Santal Parganas Tenancy (Supplementary Provisions) Act, 1949
No: 11 Dated: Jan, 01 1948
SANTHAL PARGANAS TENANCY (SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS) ACT, 1949
Bihar Act XIV of 1949
An Act to amend and supplement certain laws relating to landlord and tenant in the Santal Parganas.
Whereas it is expedient to amend and supplement certain laws relating to landlord and tenant in the Santal Parganas.
It is hereby enacted as follows:
1. Short title, commencement and extent. – (1) This Act may be called the Santal Parganas Tenancy (Supplementary Provisions) Act, 1949.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may by notification, appoint in this behalf.
(3) It extends to the whole of Santal Parganas Division comprising of Dumka,Sahibganj, Godda, Deoghar and Pakur.
2. Power to vary local extent of the Act and effect of the withdrawal of the Act from any area. – (1) The State Government may, by notification withdraw this Act, of any part thereof, from any portion of the Santal Parganas 2 Division and may likewise extend this Act, or any part thereof to the area from which the same has been so withdrawn.
(2) The withdrawal of this Act or any part thereof from any area under sub-section (1) shall not, –
(a) Affect the previous operation of this Act in such area or anything Duly done or suffered there under before such withdrawal; or
(b) affect any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred in such area under this Act before such withdrawal; or
(c) affect any penalty, forfeiture or punishment incurred in respect of any offence committed under this Act with reference to such area before such withdrawal; or
(d) Affect any investigation, legal proceeding or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation, liability, penalty, forfeiture or punishment as aforesaid; And any such investigation, legal proceeding or remedy may be instituted continued or enforced and any such penalty, forfeiture or punishment may be imposed as if no such withdrawal had been made.
3. Repeal.- The enactments mentioned in Schedule A are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the fourth column thereof.
4. Definitions.-In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,
(i) ‘aboriginal’ means a person who belongs to an aboriginal or semiaboriginal tribe or caste specified in Schedule B and includes a person belonging to such other aboriginal or semi-aboriginal tribe or caste as may, from time to time, be notified by the State Government in this behalf;
(ii) “Agricultural year” means, where the Bengali year prevails, the year commencing on the first day of Baisakh, where the Fails year prevails the year commencing on the first day of Asin, where any other year prevails for agricultural purposes, that year;
(iii) “bhugut-bandha or complete usufructuary mortgage” means a transfer of the interest of a raiyat in his holding or part of the holding for the purpose of securing the payment of money advanced or to be advanced by way of loan, upon the condition that the loan, with all interest thereon, shall Be deemed to be extinguished by the profit arising from the holding or part of the holding during the period of the mortgage;
(iv) “Commissioner’ means the Commissioner of the Santhal Parganas Division;
(v) “Community” means the social group to which a person belongs and for the purposes of this Act there shall be two such groups, aboriginal and nonaboriginal;
(vi) “Deputy Collector” includes an Assistant Collector and a Sub-Deputy Collector;
(vii) “Deputy Commissioner” means the Deputy Commissioner of the 3Dumka, Sahibganj, Godda, Deoghar, Pakur and includes,-
(a) Additional Deputy Commissioner, Sub-divisional Officer or Deputy Collector, empowered by the State Government to discharge any of the functions of Deputy Commissioner under this Act; and
(b) any Deputy Collector, whom, subject to the control of the State Government, the Deputy Commissioner may, by general or special order, authorise to exercise any of his functions under this Act;
(viii) “Holding” means a parcel or parcels of land held by a raiyat and forming the subject of a separate tenancy
(ix) “khas village” means a village in which there is no mulraiyat nor for the time being any village headman irrespective of whether there was or was not previously a mulraiyat or village headman in the village;
(x) “landlord” means a person other than the village headman or mulraiyat entitled to receive rent and includes a proprietor, a tenure-holder, a ghatwal and the Government;
(xi) “non-aboriginal” means a person who does not belong to any aboriginal or semi-aboriginal tribe or caste specified in Schedule B or to any other aboriginal or semi-aboriginal tribe or caste notified by the 2 State Government under clause (i) of Section 4;
(xii) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made by the State Government under this Act;
(xiii) “raiyat” means a person not being a landlord, who has acquired a right to hold land for the purpose of cultivating it by himself or by members of his family or by hired servants; and includes the successor in interest of a person who has acquired such a right;
Explanation. – A village headman shall be deemed to be a raiyat in respect of his private holding if any.
(xiv) “Recorded” means recorded in the record-of-rights;
(xv) “Rent” means whatever is lawfully payable in money by–
(a) a village headman or mulraiyat of a village to the landlord of that village in accordance with the record- of-rights hereinafter referred to as village rent, or
(b) a raiyat, on account of the use or occupation of the land held by him to h is landlord, either directly or through a village headman or mulraiyat as the case may be, and includes all dues (other than personal services) which are recoverable under any law for the time being in force as if they were rent;
(xvi) “Santal Civil Rules” means the directions issued by the State Government for observance in the administration of civil justice in the Santal Parganas by officers appointed under Clause (2) Section 1 of the Santal Parganas Act, 1855 (37 of 1855).
(xvii) “Santhal Parganas” means the Santal Parganas Division comprising of Dumka, Sahibganj, Godda and Deoghar districts.
(xviii) “Settlement rate of rent’ means the rate of rent mentioned as settlement rate in the record-of-rights.
(xix) “tenant’’ includes a tenure-holder, village headman and mulraiyat;
(xx) “Vacant holding” means an abandoned holding or holding of which the raiyat has died without heirs;
(xxi) “Village” means,-
(a) the area defined, surveyed and recorded as a distinct and separate village in the map and record-of-rights prepared under any law for the time being in force, and
(b) Where a survey has not been made and a record-of- rights has not been prepared under any such law, such area as the Deputy Commissioner may, with the sanction of the Commissioner, by general or special order, declare to constitute a village:
Provided that when an order has been passed under Section 9 of the Santal Parganas Settlement Regulation (Reg.3 of 1872) directing that a survey be made and record-of- rights prepared in respect of the whole or any part of the Santali Pagans, the State Government may by notification, declare that in such area ‘village’ shall mean the area which for the purposes of such survey and record-of- rights may be adopted by the Settlement Officer, subject to the control of the Commissioner, as the unit for making the survey and preparing the recordof-rights;
(xxii) “village community" means the body of all the jamabandi raiyats of a village, their co-sharers, children and heirs; and
(xxiii) “village headman” means the person appointed or recognised whether before or afte the commencement of this Act by the Deputy Commissioner or other duly authorised officer to hold the office of a village headman whether known as pradhan, mustajur, manjhi or otherwise, but does not include a mulraiyat.