(1) A person, who— Acquisition of occupancy [•* * *J1_ rights
(6) for a perio d of 12 years [* * * *]* has continuously held land as a raiyat, shall have a right of occupancy in tha t land.
(2) Th e period of [* * *] 1 12 years [* * * ] i referred to in sub-section (1) may be wholly or par tly before or af ter the com mencement of | the Assam (Tempo rary-S ettl ed Distr icts) Tenancy (Amendm ent) Act, 1953]2 .
(3) A person shall be deem ed, for the purposes of this sect ion, to have continuous^ held land under a landlo rd notwithstanding that the partic u’ar land lords unde r whom he held the land were different at di fferent times prov ided the land held by h im was the same.
(4) A person shall be deemed, for the purposes of this section , to have held as a raiyal any land held as a raiyat b y a perron whose he ir he is.
(5) If a raiyat recovers possession of his hold ing under the provisions of section 35 or of any other law in forc e, any perio d during which he may have been out of possession shal l count towards the periods specified in sub-section (1).
(6) Fo r the purposes of this section, a person who, under the system general ly know n as "adhi”, “barga" an d “bhag,” cultivates the land of anoth er person, on condition of delive ring a pro por tion of the crop to that person, is not a raiyat:
Provided th at the hold ing of the land und er such a system shall not be deemed to break the con tinu ity o f the perio d for which the said cul tiva tor , or his h eir or the person whose heir the cul tiva tor is, holds or held the land otherwise tha n under such a system.
[Illustration— When a per on holds land as a raiyat, say, for seven years, then under the system mentioned in this sub clause for four years , and the re after aga in for a fur the r term as a raiyat, occupancy right shall not accrue unless such fur the r term extends to a period of no t less th an five y ears. ]8 .
1. Ommil ted by Assam Act X XVII of 195 J.
2. S ubsti uted by ibid for “ this Act”,
3. Sub stitu ted by Assam Act, XX VI I of 1953.
4 i 18 I nciden ts of occupancy righ t Rights in 14. Whe n a raiyat has a right of occupan cy in r «Pc c‘ °f u»e respect of any land he may use the land in any °* a n ' ma nner which does not materi ally im pa ir the value Of the lan d or render it unfi t for the purposes of the tenancy.
Rig ht in 15. Subject to the provisions of section 14, when tr ce5 ' a raiyat has a right of occupan cy in respect of any land he shall be ent itle d— (») to pla nt,
(it) to enjoy the flowers, fruits and oth er produc ts of, (t it ) to fell, and
(itt) to utilise a nd dispose of th e tim ber of, any tree on such la nd:
Prov ided th at in doin g so he does not cont ravene the provisions of any law :
Prov ided fur the r th at he shall not be ent itled with out the lan dlo rd’s consent in wr iting to fell, utilise or dispose of the tim ber o f any tree which stood on the holding before the cre ation ol the tenanc y. When the tena ncy is over 20 yea rs old all trees s tandin g on the lan d shall be presumed until the con trary is proved , to have been pla nte d or to have beg un to grow during the tenancy.
Obliga tion 16. An occupancy raiyat shal l pay rent for his to pay ren t, holding at fair an d equ itab le rates:
Provided that in case of dispute the rat e prev i ously paid by a raiyat shall be deemed to be fair and equ itable unless the contr ary be shown in a Cou rt of Law.
Pro tec tion ^7- An occupancy raiyat shall not be ejected by from cvic- his land lord from his holding , except in execu tion of tion . a decree for ejectment passed on the grou nd :—
(a) th at he has used the land comprised in his hold ing in a ma nner which rend ers it unfit for the purposes of the tenancy, or (Z>) that he has broken a conditio n of his tena ncy cons isten t with the provisions of this Act, and on the brea ch of which he is, unde r the term s of a contract between himself and his lan dlord, liab le to be ejec ted:
& 19
Provided that no occupancy raiyat shal l be liable to ejectm ent under - sub-c lause (b) il die . con trac t has been entered into after the passing of this Act, and has not been regis tered .
