JAMMU AND KASHMIR AGRARIAN REFORMS ACT, 1976

Preamble - THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR AGRARIAN REFORMS ACT, 1976

THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR AGRARIAN REFORMS ACT, 1976

[Act No. 17 of 1976]

[21st August, 1976]

PREAMBLE

An Act to provide for transfer of land to tillers thereof subject to certain conditions and for better utilization of land in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Be it enacted by the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature in the Twenty-seventh year of the Republic of India as follows:-

 

Section 1 - Short title, extent and commencement

(1)     This Act maybe called the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976.

 

(2)     It shall extend to the whole of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

 

(3)     It shall come into force with effect from such date[1] as the Government may, by notification in the Government Gazette, appoint.

 

Section 2 - Definitions

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires;

(1)     "ceiling area" means the extent of land measuring twelve and a half standard acres;

[2] [***]

[3] [(2) "Commissioner" means any person appointed to be the Agrarian Reforms Commissioner under section 18 and includes any person appointed to be the Joint Agrarian Commissioner under that section;]

(3)?? ?"defence force" means Army, Navy and Air Force of the Indian Union and includes Border Security Force, [4] [Central Reserve Police, Assam Rifles], Jammu and Kashmir Militia and Indo-Tibetan Border Force/Police;

(4) ???"demarcated forest" means a demarcated forest as defined in the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Act, Samvat 1987;

(5)?? ?"evacuees' land" means land which is evacuees' property as defined in the Jammu and Kashmir Evacuees' (Administration of Property) Act, Samvat 2006;

(6)? ?"family" means husband, his wife and their children excluding:-

(a)      a married daughter; and

 

(b)      a major son separated from his father on or before the first day of September, 1971 and holding land separately in his name;

(7)? ?"head of the family" means the husband; in case of his death, wife; where both are dead, major son, if any, included in the family; and in the absence of such major son, the guardian of the minor children;

Explanation. - Where the deceased husband has more than one wife, each wife along with her children will constitute a subordinate unit of the family having a separate head in accordance with this definition;

(8) ??"intermediary" means a tenant not cultivating land personally and includes a person claiming through him;

(9)?? ?"land" means land which was occupied, or was let, for agricultural purpose or for purposes subservient to agriculture or for pasture in Kharif, 1971 and includes-

(a)      structures on such land used for purposes connected with agriculture;

 

(b)      areas covered by, or fields floating over, water;

 

(c)      forest lands and wooded wastes;

 

(d)      trees standing on land; and

 

(e)      [5] [***]

[6] [but does not include an orchard or] site of a building or a structure within municipal area town area, notified area or village abadi or any land appurtenant to such building or structure;

(10) "orchard" means a compact area of land having fruit trees grown thereon or devoted to cultivation of fruit trees in such number that the main use to which the land is put is growing of fruits or fruit trees;

(11) "Owner" means a land-holder, as defined in the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Samvat 1996 and includes . person claiming through him;

(12) "Personal cultivation" by a person shall mean cultivation-

(a)      by the person himself; or

 

(b)      by any member of the family, if any, to which he belongs; or

 

(c)      by a khana-nishin daughter or khana-damad or a parent of the the person; or

 

(d)      by a son, adopted son or pisarparwardah, not included in the family, if, if any, to which the said person belongs; or

(e)      by brother or sister of the person; or

 

(f)       in the case of such religious or charitable institutions of public nature as are notified by the Government, by a member of the management or, on behalf of the management, by a servant or hired labourer on payment of wages otherwise than as a re of crop; or

 

(g)      in the case of a person, who is minor, insane, physically disabled or incapacitated by old age or infirmity, widow or serving in defence force, or in detention or prison, by a servant or hired labourer under the personal supervision of the guardian or any agent of such person; provided that such servant or hired labourer or guardian or agent does not bear the risk or cost of cultivation nor receives wages or remuneration as a share of crop;

Explanation. - (i) Unauthorized cultivation shall not be deemed to be personal cultivation and, where land has been occupied un-authorisedly, the person who, but for such unauthorized occupation, would have been personally cultivating such land shall be deemed to be in personal cultivation:

Provided that in case of land-

(a)      which cannot thus be deemed to be in the personal cultivation of any person; or

 

(b)      covered by section 24 of the Jammu and Kashmir Big Landed Estates Abolition Act, Samvat 2007; or

 

(c)      rights wherein have been transferred against the provisions of any law for the time being in force;

personal cultivation shall be deemed to be that of the State:

Provided further that only by reason of his having been in unauthorized cultivation, such person shall not be ineligible for allotment of land becoming surplus under this Act, including such land.

(ii) ???Where any land has been exchanged in lieu of any other land as a result of consolidation proceedings under the Jammu and Kashmir Consolidation of holdings Act, 1962, any person who was personally cultivating land, so exchanged, in Kharif, 1971 shall be deemed to have been personally cultivating, in that harvest, the land acquired in lieu of that land.

(iii) ??Where any land has been left fallow during Kharif, 1971 in normal course of agricultural husbandry, personal cultivation of such land in Kharif, 1971 shall be deemed to be of the person who personally cultivated it for three consecutive harvests prior to Kharif, 1971.

(iv)? ?Land under [7] [x x x] kah-krisham, pichi, bedzar or safedzar, land growing fuel or fodder, and unculturable or banjar land situated outside demarcated, undemarcated or berun-i-line forests, shall be deemed to be in personal cultivation of the owner.

(v)??? Patches of gair-mumkin and zeri-sayah (under the shade of trees) land existing in a survey number shall be deemed to have been in personal cultivation of the person cultivating the rest of the land in such survey number personally in Kharif, 1971.

(vi) ??Where land has been mortgaged with possession before or during Kharif, 1971 and the mortgage has not been redeemed before the commencement of this Act, the mortgagor shall, subject to the provisions of section 10, be deemed to have been personally cultivating such land in Kharif, 1971.

(vii) ?Where possession of land has been obtained temporarily on bilateral or trilateral basis or in lieu of payment of rent for purpose of transplanting saffron bulbs, in accordance with the custom known locally 'kara-korh' or 'kadawar' in saffron growing areas of Kashmir Valley, personal cultivation of such land shall be deemed to be of that person who would, but for such custom, have been cultivating it personally.

(viii) Personal cultivation by a person shall not cease to be so merely because of engagement of hired labour:

Provided that the labour so engaged is supplemental to, and not in substitution of, the labour of such person; and that such labour is paid wages in cash or kind but not in crop share.

(ix)? ?For determining the person personally cultivating land during Kharif, 1971, entries in khasra girdawari shall be presumed to be true unless the contrary is proved.

(x) ??Where a person, after having been inducted as tenant by alienee of a limited owner, has been in continuous cultivating possession of such land for not less than twenty years prior to Kharif, 1971, such person shall be deemed to be in personal cultivation of such land, any judgment, decree or order of any court or authority notwithstanding.

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

(14) "Prospective owner" means a person eligible, by or under this Act, to be vested with the rights of an owner;

(15) "Schedule" means a Schedule appended to this Act;

(16) "Standard acre" means a measure of an area convertible into an ordinary acre of land in accordance with the provisions of Schedule I;

(17) "tiller" means tenant cultivating land personally and shall mean and include a person who was tiller in Kharif, 1971 or his legal heirs or his transferee in the case of any valid transfer of land made between 1st September, 1971 and 1st May, 1973, subject to the competent Revenue Officer being satisfied about the existence of a bona fide transfer to this effect:

Explanation. - A person who migrated from his place of residence during 1965 due to unavoidable circumstances shall be deemed to be a tiller of the land thus abandoned by him if such land was in occupation of somebody else as Supard-dar under orders of a competent authority.

