(1) Every person who by himself or through his predecessor-in-interest-
(a) held alienated land for a continuous period of three years immediately before the year 1950-51 from, superior holder as an annual tenant within the meaning of section 74 of the Berar Land Revenue Code, 1928, as then in force or as an ordinary tenant within the meaning of section 60 of the Berar Alienated Villages Tenancy Law, 1921 as then in force, or
(b) held as a tenant land belonging to any public trust of a religious or charitable nature for a continuous period of three years immediately before the 1st day of April 1957, and
(c) is in possession of the land referred to in clause (a) or as the case may be, clause (b) on the appointed day or was dispossessed from the said land at any time but has been re-instated under sub-section (2),
shall be deemed to be a tenant of the said land for the purposes of this Act.
(2 (a) Any person who held any alienated land as provided in clause (a) or any land belonging to a trust as provided in clause (b) of sub-section (1) but who has been dispossessed subsequently may, if the said land is in the actual possession of the superior holder or his successor-in-interest or as the case may be of the trust and is not put to a non-agricultural use on or before the appointed day apply [before the expiry of a year from the date of commencement of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Vidarbha Region and Kutch Area) (Amendment) Act, 1961 (Mah. II of 1962)] to the Tahsildar to be placed in possession of the said land.
(b) The Tahsildar shall, after holding an inquiry, restore possession to such person as tenant. (3) Any suit or other proceeding pending on the date on which this Act comes into force in which any person is sought to be ejected from any alienated land on the ground that he had ceased to be a tenant of such land on the expiry of the agricultural year 1950-51, shall be referred under section 125 to the competent authority and decided as if this section were in force on the date of the institution of such suit or proceedings.
(4) In this section-
(a) "alienated land" means land which immediately before the coming into force of the Madhya Pradesh Abolition of Proprietary Rights (Estates, Mahals, Alienated Lands) Act, 1950 (M. P. Act I of 1951) was alienated land as defined in sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Berar Alienated Villages Tenancy Law, 1921 and in clause (2) of section 2 of the Berar Land Revenue Code, 1928;
(b) "superior holder" means a person who immediately before the coming Act into force of the Madhya Pradesh Abolition of Proprietary Rights (Estates, Mahals, Alienated Lands) Act, 1950 (M. P. Act I of 1951), held alienated land and who became an occupant under section 68 of that Act and has become a Bhumiswami under section 146 of the Code and includes his successor-in-interest.