18. Ifa raiyaZ dies intestate in respect of a r igh t Devolu tion of occupancy it sha ll, subje ct to any custom to the o n d e a t l>* contr ary , descend in the same ma nner as other imm ovable pro perty :
Prov ided that in any case in which unde r the law of inhe ritance to W'hich the raiyat is sub jec t his other pro per ty goes to the [Govern me nt] l 2, his righ t of occupancy shall be extin guished.
[19. An occupancy raiyat shall have unrestr icted right of transfer in respect of his hold ing but no transfer shall be bind ing on the landlo rd unt il a e ’ wr itt en notice the reo f has been given to the land lo rd :
Provided that the righ t of an occupancy raiyat holding under a religious inst itut ion such as tem ple, Sa tra or mosque shall be rest ricte d to transf er to persons belongin g to the same relig ion as the ins titu tion in which the ownership of the land is vested.
20. An occupancy raiyat shall hav e right of R ; h t f sub lett ii.g his hold ing or any pa rt of it to persons to sub let ting, whom he could valid ly transfer i t und er section 19.] a
21. Wh ere the occupanc y raiyat pays his r en t in restr ict ion money, the ren t shall not be enhanced except a s o n enhanceprovided by th is A ct. rTn"*
22. Th e money ren t of an occupan cy raiyat may Enhancebe enhanced by contr act subject to the following y con ditio ns:— (а) the con tract mus t be in wri ting and registered, (б) the ren t must no t be enh anc ed so as to exceed by more th an [three an na s]3 in the rup ee the ren t prev ious ly payable by the raiyat, and
(e) the rent fixed by the contr ac t shall not be liable to enh ancement during a term of 15 years from the d ate of the contr act provided as follows:—
(i) Nothin g in clause (a) shall pre ven t a land lord from recoverin g ren t at a ra te at which it has been actu ally pa id for a continuous period of no t less than thre e years im mediately preced ing the period for which th e ren t is c laimed,
1. Substituted by A. O. 1950 for “ Cro wn” .
2. Sub stitu ted by Assam Act, XX VII of 1953,
3. Substituted by ibid hr “ four annas” , 20 («) Nothing in clause (b} shall apply to a contract by which an occupancy raiyat binds himself to pay an enhanced rent in consideration of an improvement which has been or is to be effected in respect of the holding by or at the expense of his landlord and to the benefit of which the raiyat is not otherwise entitled ; but an enhanciment fixed by such a contract shall be payble only when the improve ment has been effected, and excep t when the raiyat is charged with default in respect of the improvement only-so long as the improvement exists and substan tia lly produces its estimated effect in respect of the holding.
Enhance- 23. 1 he landlord of a holding held at a money mcnt by rent by an occupancy raiyat may, subject to the provi so C o u rt° " s *o n s Ac t, apply to the Revenue Court for the enhancement of the rent on one or more of the follo wing grounds, nam ely:— F r
(a) that the rate of rent paid by the raiyat is much below the maximum rate of rent for the lands comprised in the holding and that there is no suffic’ent reason for his holding at so low a rate ;
(&) that the productive powers of the land held by the raiyat have been increased by an improvement effected by or at the expense of the landlord during the currency of the present rent ;
(c) that the productive powers o f the land held by the raiyat have been increased by fluvial action.
e n h a n c e - 24. When an enhancement is claimed on the ment on ground mentioned in section 23(c), in determining rent "ŝ much whether there is sufficient reason for the raiyat holding below m itbe a t ^ l e existing low rate of rent the Court shall have maxi mum regard to the general level of rents paid by occupancy rate. ratyats for lands of similar description and with similar advantages in the neighbourhood and all the circum stances of the case such as the origin of the tenancy, the amount of land held under the landlord on produce rent, the incidental benefits or advantages, if any, derived from the raiyat by the landlord and any special circumstance to which the existing low rate of rent may be due. The Court shall not decree an enhancement unless there is substantial difference between the rate paid by the raiyat and the maximum rate of rent.
21 ' 25. (1) Where an enh ancement is claimed on the Rules as to ground of a landlo rd's improvement— e n ^ a n c e "1 ment on ground of
(a) the Court shall not g rant an enh anc ement landlord’s unless the impro vem ent has been reg iste red unprovcin accorda nce with this Act ; ment.