[8] [(18) Words and expressions not defined in this Act shall have the meaning as assigned to them in the Jammu and Kashmir Majority Act, Samvat 1977, the Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy Act, Samvat 1980, the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Samvat 1996, and the Jammu and Kashmir Displaced Persons (Permanent Settlement) Act, 1971.]

Explanation. :- For purposes of clauses (8) and (11), where a person, governed by Mitakshara School of Hindu Law, is recorded as owner or intermediary of ancestral property, his male lineal descendents in the male line of decent shall not, where he was alive on the first day of September, 1971, be deemed to be owners or intermediaries, as the case may be, of such property.]

 

Section 3 - Exceptions

The provisions of this Act, except those specified in column 2 of the sub-joined table, shall not apply to the categories of land specified in column 1 thereof:-

 

Section 3A - Occupancy tenancy of displaced persons in evacuee land

[9] [Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force, displaced persons cultivating evacuees' lands personally shall in respect thereof be deemed to be occupancy tenants and recorded as such. They shall be liable to pay rent equal to the amount of land revenue and cesses assessed thereon:

Provided that such displaced persons shall have right to transfer their right of occupancy tenancy by sale, mortgage or gift subject to the provisions of the Alienation of Land Act, and the provisions of the J&K Tenancy Act, Samvat 1980 shall not apply to such transfer.]

 

Section 4 - Vesting in the State of rights in land not held in personal cultivation

(1)     Notwithstanding contained in any law for the time being in force, but subject to the provisions of this Chapter, all rights, title and interest in land of any person, not cultivating it personally in Kharif 1971, shall be deemed to have extinguished and vested in the State, free from encumbrances, with effect from the first day of May, 1973.

 

(2)     Nothing in sub-section (1) shall apply to-

 

(a)      land held by gumpas of Ladakh District:

Provided that the rights of tenants thereof shall be heritable according to the law of succession applicable to occupancy tenants and no tenant or his successor shall be subject to payment of rent exceeding [10] [x x x ] the prevailing rent, [11] [ x x x ] whether in cash or in kind;

[12] [(b)    (i) unit of land not exceeding 182 kanals including residential sites, bedzars and safedzars; and

[13] [(ii) land] held by such places of worship, Wakfs or Dharam-shallas, as are recorded in the revenue records or [14][notified by the Government from time to time or donated for purposes of Wakaf by any person professing Islam or used as a Wakaf property]:

Provided that the rights of a tenant thereof shall be heritable according to the law of succession applicable to occupancy tenants 

[15] [xxx].

(c) ???land mentioned in Schedule II allotted to a displaced person;

Provided that:-

(i) ????such land and evacuees' land, if any, allotted to the same displaced person, is situated in more than one village; and

(ii)?? ?such displaced person cultivated personally the land in at least one village in Kharif, 1971.

 

Section 4A - Cancellation of mutation

[16] [Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force or judgment or decree of a civil court any mutation attested under sections 4 , 8 or 12 of this Act after its commencement, for any land mentioned in section 3 or sub-section (2) of section 4 by any revenue officer either on his own or in pursuance of any order of higher authority or order or judgment of a civil court shall be void, abinitio.

 

Section 5 - Vesting of personally cultivated land in excess of ceiling area in the State

(1)     Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force but subject to the provisions of this Chapter-

 

(a)      Where any land, held by an individual in personal cultivation whether as owner or as tenant or otherwise, was in excess of the ceiling area on the first day of September, 1971, the rights, title and interest of such individual in the excess land shall be deemed to have vested in the State, free from all encumbrances, on the first day of May, 1973;

 

(b)      Where aggregate land held in personal cultivation by the members of a family, whether jointly or severally, as owners or as tenants or otherwise, was in excess of the ceiling area on the first day of September, 1971, the rights, title and interest of such members in the excess land shall be deemed to have vested in the State, free from all encumbrances, on the first day of May, 1973.

 

(2)     Such individual or the head of such family, as the case may be, shall have the option of selecting, in the manner and subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed, the land such individual or family desires to retain with himself or itself, as the case may be, within the limits provided for by this Act, but no land in a demarcated forest shall be so selected:

Provided that the selection made from the holdings of different members of a family shall be proportionate to the area of land held by each member of the family, unless the wife and the husband agree otherwise.

 

Section 6 - Vesting of dwelling house and of the site thereunder and land appurtenant thereto in the State in certain cases

(1)     Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force or in any contract, instrument, custom or usage or in any judgment, decree or order of a court, but subject to the provisions of this Chapter; where

 

(a)      a dwelling house was, on the first day of September, 1971, occupied by a person who is a tiller or is a member of a scheduled caste or is a landless agricultural labourer or is a gujjar or gaddi or is a landless labourer engaged in occupation ancillary to agriculture; and

 

(b)      the site of such dwelling house and the land appurtenant thereto is not owned by such person;

the rights, title and interest in such dwelling house and the sight thereunder and land appurtenant thereto shall be deemed to have extinguished and vested in the State on the first day of May, 1973:

Provided that rights, title and interest in such dwelling house shall not vest in the State where it has been built at the expense of such person or any of his predecessors-in-interest:

Provided further that where such person has been occupation of such dwelling house for a continuous period of ten years on the date of commencement of this Act, he shall be deemed to have acquired ownership of such dwelling house in lieu of service rendered by him to the owner of land under and appurtenant to such dwelling house.

(2)     The area under and appurtenant to such dwelling house as is mentioned in sub-section (1) shall not, along with the area under and appurtenant to a building in municipal area or town area or notified area or village abadi and such land as is exempted by clauses (j) and (1) of section 3, exceed in the aggregate four kanals for such person and all the members of the family, if any, to which he belongs.

 

Section 7 - Resumption for bona fide personal cultivation by ex-landlord

(1)     Subject to the provisions of this section-

 

(a)      an individual, whose rights in land have been extinguished by section 4 and who was entitled to recover rent in Kharif, 1971 directly from the tiller, may resume land outside demarcated forests for purposes of bonafide personal cultivation;

 

(b)      where rights in land of one or more than one member of a family have been extinguished by section 4 and such member or members were entitled to recover rent in Kharif, 1971 directly from the tiller, such member or members may resume land for bona fide personal cultivation;

 

(c)      a displaced person allotted evacuees land or land included in Schedule II, who is not cultivating such land personally, may resume such land for bona fide personal cultivation.

 

(2)     Resumption of land permitted by sub-section (1) shall be subject to the following conditions, namely:-

 

(a)      the application for resumption shall be made in the prescribed manner within [17] [one year] of the commencement of this Act;

 

(b)      the applicant for resumption, shall [18] [within six months from the date of resumption of land] take up normal residence for the purpose of cultivating such land personally in the village in which the land sought to be resumed is situated or in an adjoining village [19] [except in the case of-

(i) ???a person serving in defence force, who shall take up such normal residence for personal cultivation within six months of the date on which he ceases to serve in defence force; or

(ii)?? ?a widow or a person who is physically disabled or incapacitated by old age or infirmity]:

Provided that in the case of land situated in an un-inhabited village on or near the border, such residence shall be taken up within the period indicated above in the nearest inhabited village or in the adjoining village:

Provided further that a displaced person, who has been allotted land in more than one village, shall take up such residence in any one of such villages or in the adjoining village:

[20] [Provided also that a person who is minor or insane shall take up such residence within six months of the date on which he attains the majority or attains sanity.].

