 69

37. Pazhaya Kayal 42 94

38. Mathruka Kayal 18 88 Thiruvarpu 39. J. Block Kayal (excluding 886 00 Karapadam)

Aimanom 40. Vatta Kayal 336 45

41. Mali Kayal 103 oo

42. Oloran Kayal 47 98 Kaipuzha 43. Kelakkary Vatta Kayal 305 29

44. Anthony Kayal 64 37

45. Akathekari 92 88 Kaipuzha and Vechoor 46. Kaipuzha Vechoor Kayal 646 oo -- -----',___-----------------~