1 (6) in dete rmi ning the am ount of enh ancem ent the C:m rt shall have regard to—
(t) the increase in the pro duc tive powers of the land caused or likely to be caused by the imp rovement ,
(it) the cost of the imp roveme nt,
(iii) the cost of the cultivat ion req uir ed for util ising the improveme nt, and
(if) the existing ren t and the abi lity of the land to bear a high er ren t.
(2) 7 he Court my enhance the rat e of rent bu t not so as to exceed the max imum rate of rent cal cu lated on the revenue rate assessable on the lan d had the imp roveme nt take n place before the last resettl e ment of the village and affected its class ification for the purpose of assessment .
(3) An order u nder this section shall, on the appli cat ion of the ten an t or his successor in inter est, be sub ject to reconsideration in the event of th e imp rovement no t produc ing or ceasing to produc e the est imate d effect.
26. Where an enh ancement is claimed on the Rules as to ground of an vial act ion— increase in pro duc'iv e powers due to flu- enhancement on ground of increase
(c) the Court shall not take into acc ount any increase which is merely tem porary or casual ;
in produc tive powers due to fluial action .
(6) the Cou rt may enh ance the ra te o f re nt but not so as to exceed the maxim um rat e of ren t calculated on the revenue rate assess able on the land had the imp rovement du e to fluvial action take n place before th e last resettl ement o f the village.
27. Notwi ths tanding anything in sections 24—26 Enhancb.
the Court shall not in any case ord er any enh ancement IP 'n l to he which is, under the circumstances of the case, unfai r or inequitable .
> 22 Power ti 28. If the Court o rdering an enhancement conslgreji ive ^cu - ^ c r s t , l a t l ‘l e >m m e < 3ia t e enforcem ent of the ord er to its hancem ent. fi’U extent will be attended with hardsh ip to the raiyat, it may direct that the enh ancement shal l take effect gia dually at such times and by such insta lments over a period not exceeding 10 years as the Court may fix in this behalf .
For the purposes of section 29, however, the full ren t shall be deemed to have come into force from the da te of the order.
L im it a ti on 29. An app lica tion filed for the enh anc em ent of of righ t to the ren t of a hold ing on the ground th at the ren t paid file succe«- js be lo w th e max imum ra te of re nt shall n ot be ente rment"a ppH ^" t a *n c < ^ ihe fifteen years next preceding the cation*. filing of the app lica tion, the ren t ol the hold ing has been enhanced by a contract m ade after the year 1934 or an orde r has been passed und er this Act enhanc ing the rent on the ground aforesaid , or on any gro und correspo nding thereto or dismiss ing the applica tion on the merits.
CHAPTER V NON OCCUPANCY R A IT A T S . .. . [30. This Ch ap ter applie s to raiyats who have no t of chapter- a cq u *r e d th e figh ts eith er of a privi leged raiyat o r o f an occupanc y raiyat and who are in this Act referred to as non-occ upancy ratyats.JA Initial rent . When a non-occupancy raiyat is admi tted to the c ccu pation of land, he shall become liable to pay such ren t as may be agreed on between him self and his landlord at the time o f his admission.
, di t'o n of r e n t ° f a non-occupancy raiyat shall not enhancement he enhanced except by a wri tten agre eme nt, of ren t.
Gro und s on $3- & non-occupancy raiyat shall , subject to the which a non-PfovtS'0118 of this Act, be liab le to ejectment on one or occupan c y more of the following grou nds, and not otherw ise, raiyat may namely be cbjected .