(c)      land held by a tiller paying rent at village rates (hasab-partadeh) with or without malikana or by a tiller, who is an occupancy tenant, shall not be resumed;

 

(d)      no person, who or any member of whose family, if any, is an income tax payer, shall be eligible to resume any land;

 

(e)      the person who has transferred land by sale or gift or bequest on or after first day of September, 1971 shall not be eligible to resume land if the land so transferred was personally cultivated by him prior to such transfer;

 

(f)       the extent of land that may be resumed shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), be determined in the following manner, namely:-

(i)?? ?Where a person entitled, as according to records, to rent in kind, from the tiller during Kharif, 1971, the extent of land that may be resumed shall bear the same proportion to the total land comprising the tenancy as the rest in kind bears to the total produce;

(ii) ??Where a person was entitled, as according to records, to rent in cash during Kharif, 1971, the extent of land resumable by such person shall be regulated by the extent of rent in kind to which such rent in cash can be commuted in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (3) and (8) of section 9;

(iii) ??a person serving in defence force on or after the 1st day of April, 1965, [21] [an ex-serviceman of the defence force] or a widow or an orphan who is minor or a lunatic or an imbecile, or an insane person who is crippled or incapacitated by old age or infirmity, shall be permitted to resume land twenty per centum in excess of the land otherwise resumable under sub-clauses (i) or (ii).

[22] [(g) no person, who or any member of his family holds an orchard exceeding one hundred kanals, shall be eligible to resume land].

(3)     The aggregate land that a person resuming land shall hold in personal cultivation, after resumption, along with other members of the family, if any, to which he belongs, shall not exceed 6.50 standard acres where such person belongs to the category of persons mentioned in sub-clause (iii) of sub-section(2) and five standard acres in other cases:

[23] [Provided that an ex-serviceman of the defence force or a person serving in defence force shall be allowed to hold one additional standard acre over and above the ceiling fixed in this sub-section;

Provided further that in the case of a person eligible to resume land under clause (g) of sub-section (2), the aggregate land including the orchard held by him shall not exceed one hundred kanals.].

(4)     The person resuming the land under this section shall be vested with ownership rights in such land, other than evacuees' land, and he shall be placed in possession thereof, after the tiller removes the crop, if any, standing on such land and, where no crop is standing but the land has been prepared for sowing, after such tiller is paid therefore in the prescribed manner.

 

(5)     Where any person resuming land under this section fails to cultivate the land personally within one year of entering into possession, such land shall vest in the State, except where such failure is due to circumstances beyond his control.

 

(6)     The identity of the land to be resumed shall be determined by a Revenue Officer, in the prescribed manner, having regard to the reasonable convenience of both the parties:

Provided that land under and appurtenant to a dwelling house mentioned in section 6 shall not be resumed.

Explanation. - For the purposes of this sub-section, the land under and appurtenant to the dwelling house shall not, along with the land exempted by clauses (j) and (1) of section 3 and land under and appurtenant to a building or structure in a municipal area, town area, notified area or village abadi, exceed four kanals for a family.

(7)     No resumption by consent shall be permissible if, as a result of such consent, the ex-landlord is able to resume more land than he is entitled to according to the provisions of this section.

 

Section 8 - Vesting of ownership rights in land in prospective owner

(1)     Notwithstanding contained in any law, for the time being in force, but subject to the provisions of sections 5 and 14, where an ex-landlord resumes land under section 7, the tiller, from whom land is so resumed, or his legal heirs shall be vested with ownership rights in land left with him or his heirs, as the case may be, after resumption in the following manner, namely:-

 

(a)      Where the ex-landlord resumes the entire land permissible under clause (f) of sub-section (2) of section 7, without payment of any levy and as soon as the ex-landlord is given possession of resumed land; and

 

(b)      Where the ex-landlord does not resume the entire land permitted by clause (f) of sub-section (2) of section 7 because of the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 7:-

(i)?? ?after payment of such levy in such manner as is provided in Schedule III for the portion of such land which, though resumable by such ex-landlord under clause (f) of sub-section (2) of section 7, is not resumed because of the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 7; and

(ii)?? ?without payment of any levy and after the ex-landlord is given possession of the resumed land, for the portion of such land left with such tiller other than that mentioned in sub-clause (i).

(2)     Notwithstanding anything contained in any law, for the time being in force, but subject to the provisions of sections 5 and 14, where an ex-owner/ex-intermediary does not or cannot resume any land, the tiller of Kharif, 1971 holding land under him shall be vested with ownership rights in such land after payment in full of such levy in such manner as is provided for in Schedule III.

 

(3)     A person mentioned in sub-section (1) of section 6, occupying a dwelling house vested in the State under section 6, shall, subject to the conditions mentioned in sub-section (2) of the said section 6, be vested with ownership rights in such dwelling house and the land under and appurtenant to it, on payment of such levy in such manner as is provided for in schedule III, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force.

 

(4)     Where such land as is mentioned in sub-section (10 has been or is declared for acquisition by the Government under any law for the time being in force and the prospective owner thereof has not acquired ownership rights until the date of such declaration, vesting of ownership rights in such land in such person shall not be effective and the instalments of levy, if any, paid shall be refunded to such person in lump sum with interest at five per centum per annum.

Section 9 - Payment of rent by the tiller

(1)     A tiller shall, in respect of land vested in the State by section 4, pay to the State rent, which was payable by him to the ex-landlord prior to the first day of May, 1973 in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, until such land is resumed under section 7 or until such tiller acquires ownership rights therein under section 8.

 

(2)     The Government shall arrange to pay such rent in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, after deducting therefrom ten per centum of the cash equivalent thereof as collection charges to the ex-landlord, or to the person claiming through him, until such time as is specified in sub-section (1).

 

(3)     The Government shall notify from time to time the cash equivalent of different types of agricultural produce for purposes of this section.

 

(4)     Where the ex-landlord mentioned in sub-section (1) was an intermediary holding land, prior to the first day of may, 1973, under an owner, nothing herein shall be deemed to affect the liability of such intermediary to pay rent (after deducting therefrom the share of collection charges calculated on pro-rata basis) to such ex-owner for such land, and such rent shall, after such deduction, be payable by such ex-intermediary to such ex-owner as if their rights had not been extinguished by section 4, and provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir tenancy Act, Samvat 1980 relating to recovery of rent shall apply thereto.

 

(5)     The right of ex-intermediary or ex-owner to recover rent for land from the State or from such ex-intermediary, as the case may be, shall be heritable according to the law of succession that was applicable to him before the extinguishment of rights in such land and shall also be transferable subject to the provisions of section 31.

 

(6)     The liability for payment of land revenue together with cesses and dues payable under any law or rule, for the time being in force of an ex-owner of land shall continue during the period he is entitled to recover from the government or from the ex-intermediary, as the case may be, rent under this section, and for purposes of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, 1996 such ex-owner shall be deemed to be a land-holder.

 

(7)     Arrears of rent accrued due from the first day of May, 1973, up to the date of commencement of this Act shall also be recoverable by the Government from the tillers in such form as may be notified and paid to the ex-landlord after deducting ten per centum as collection charges.

 

(8)     Where rent was recoverable in kind prior to the first day of May, 1973, the following rates of produce shall be assumed for purposes of calculating rent recoverable from the prospective owner under this section, namely:-

(i) ???Where the prospective owner and the ex-owner agree, the rates of produce so agreed upon by them;

(ii)? ?Where there is no agreement between the prospective owner and the ex-owner, chakla rates;

(iii) ??Where complaint is made to a Revenue Officer that chakla rates are higher than actual rates of produce, the rates of produce that shall be determined by the Collector after summary enquiry; and

(iv) ??Where chakla rates are not available, the rates that shall be notified by the Government after necessary enquiry.

 

Section 10 - Mortgages of land

(1)     Where land, which has vested or vests in the State by section 4 or section 5 or section 6, is subject to mortgage without possession and the mortgage subsists on the date when, in lieu of extinguishment of rights in such land, payment is to be made in accordance with the provisions of Schedule III, the mortgagee shall be paid such amount, in such manner and in accordance with such procedure, as is provided in the aforementioned Schedule, anything to the contrary contained in any law, decree or order of a Court or any contract notwithstanding.

(2)     Where land is subject to mortgage with possession and the mortgage subsists on the date of commencement of this Act, the restitution of such land shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any law, decree or order of a Court or a Revenue Officer or any contract, be effected in the manner and according to the procedure given below, namely:-

 

(a)      The mortgagor may apply for restitution of such land to the Collector, having jurisdiction in the area in which it is situate. The Collector shall, on receipt of such application give an opportunity to the mortgagor and the mortgagee of being heard and make such further enquiry as may be necessary;

 

(b)      (i) Where the Collector finds that the value of benefits enjoyed by the mortgagee equals or exceeds the cost of improvements, if any, effected by such mortgagee, in accordance with the terms of the mortgage deed, plus one and a half times the amount of the principal money, he shall, by order in writing, direct that the mortgage be redeemed and shall put the mortgagor in physical possession of the land;

(ii) Where the Collector finds that the value of benefits enjoyed by the mortgagee, while in possession, is less than the cost of improvements, if any, effected by such mortgagee in accordance with the terms of the mortgage deed, plus one and a half times the amount of the principal money, he shall, by order in writing, direct that the mortgaged land be restored to the mortgagor and he be put in possession thereof subject, however, to the payment of amount, if any, due to the mortgagee:

Provided that, in calculating the amount due, interest shall be charged only on the principal money, at a rate not higher than 5% per annum:

Provided further that in no case shall the principal sum plus interest thereon exceed one and a half times the principal money:

Provided also that where the mortgagee has been in possession of the mortgaged land for a period of ten years or the period during which the mortgage was to subsist according to the terms of the mortgage deed, whichever is less, it shall be conclusive proof of the fact that the mortgagee has received one and a half times the amount of principal money as well as the cost of improvements, if any.

(a)      Where the Collector finds that any sum is due to the mortgagee under clause (b), he may order the deposit of the amount found due from the mortgagor in such annual instalments, not exceeding ten, as the Collector may, with due regard to the paying capacity of the mortgagor, deem fit.

 

(b)      In determining the amount due, the Collector shall give credit to the mortgagor for the value of the benefits to be enjoyed by the mortgagee during the period covered by the instalments.

 

(c)      The Collector may order that, in lieu of the deposit of the amount found due, the mortgagee shall enjoy the profits of the mortgaged land for a period to be determined by the Collector with due regard to the amount found due and the profits accruing from the land:

Provided that such period shall not exceed ten years or the period during which the mortgage was to subsist, according to the terms of the mortgage deed, whichever is less, reckoned from the date the mortgagee came into possession of the land under the mortgage.

(d)      The mortgagor shall be deemed to have complied with the order of deposit if the whole of the amount found due is deposited within the period covered by instalments.

 

Section 11 - Payment in lieu of extinguishment of rights in land

Subject to the other provisions of this Chapter, land and rights therein taken away or abridged by section 4 or section 5 or section 6 shall be deemed to have been acquired by the State with effect from the date such land or rights are vested in it and payment in lieu thereof shall be determined and made in accordance with the provisions of Schedule III:

Provided that where an ex-landlord resumes land, he shall not be entitled to any payment in lieu of extinguishment of his rights in the land, remaining after resumption with the tiller, except for the area of land, if any, by which the area actually allowed to be resumed under sub-section (3) of section 7 falls short of the area that was resumable under clause (f) of sub-section (2) of section 7 and the right of such ex-landlord to recover rent under section 9 shall cease, except to the extent indicated above, as soon as he is given possession of resumed land:

Provided further that where any land is held by a person in personal cultivation he shall be entitled to compensation for his rights in any portion of such land, as is within the ceiling area applicable to him under any law for the time being in force or any building or structure standing thereon or appurtenant thereto, at the market value thereof.

 

Section 12 - Private agreement

Where an ex-owner of land, or, if such ex-owner had an intermediary under him prior to the first day of May, 1973, such ex-owner and such ex-intermediary jointly, and the prospective owner of such land by an agreement in writing, duly registered under the Jammu and Kashmir Registration Act, 1977 or authenticated by a Revenue Officer of a class not lower than a Tehsildar-

(a)      respectively acknowledge receipt and payment of an agreed amount; and/or

 

(b)      admit having apportioned such land as between themselves in an agreed manner and having entered into possession of their respective shares in accordance therewith;

such payment or such apportionment of land or both, as the case may be, shall be given due effect and shall relieve the State of its liability to make payment to such person and also relieve the prospective owner of his liability to pay levy to the State:

Provided that in case of apportionment of land the ex-landlord shall not have in his share more land than could be resumed by him under clause (f) of sub-section (2) of section 7, if he were otherwise eligible to resume land.

 

Section 13 - Restriction on utilization of land

(1)     After the commencement of this Act no person shall hold land, otherwise than for personal cultivation (except where tenancy is permitted by this Act), or for residential purposes up to [24] [two] kanals per family or, subject to the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Prohibition on Conversion of Land and Alienation of Orchards Act, 1975, for horticultural purposes or with the previous permission of the revenue Minister or any officer nominated by him in this behalf for industrial or commercial purposes:

Provided that land recorded as orchard, arak, kap, kah-i-krisham or of a class notified under clause (f) of section 3 shall not be put to any use other than such orchard or arak, kap, kah-i-krisham or for growing fodder or fuel, as the case may be, subject to the second proviso to sub-section (1) of section 15 in the case of orchard:

Provided further that where land, not exceeding half a kanal in area, is used as a gharat or a chakki or shop, or for such other purpose relating to rural economy, no permission shall be needed.

(2)     Except as otherwise provided in this Act, no tenancy created or continued after the first day of May, 1973 in respect of any land shall be valid.

 

(3)     Rights, title and interests in land of any person who, except for reasons beyond his control, fails to utilise the land in accordance with, or utilises land in contravention of, the provisions of sub-section sec.(1) or lets land to a tenant in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (2) shall, after such enquiry, as may be prescribed, vest in the State.

 

Section 14 - Optimum retainable area of land

[25] [(1) Save as provided in clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 4 of this Act, aggregate land held in ownership or as tenant or otherwise by, or vested under this Act in, an individual or all members of a family shall not exceed the ceiling area.]

(2) ??Where, after the first day of September, 1971, any land has been or is acquired by any such place of worship or waqf or dharamshala or public trust or institution or individual or member as is mentioned in sub-section (1) by purchase, gift, bequest, inheritance, mortgage, family settlement, decree or order of a court or by any other mode whatsoever and, in consequence thereof, the total extent of land owned by such place of worship or waqf or dharamshala or public trust or institution or individual or family, exceeds the limit provided for in sub-section (1), the retention or possession of such land, as may be in excess, shall be invalid and all rights, title and interest in such excess land shall extinguish and vest in the State.

 

Section 15 - Disposal of surplus land

(1)     The Government shall be competent, subject to the provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3), to dispose of land, vested or which may vest in the State under this Act and become surplus and land, which is available under sub-section (2) of section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Big Landed Estates Abolition Act, Samvat 2007, in consideration of such levy as is provided for in schedule III and subject to such terms and conditions (including those relating to reservation of adequate land for kahcharai) and in such manner, as may be prescribed, anything contained in any law for the time being in force notwithstanding:

Provided that [26] [***] arak, kap, kah-i-krisham and such areas growing fuel or fodder as are notified under clause (f) of section 3 shall continue to be used as such [27] [***] arak, kap, kah-i-krisham or for growing fuel or fodder, as the case may be:

Provided further that where the Government is satisfied that any land under use as an orchard has ceased to be fit for such continued use, the Government may permit alternative use of such land subject to the condition that any excess area allowed beyond the normal ceiling of 12.5 standard acres on the consideration of land being used as an orchard, shall vest in the State and be subject to disposal by the State in the manner provided under this Act.