(a) On the gro und that he has used the land in a ma nner which renders it unfit for the purposes of the tena ncy or that he has bro ken a cond ition consistent with this Act and on the breach o f which he is, under the terms, o f the contr act betw een himsel f and his lan dlo rd, li at le to be ejected ;
» i I 3 ffi
1. Sub stitu ted by Assam Act XX VI I of 1553, 23 (A, on the ground that he has failed to pa y an ar rear of rent ;
(tf) On the ground that he refuses to agree to a fair and equ itab le enh ancement o f rent ;
(d) when he holds the land under a written 1 ease on the ground that the term of the lease has expired ;
(<) when he holds the land otherwise than under a w ritte n lease, on the gro und that the tenancy has been terminated by his land lord by six mon ths notice in writing .expiring at the end of the a gricul tural y ear :
Provided that a non-occupancy raiyat who has at the com men cem ent of [the Assam (Temporary-Set tled Distric ts) Tenan cy (Am endment) Act, 1953]1 held the land cont inuously for not less tha n [five ye ars]5 shall not be liab le to ejectm ent on the grou nd specified in clause (/) unless the landlo rd has satisfied the Court that he requ ires the land for his homestead or for cul tivation by him self or by mem bers of his family or by hired servants or labourers. po34. (1) In a suit for ejectm ent on the ground of or<J* e r prC° refusal to agree to enhanced ren t, the Court may , if g r e s s ive en it considers tha t the imm ediate enforcement of the hanc ement enhancement proposed by the landlo rd will be a n d eJe c‘ at tend ed with hard ship to the non -occ upancy rtiyaf, re fu s> i to di rec t th at the enh ancement shall take effect g rad ually agree to at su clr titnes and by such insta lments as the Court enha n c emay fix in this behalf. ™e n t o rd e r
(2) If the pla inti ff does not agre e to the mode of c enh ancement as directed by the Co ur t the suit shall be dismissed. If on the o ther hand he agrees to it, he shall within a week tend er in the prescribed manr.er to the raiyat a dra ft of an agreem ent to pay the enhanced ren t as d eter min ed by the Co urt. If the raiyat fails to execute the agre eme nt as tender ed and file it in the Court within one month from the da te of its tender, the C our t shall gr an t a decree for e jec tme nt.
35. Where a non-occupancy raiyat has been ejected Application tn the circumstances men tioned in proviso to section t i o n 33, he may app ly to the Co ur t by which the o rde r for ejectm ent was passed to be pu t in possession of the hold ing from which he was ejected by way of rest itu tion if, w ithin [two years ]5 of the ejec tment, the land lord sublets the hold ing or any portion the reo f ; and the reu pon the Co urt ma y, if satisfied after enquiry that ti e landlo rd did not use the land for his homes tead or for cult ivat ion by himself or bv mem bers of his fami ly or by hired servants or labourers , orde r a reco very of possession on sueh term s, if any , wi th respect to com pensation to the persons inju red as to the Cou rt ma y seem just • 1 Subst ituted by Assam Act XX VI I of 1953 for ‘‘ tb it Ac t”- 2 Subs tituted by ibid for “ len years” 3 Substitu ted by ibid for ‘‘three years” 24 Incidents of 36. A non occupancy holding shall descend in holding. t h e same manner as other immovable oroperty but shall not be transferable withou t the consent in writing of the landlord.
Subletting. 37 . In the absence of a lease conferring on him the right of subletting, a non-occupancy raiyat shall have no r ight to sublet without the consent in writing of the landlord.
CHAPTER VI UNDSR-/L4/2S4 TS ft . . . ... 38. Subject to the provisions of this Act an underpay r̂inL ° raiyat is fa bl e to pay such rent as may be agreed on from time to time between himself and his landlord [but it shall not exceed, in any case, the rent paid by his immediate landlord to the latter’s landlord by more then fO p-r cer.t.]1 „ , 39. An under-rajjat shall, subject to the provisions which under o l this Act, be li ab le to ejectment on one or more of raiyat may be the following grounds and not otherwise, namely :— ejected.
(a) on the ground that he has used the land in a mann.'r which renders it unfit for the purposes of the tenancy or that he has broken a condition consistent with this Ac t and on the breach of which he is, under the terms o f the contract between himself and his landlord, liable to be ejecred ;
(Z>) on the ground that he has failed to p ay an arrear of rent;
(c) on the ground that he refuses to agree to a fair and equitable enhancement of rent ;
(</) on the ground, when he holds the land under a written lease, that the term of his lease has expired;
1 Inserted by Assam Act X X V II of 1953 25 (<?) on the gro und, when he holds the land otherwise t han unde r a wr itte n lease, that the tenai cy has been terminated by his landlo rd by six mo nth s’ notice exp iring at the end of the agr icu ltural ye ar:
Provided th at .a n under-raiyat, who a t the com mo n cem ent of [the Assam (Temporary-Set tled Dis tric ts) Tenan cy (Am endment ) Act, 1953 ] ’ held land [* *]s cont inuously for not less than [five years ]1 2 3, sh all not be liab le to eje ctm ent on the ground specified in clause («) unless the landlo rd has satisfied the Court th at he requ ires the land for his homestead or for cul tiva tion by him self o r by mem bers o f his fami ly or by hire d servants or labourers .