(2)     The land becoming surplus under this Act shall be allotted according to the priorities given below, namely:-

 

(a)      first priority shall be given to tillers having less than the basic area of 2.5 standard acres;

 

(b)      second priority shall be given to ex-owners having less than the basic area of 2.5 standard acres;

 

(c)      third priority shall be given to refugees of 1947 having less than 2.5 standard acres and having no other source of income;

 

(d)      fourth priority shall be given to landless agricultural labourers:

Provided that the landless persons of the same locality shall have priority of claim over those residing outside such locality;

(e)      fifth priority shall be given to refugees of 1947 having more than 2.5 standard acres, but less than five standard acres; provided that all the members of the family of such refugee are actually engaged in agriculture and reside in the village in which the land is situate.

 

(3)     In each category of eligible allottees mentioned in sub-section (2), everything else being equal.-

 

(a)      first preference shall be given to person serving in defence force;

 

(b)      second preference shall be given to persons who were serving in defence force on or after the first day of April, 1965;

 

(c)      third preference shall be given to gujjars and bakarwals; and

 

(d)      last preference shall be given to other applicants.

 

(4)     Only so much of surplus land shall be allotted to any eligible allottee which along with the basic area already held by such allottee, adds up to 2.5 standard acres in the case of allottees falling under clauses (a), (b), (c) and (d) of sub-section (2) and five standard acres in the case of allottees falling under clause (e) of the aforementioned sub-section.

[28] [(4-a) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this section, the Government shall be competent to give first priority to the refugees of 1947 in the allotment of surplus land for making up the deficiencies in the unit of land prescribed under any of the orders issued by it in this behalf:

Provided that the aggregate land shall not exceed the ceiling area].

(5)     The person allotted land under this section shall be entitled to acquire ownership rights of such land on payment of such levy in such manner as is mentioned in Part C of Schedule III.

Explanation. - For purpose of this section, "basic area", in reference to a person, shall mean the aggregate area of land, held as owner or as tenant or otherwise, by a person and other members of his family, if any, as it existed, in respect of refugees of 1947, in the year of allotment in each individual case subject to such date being not later than the first day of September, 1950, and, in case of others, on the first day of May, 1973.

 

Section 16 - Liability during interim period

Where land is held by a person-

(a)      under sub-section (2) of section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Big Landed Estates abolition Act, Samvat 2007; or

 

(b)      in personal cultivation as owner or as tenant or allottee directly under the State whose rights, title and interest therein have been extinguished by section 5;

such person shall be liable, in respect of such land from the date of commencement of this Act until the entry into possession of the allottee of such land in pursuance of its disposal under this Act, to payment of rent to the Government at the rate of forty times the sum of the land revenue assessed on, and cesses and other charges and dues payable for, such land under any law for the time being in force.

 

Section 17 - Omitted

17. Prohibition on transfer of land

[29] [***]

Section 18 - Appointment, superintendence and control of Revenue Officers

[30] [(1) There shall be following class of officers for the purposes of this Act who shall be appointed by the Government, by notification in the Government Gazette, namely:-

(a)      Commissioner Agrarian Reforms and Joint Commissioner Agrarian Reforms;

 

(b)      Collector;

 

(c)      Assistant Commissioner;

 

(d)      Tehsildar; and

 

(e)      Naib-Tehsildar.

Every officer appointed by the Government under this sub-section shall be deemed to be a Revenue Officer within the meaning of section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Samvat 1996 and shall exercise such powers within such jurisdiction as the Government may, by notification in the Government gazette, specify].

(2) ??The general superintendence and control over such Revenue Officers shall vest with the Government.

(3) ???Subject to the control of the Government, the Collectors, Assistant Commissioners, Tehsildars and Naib-Tehsildars shall be subordinate to and under the control of the Commissioner.

(4) ???Subject as aforesaid and to the control of the Commissioner, the Assistant Commissioner, the Tehsildar and Naib-Tehsildar shall be subordinate to and under the control of the Collector.

(5) ??Subject as aforesaid and to the control of the Collector, the Tehsildars and Naib-Tehsildars shall be subordinate to and under the control of the Assistant Commissioner.

(6)? ?Subject as aforesaid and to the control of Assistant Commissioner, the Naib-Tehsildar shall be subordinate to and under the control of the Tehsildar.

 

Section 19 - Powers of Revenue Officers

(1)     Unless the class of revenue Officers, by whom any function is to be discharged or any power is to be exercised, is specified by or under this Act, the Government may, by notification, determine the functions to be discharged or the powers to be exercised under this Act by any class of Revenue Officers.

(2)     The manner and procedure for the performance of duties, the exercise and conferment of powers, distribution of business and withdrawal and transfer of cases under this Act shall, save as otherwise provided by or under this Act, be regulated by the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Samvat 1996 and the rules made thereunder.

 

(3)     The following applications, suits and proceedings shall be disposed of by a Collector:-

 

(a)      proceedings under section 56 of the Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy Act, Samvat 1980;

 

(b)      proceedings under sub-section (2) of section 68-A of the Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy Act, Samvat 1980;

 

(c)      proceedings under section 24 of the Jammu and Kashmir Big Landed Estates Abolition Act, Samvat 2007;

 

(d)      application by an owner or an intermediary that the person, who claims to be cultivating the land as a tenant, is not a tenant but a trespasser;

[31] [(e) all other cases of dispute including those where the party in possession pleads adverse possession against the recorded owner/intermediary].

(4)     Any application, suit or proceeding of the kind mentioned in sub-section (3), pending at the commencement of this Act before a Revenue Officer subordinate to a Collector or any Civil or Revenue Court, shall be transferred to the Collector having jurisdiction in the place in which the land in dispute is situate.

[32] [(5) Any application, suit or proceeding relating to cases specified in clause (e) of sub-section (3) which, immediately before the commencement of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms (Amendment) Act, 1988 were pending before any Civil Court, shall, on such commencement, stand transferred to the Collector having jurisdiction over the area in which the land in dispute is situate, and the Collector shall in his capacity as the appellate or revisional authority, as the case may be, dispose of the same in accordance with the provisions of this Act].

Section 20 - Special powers of officers

The Revenue Officers and the appellate and the revisional authorities, appointed by or under this Act, shall have all the powers of a Civil Court while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, Samvat 1977 in respect of the following matters, namely:-

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

 

(b)      production and recovery of documents;

 

(c)      proof of facts by affidavits; and

 

(d)      any other matter which may be prescribed;

and every such officer or authority shall be deemed to be a Civil Court within the meaning of sections 480 and 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Samvatl989.

 

Section 21 - Appeals and revisions

(1)     Any person aggrieved by a final order of a Collector or a Revenue Officer of a class lower than that of a Collector may prefer an appeal to the Commissioner having jurisdiction in the area to which the appeal relates.

[33] [(2) The Revenue Minister may at any time call for the record of any case in which a Tehsildar or an Assistant Commissioner has passed orders in respect of evacuees land or State land or of any case in which Commissioner has passed final order and if he finds that a question of law or public interest is involved in the case, he may pass such orders thereon as he thinks fit:

Provided that no order shall be passed against any party without affording that party an opportunity of being heard.].

(3) ???No application for review shall lie against any order passed under this Act or the rules made thereunder, but clerical or arithmetical mistakes in orders or errors arising therein from any accidental slip or omission may, at any time, be corrected by the authority which has made such order.

(4) ???First appeal against a final order passed under the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1972 or the rules framed thereunder pending at the commencement of this Act shall be transferred to the Commissioner having jurisdiction in the area to which such appeal relates and the Commissioner shall thereupon dispose of such appeal in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(5) ???Second appeal against a final order pending before the Financial Commissioner or any revision against a final order pending before the Revenue Minister under the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1972 or the rules framed thereunder shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this Act by the Revenue Minister, the second appeal before the Financial Commissioner being treated as an application for revision under this Act.

(6) ???Any appeal or revision against any other order passed under the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1972 or the rules framed thereunder, pending at the commencement of this Act, shall abate, but nothing herein shall deprive any aggrieved party from contesting such order in an appeal or a revision against a final order that may be assed in the proceedings from which such appeal or revision had arisen.

(7)   (a) Where in an appeal or revision, an application for stay is made, the appellate or the revisional authority, as the case may be, shall in all cases, except where it appears that the object of granting stay would be defeated by the delay, before granting the stay, direct notice of the application for the same to be given to the opposite party

(b) Where the appellate or revisional authority grants a stay, such stay shall be granted on such terms as to the duration thereof, keeping an account, giving security or otherwise as the authority thinks fit.

(8) ??A stay granted by an appellate or a revisional authority in an appeal or revision shall, in case where such appeal or revision stands transferred by sub-section (4) to the Commissioner or by sub-section (5) to the Revenue Minister, stand vacated after a period of twenty days from the date of such transfer unless such stay is in the meanwhile re-affirmed in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (7).

 

Section 22 - Limitation for appeals

(1)     The period of limitation shall be sixty days in the case of an appeal from the date of the order appealed from:

Provided that the period of limitation relating to cases in the district of Ladakh, in the sub-division of Gurez, in Machhil Illaqa of Tehsil Kupwara and Tehsil Karnah in the district of Baramulla, in Tehsil Gool Gulabgarh, in Niabat Panchari of Tehsil Udhampur, in the territorial jurisdiction of Police Station, Dudoo Basantgarh and Bermen and Gobin Illaqas of Tehsil Ramnagar and in the Thakra Kote and Nagote Illaqas of Tehsil Reasi in the district of Udhampur; in Tehsil Budhal in the district of Rajouri; in Niabat Banni in the district of Kathua; and in the Marew, Warwan and Paddar Illaqas of Kishtwar in the district of Doda; and such other areas as may be notified by the Government shall be one hundred and twenty days.

(2)     Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (1), the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Limitation Act, Samvat 1995 shall apply to appeals under this Act:

Provided that notwithstanding anything contained in section 9 of the Jammu and Kashmir Limitation Act, Samvat 1995, the period intervening 25th March, 1975 and the commencement of this Act shall be excluded in computing the period of limitation applicable to appeals.

 

Section 23 - Inquiries and proceedings to be judicial proceedings

All inquiries and proceedings before a revenue Officer or authority appointed by or under this Act, or the rules made thereunder, shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of sections 193, 219 and 228 of the Jammu and Kashmir State Ranbir Penal Code, 1989.

 

Section 24 - Persons by whom appearances and applications may be made before a Revenue Officer

(1)     Appearances and applications may be made and acts done before a Revenue Officer by a person either personally or through an authorized agent:

Provided that no legal practitioner shall appear as such as an authorised agent in any proceedings under this Act, or rules made thereunder, except before a Collector or an appellate or a revisional authority.

(2)     Appearances may be put, applications made and acts done before a revenue Officer, or any authority, acting under this Act, on behalf of a family by the head of such family.

[34] [(3) When the appellate or the revisional authority, as the case may be, is holding office in a province other than the one to which the appeal or revision pertains, for revision may be presented, before a local revenue Officer not below the rank of a Tehsildar for transmission to such appellate or revisional authority:

Provided that an appeal or application relating to the district of Ladakh may always be presented before a local Revenue Officer not below the rank of a Tehsildar for transmission to the appellate or revisional authority, as the case may be].

 

Section 25 - Bar of jurisdiction of Civil Court

Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force-

(a)      no Civil Court shall have jurisdiction to settle, decide or deal with any question or to determine any matter arising under this Act or the rules made thereunder; and

 

(b)      no order of any officer or authority passed under this Act or the rules made thereunder shall be called in question in any Civil Court [35] [xxx].

 

Section 26 - Encroachment on State land and land reserved for grazing purposes

(1)     Subject to the provisions of sub-section (3)-

 

(a)      Where a person has unauthorisedly raised an orchard or a plantation of trees on State land or land reserved for grazing purposes, the Collector shall by notice direct such person, either to give in exchange for such land an equal area (in terms of standard acres) held or acquired by him as owner or to abandon possession of such land, within a period of six months:

Provided that the land so given in exchange is suitable for grazing purposes and easement rights for the land are also conferred in such manner that the land can be used for grazing purposes.

(b)      Where such person fails to comply with the direction given under clause (a), such orchard or plantation of trees shall be attached by the Collector, after giving such person an opportunity of being heard, and shall thereafter be transferred by him in ownership rights to any other person, who offers land owned by him in exchange for such orchard or plantation equal to it in area in terms of standard acres, and also pays such sum of money as price of trees standing thereon as shall be determined in the prescribed manner, and the Collector may auction, during the period of such attachment, the produce of such orchard or plantation.

 

(2)     The cost of attachment and auction under clause (b) of subsection (1) shall be recovered from the person so raising the orchard or plantation or the person claiming through him.

 

(3)     Unauthorised occupation of State land reserved for grazing purpose, not exceeding two kanals in area, as on the date of commencement of this Act, by a person, including other members of the family, if any, to which he belongs, not holding any other land or dwelling house, shall not be disturbed:

Provided that the right of easement enjoyed by any other person shall not thereby be interfered with.

 

Section 27 - Implementation of the provisions of the Act

(1)     A Revenue Officer may take or cause to be taken such steps and use or cause to be used such force as may, in the opinion of such officer, be necessary to implement the transfer of, eviction from or delivery of possession of, land under this Act, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force.

 

(2)     Any person unauthorisedly occupying, or wrongfully in possession of any land-

 

(a)      the transfer or acquisition of which, either by the act of the parties or by the operation of law, is invalid under the provisions of this Act; or

 

(b)      to the use and occupation of which he is not entitled under any provision of this Act; may be summarily evicted by a Revenue Officer.

 

(3)     At any time after the commencement of this Act it shall be lawful for a Revenue Officer or authority to enter upon any land and make or cause to be made any survey including measurements and do any other act which he considers necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

 

Section 28 - Rights and liabilities of prospective owner

(1)     Notwithstanding anything contained in any law-

 

(a)      a prospective owner of land eligible by or under this Act to acquire ownership rights in land under his personal cultivation shall continue to have all rights and be subject to all liabilities (including the payment to the State of the rent which was payable by him to the ex-landlord before the commencement of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1972) as a tenant under the Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy Act, 1990, until he is vested with ownership rights in such land:

Provided that he shall be governed by the rules of succession applicable to the occupancy tenants until he becomes owner of such land;

(b)      no prospective owner of land shall, [36] [save as otherwise provided in the proviso to clause (a) or in this clause] transfer his rights in such land by sale, gift, exchange, mortgage, will or by any other means whatsoever, and any transfer of such rights made after the first day of May, 1973 shall be null and void and such rights shall vest in the State and such prospective owner and his transferee shall, after being given an opportunity of being heard, be dispossessed of such land by a Revenue Officer [37] [xxxj:

[38] [Provided that a prospective owner shall have the right to transfer land in the form of simple mortgage subject to the provisions of the Alienation of Land Act, for securing loan to liquidate the amount of levy payable by him under this Act; and]

(c)      no document purporting to effect transfer by a prospective owner of his rights in land shall be admitted to registration [39] [except in respect of transfers effected under the proviso to clause (b) of this section].

 

Section 28A - Prohibition on transfer of certain lands

[40] [(1) No person who is vested with ownership rights in land under this Act shall transfer such land or rights therein in any manner whatsoever to any person other than the Government of Jammu and Kashmir:

Provided that such owner shall have the right to transfer land in the form of simple mortgage subject to the provisions of the Alienation of Land Act, Samvat 1995 for securing loan for purposes of improvement of the land.