40. In a sui t for ejectment on the grou nd of refusal pow er to to agre e to enh ancement , the Co urt may, if it consi- order proders th at the imme dia te enforcem ent of the en ha nc e- S re ,i v c cn" men t proposed by the land lord in its fu ll extent will h a n e n *en U be attended with hardsh ip to the under-raiyat, dismiss the suit unless the pla inti ff agrees to such progressive enh anc ement a s the Co uit may consider equ itab le.
41. Where an wnder raiyai has been ejected in the App licat ion circumstances mentione d in the proviso to section 39, he I°r res titu - may app ly to the Court by which the ord er for eject- t ‘o n ' ment was passed to be pu t in possession of th e holding from which he was ejected by way of res titu tion if, wi thin three years of the ejec tment, the land lord sub lets the holding or any portio n the reo f ; and the reupon the Cou rt may, if satisfied after enquiry tha t the landlo rd did no t use the land for his homestead or for cul tiva tion by himse lf or by mem bers of his family or by hired servan ts or l abourers, ord er a recovery of possession on such terms , if any , with respect to com pensatio n to the persons injure d as to the Court may »eem just .
1 Substitu ted by Assam Act X XVII of 195 for “ this Act” .
2 The'w ord s “ unde r a privileged ra iy at ” omitted by ibid.
33’ Sub stitu ted by’ ibid for “ ten years” 2 6 _ Incid ents ot 42. Th e hold ing of an under-raiyat sha ll descend hold ing. in the same ma nner as other imm ovable prop erty but shall not be tra ns fe rable:
Pro vided th at the holding of an nndcr-raiyat [***]4 shall be tran sferab le to a co-share r in the hol din g or to a person who, if he survived the underraiyat, would inh eri t his rig ht.
Suble ttin g. 43. An under-ratyaf has no right of subletting.
H op CH AP TE R VII GENERA! PROVISIONS AS TO RENT JL.i imitation of rent.
44. Exc ept as p rovided for i n sections 25 and 26 no ren t agre ed on between landlo rd and ten an t or enhanced by Court shall exceed the maxim um ren t in respect of the land ; nor shall any such am ou nt which is in excess of th e maxim um ren t be law ful ly payable.
Presump- 45. If a question arises as to the amount of a ten don as to an t’s re nt o r the cond itions under which he holds in re nt U n t and a n y agric ult ura l yea r, he shall be presum ed, unti l the conditions contr ary is shown, to hold at t he same rent and und er of holding, the same condition as in the last prec edin g agr icu ltur al year .
Alte ratio n c a s e s where (a) revenue rate s are for the of ren t on first time mad e pay able in respect of the land covered al tera tio n of by a hold ing or (Z>) the revenue rates payable in resr : venue ra te p e c t o f the lan d covered by a hold ing are diminishe d or increased whe ther by remission or by altera tion of prev ious rates, the ten an t’s ren t shall be liab le to be altered fairly and equ itab ly with refe rence to such rates .
No twithstanding any thing in the co ntr act between the partie s, a Revenue Court act ing on the a pplica tion of th e lan dlo rd or the tena nt filed before the end of the agr icu ltur al yea r i n the course of which revenue rates become fo r the first tim e payable or are altere d and the Co urt o f the Deputy Comm issioner or Set tlem ent Officer act ing of its own motion , may olde r remission for the period for which the lan dlo rd receives the benefit of remission or a lte r the rates of re nt (as the case may be) accordingly.
1 Th e words “held und er a privileged ra iyat” omitted b\ Assam Act XX VI I of 1953. > 27