(2) ???Any transfer of land or rights therein made in contravention of sub-section (1) shall be null and void. The person who has contravened the provisions of sub-section (1) shall after being given an opportunity of being heard, be dispossessed of such land by a Revenue Officer not below the rank of Tehsildar and the land shall vest in the State and shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of section 15].

Section 29 - Indemnity

No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against any officer or authority in respect of anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.

 

Section 30 - Wrong or excess payment recoverable as arrears of land revenue

If for any reason any amount not due to him or in excess of the amount due to him has been paid under this Act or the rules made thereunder to any person, such amount or, as the case may be, the amount in excess shall be recoverable from such person as arrears of land revenue under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Samvat 1996.

 

Section 31 - [Omitted]

[41] [***].

 

Section 32 - Act to over-ride other laws

The provisions of this Act and the rules made and instructions issued thereunder shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in any other law or any custom or usage or in any contract, express or implied, or in any instrument inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.

 

Section 33 - Power to issue instructions

The Revenue Minister may, from time to time, issue such instructions not inconsistent with this Act, or the rules made thereunder, as he may consider necessary for purposes of implementing the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder.

 

Section 34 - Recoveries

All costs incurred in attachment and auction proceedings under section 26, all fines imposed on a person and all arrears of rent due to the State by or under this Act shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue.

 

Section 35 - Transfer to defeat provisions of this law

Where, on or after the first day of September, 1971, any land has been transferred by act of parties or in compliance with a decree or order of a Court or a Revenue Officer or by the operation of any other Act, and the transfer [42] [x x x] has the effect of defeating the provisions of this Act, the land so transferred shall be deemed to have been retained by the person who held such land immediately before such transfer for purposes of calculating the area retainable under this Act by him, anything to the contrary contained in this Act notwithstanding.

 

Section 36 - Declaration of restrictions imposed to be reasonable

For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that restrictions imposed by section 28 and [43] [x x x] on the rights conferred by clause (1) of Article 19 of the Constitution of India as applicable to the State shall be deemed to be reasonable restrictions.

 

Section 37 - Penalty for failure to furnish or for furnishing false return

(1)     If any person, who is under an obligation to furnish any return or information by or under this Act, refuses or except for reasons beyond his control, fails to furnish the return or information within the prescribed time, or furnishes any return or information which he knows or has reason to believe to be false, he shall be punished by a Revenue Officer with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees.

 

(2)     Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), where any such person fails to furnish the return or furnishes a false return, the Revenue Officer may, after giving him an opportunity of being heard, by an order, giving reasons therefore, himself prepare the return for such person and such return shall for all purposes, be deemed to be the return furnished by such person.

 

Section 38 - Penalty for contravention of any lawful order

(1)     If any person contravenes any provision of, or any lawful order passed under, this Act or the rules made thereunder, or obstructs any person from lawfully taking possession of any land under any provision of this Act, or the rules made thereunder, he shall be punished by a Revenue Officer with fine which shall not be less than one thousand rupees:

Provided that in case of felling or removal of trees, in contravention of the provisions of this Act, the amount of fine for each tree so felled or removed shall be an amount which may extend to rupees five hundred.

(2)     If any person, having lawfully entered into or upon land under the provisions of this Act, is dispossessed of such land by any person, otherwise than in due course of law, the person so dispossessing shall be punished by a Revenue Officer with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees but which shall not be less than two thousand rupees.

 

(3)     Any punishment imposed under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) upon any person shall not protect such person from any other criminal or civil liability under any other law for the time being in force.

 

Section 39 - Penalty for damaging land

If any person willfully does or causes to be done any act likely to damage any land, the land so damaged shall be included within the ceiling area to which such person, along with other members of his family, if any, is entitled.

 

Section 40 - Power to make rules

(1)     The Government may make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.

 

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

 

(a)      procedure for ascertainment of the person holding, or deemed by this Act to have held, land in personal cultivation;

 

(b)      procedure for making records in respect of lands held in excess of the ceiling area and the extent, the identity and the nature of rights held in such land;

 

(c)      ascertainment, determination and disposal of the excess land or interest therein acquired under this Act;

 

(d)      the procedure for the disposal of surplus land, or interest therein, under section 15;

 

(e)      the matter in which option of selecting land under this Act is exercised;

 

(f)       the classification, distribution, withdrawal and transfer of cases or classes of cases among various officers and authorities under this Act;

 

(g)      the manner in which extinguishment and acquisition of rights in land by or under this Act are to be effected;

 

(h)     the preparation of the forms of any notice, return, or other document whatsoever;

 

(i)       procedure regarding appeals and revisions and matters connected therewith;

 

(j)       procedure for resumption and other proceedings and enquiries under this Act; and

 

(k)      matters other than those referred to in the foregoing clauses which are expressly required by this Act to be prescribed.

 

(3)     Any rule made under this Act may provide that contravention thereof shall be punished by a Revenue Officer with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees.

 

Section 41 - Succession

Save as otherwise expressly provided, nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect the personal or statutory law of succession in respect of ownership rights applicable to a person.

 

Section 42 - Inapplicability

(1)     With effect from the commencement of this Act, the provisions of

 

(a)      The Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy Act, Samvat 1980;

 

(b)      The Jammu and Kashmir Alienation of Land Act, Samvat 1995;

 

(c)      The Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Samvat 1996;

 

(d)      The Jammu and Kashmir Big Landed Estates Abolition Act, Samvat 2007;

 

(e)      The Jammu and Kashmir Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1962; and

 

(f)       The Jammu and Kashmir Tenancy (Stay of Ejectment Proceedings) Act, 1996;

and the rules, standing orders, orders and instructions issued thereunder shall, so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act and the rules framed and instructions issued thereunder, cease to apply to the land to which this Act applies.

(2)     All applications, suits and proceedings, pending before any Revenue Officer, Civil or Revenue Court, any authority acting under the Jammu and Kashmir Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1962 or the Government on the date the commencement of this Act under any of the provisions of the Acts mentioned in sub-section (1) shall, so far as these are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, abate.

 

(3)     Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), nothing contained in this Act shall be deemed to effect the previous operation of the Acts mentioned in sub-section (1) or anything done or any action or proceeding taken thereunder which thing, action or proceeding has finally concluded under any of said Acts prior to the commencement of this Act.

Section 43 - Repeal

(1)     With effect from the date this Act comes into force, the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1972 and the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms (Suspension of Operation) Act, 197 5 shall stand repealed and any right accrued, liability incurred or action taken under the Acts so repealed, as is inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, shall be deemed never to have accrued, incurred or taken, as the case may be.

 

(2)     Subject to the provisions of sub-section (10, nothing contained in this Act shall be deemed to effect anything duly done or suffered under the Acts so repealed.

 

Section 44 - Validation

[44] [(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment, decree or order of any Court :-

(a)      any officer who has functioned as Joint Agrarian Reforms Commissioner prior to the commencement of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms (Amendment and Validation) Act, 1987 shall be and shall be deemed always to have been duly appointed under the provisions of section 18 of this Act as if an order appointing him as such officer had duly been issued under said section 18 and as amended by the aforesaid Amendment and Validation Act; and

 

(b)      all acts, proceedings or things done or taken or orders made by any such officer in his capacity as Joint Agrarian Commissioner shall, for all purposes, be deemed to be and to have always been done, taken, or made in accordance with the law.

(2)?? ?No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie, or, if instituted shall be proceeded within any Court against the Government or any authority subordinate to it on account of or in respect of any such order validated by or under the provisions of this section].

 

Schedule - SCHEDULE I

SCHEDULE I

Table showing

(i)??? ?Value in rupees and paise of one ordinary acre for different categories of land as in Kharif, 1971 assuming one standard acre to be equivalent to one sparing rupee.

(ii)?? ?Equation between one standard acre and ordinary kanals and marlas

Note : 1. All Water-logged areas to be classed as category V.

2. ???The Class of soil shall be determined on the basis of the position at site as in Kharil, 1971.

3.??? Any class of soil not indicated herein shall be added to such category as may be specified by the Revenue Minister by a notification in this behalf.

4. ????Alkaline land in the following villages of Tehsil R.S. Pura and such other villages as may be notified by the Revenue Minister shall be valued at Re 0.55 per ordinary acre :-

1.        ShibuChak

 

2.        Diwan Garh

 

3.        Barley

 

4.        Chak Mulo

 

5.        Kannal

 

6.        Kathar

 

7.        Majua Uttam

 

8.        Majua Lakhmi

 

9.        Mangal

 

10.     Ailah

 

11.     Kilchpur

 

12.     Pindi Charkan Kalan

 

13.     Salerh

 

14.     Rakh Mangal

15.     Changla

 

16.     Bahadur Pur

 

17.     Trewa

 

18.     Tohna

 

19.     Dablerh

 

20.     Dalah

 

21.     Seer

 

22.     Dhokri

 

23.     Chakrohi

 

24.     Kangrey

 

25.     Bidipur Jattan

 

26.     Samka

 

27.     Kaloyon

 

28.     Fateh Pur Salaria

 

29.     Raipur Saidan

 

30.     Saidhre

 

31.     Satowali

 

32.     Kot Kuba

 

33.     Pindi Salochan

 

34.     Sahi

 

35.     TipToana

 

36.     Khoe

 

37.     Sidar;and

 

38.     Kotha Salerh

 

Schedule - SCHEDULE I

I

SCHEDULE II

State land (including that allotted to a displaced person and subsequently transferred to him in ownership under Government Order No. 254 of 1965) held under any of the following orders, namely

(a)      Ailan No. 14 dated 23rd Bhadun, 1971 regarding the then Tehsil Basohli as reiterated by Ailan No. 34 dated 24th Chet, 1962 read with Ailan No. 10 dated 24th Magh, 1934 (Prohibiting Nautors in Dhar-Dhanger of the then Tehsil Basohli);

 

(b)      Ailan No. 15 dated 12th Bhadun, Samvat 1960, permitting Nautor in illaqa Gurez;

 

(c)      Council Order No. 21-C of 1936 (regarding Ladakh and Gilgit District);

 

(d)      Council Order No. 38 C of 1944 dated 4-1-1944 (regarding Jammu province and the then Muzaffarabad district);

 

(e)      Government Order No. 578/C of 1954;

 

(f)       Government Order No. LB-6/C of 1958;

(g)      Government Order No. LB-7/C of 1958;

 

(h)     Government Order No. REH-371 of 1971 dated 9-9-1971;

 

(i)       Council Order 1234-C of 1939 dated 1st December, 1939 read with Council Order No. 872-C of 1940;

 

(j)       Council Order No. 454-C of 1941; and

 

(k)      Any other Government Order that may be notified by the Government.

 

Schedule - SCHEDULE I

II

SCHEDULE III

For purpose of the Schedule and unless otherwise indicated by the context :-

(i)?? ?"compensation" means the sum of money payable for land at market value;

(ii)? ?"amount" means the sum of money payable in lieu of extinguishment of rights in land at rates other than market rates.

PART A

AMOUNT

1.        Procedure.-

The amount payable in lieu of extinguishment of the rights, title and interest in land and its apportionment shall be determined by the Collector in the manner herein provided.

2.        Determination of amount and payment thereof.-

 

(1)     In determining amount payable for land in lieu of extinguishment of rights therein the following principles shall be observed, namely :-

(a)      Where the rent payable or recoverable in Kharif, 1971 was in kind as according to records, the following value of land shall be assumed, namely :-

(b)      The amount payable for one Kanal of each class of land to an ex-landlord shall be such part of the assumed value shown in clause (a) as is proportional to the quantum of net rent in kind which was recoverable by such landlord in Kharif, 1971.

Illustration.-(i) A, an owner of 20 kanals of land, received rent in kind at half produce from the tiller. The land is valued according to Schedule I at the rate of eighty-five paise per ordinary acre. He shall be entitled to an amount of Rs. 585x20x1/2 = Rs. 5,850.

Illustration.-(ii) A, an owner of 20 kanals of land valued, according to Schedule I, at Rs. 1.40 per ordinary acre, has an occupancy tenant B under him. B recovers rent of half produce from the tiller and pays rent at 1/4 produce to the owner. A shall be entitled to an amount of Rs. 1000 x 20 x 1/4 = Rs. 5000.

(c)      Where an intermediary received rent in kind and himself paid it in cash, the amount payable to him shall be equivalent to the amount calculated according to clauses (a) and (b) reduced by twenty times the rent in cash payable by him to the owner.

Illustration.-A, an owner of 15 kanals of land valued, according to Schedule I at 70 Paise per ordinary acre, was receiving rent at the rate of Re. 1 per kanal plus an amount equivalent to land revenue @ Re. 0.50 per kanal from B, an occupancy tenant, who was receiving rent at half produce from the tiller. B is entitled to an amount of Rs. 250 x 15 x 1/2 - 20 x 15 x 1.50 = Rs. 1425.

(d)      Where the rent received by an ex-owener/ex-intermediary was in cash the amount payable to such ex-owner/ex-intermediary shall be twenty time the difference between the rent received and the land revenue or the rent payable, as the case may be.

Illustration.-(i) A, an owner of land measuring 10 kanals, was getting rent in cash equivalent to Rs. 10 (ten) plus land revenue from the tiller for the entire land. A, shall get an amount of Rs. 20xl0=Rs. 200 in lieu extinguishment of his rights in such land.

(ii)?? ?A, an owner of 16 kanals of land, was receiving rent in cash equivalent to Re. 1 per kanal plus land revenue from B, an occupancy tenant, who also was receiving rent in cash at Rs. 10 per kanal. the land revenue assessed on the land is Re.1 per kanal. The amount to which A is entitled is Rs. 20 x 16 x 1 = Rs. 320 and the amount to which B is entitled is Rs. 20 x 8 x 16 = Rs. 2,560.

(2)     The amount payable to a superior owner in lieu of extinguishment of his rights in land shall be twenty times the land revenue and, where the rights of an inferior owner also are extinguished by section 4, he shall be paid the amount calculated according to sub-para (1) reduced by twenty times the land revenue.

 

(3)     A tiller holding land in personal cultivation in excess of the celling area, in which his rights have extinguished, shall be paid the difference between the assumed value of such land, according to the table given in clause (a) of sub-para (1), and the amount payable therefor to the ex-owner and ex-intemdiary, if any, according to this paragraph.

 

3.        The amount payable for trees shall be determined in the manner given below, namely :-

 

(a)      For trees standing in privately owned forests the amount shall be half of the standard rates, as approved by the Forest Department, subject to a maximum of rupees one hundred per tree, to be determined by the Collector in consultation with senior-most officer of the Forest Department stationed in the district and after hearing the ex-owner.

 

(b)      For other trees the amount shall be half of the market value subject to a maximum of rupees one hundred per tree, to be determined by the Collector after hearing the ex-owner/ex-intermediary and the tiller and consulting the senior most officer of the Horticulture or Forest Department stationed in the district according as the tree is or is not a fruit tree.

 

4.        State land.-

For the extinguishment of rights in land mentioned in Schedule II and trees standing thereon one-third of the amount that should have been payable under para 2 and 3 shall be payable as amount:

Provided that amount for land, in which a displaced person has been given ownership rights by Government Order 254 of 1965 shall be calculated according to paras 2 and 3.

5.        Structure or dwelling house on land.-

Where a structure or a dwelling house mentioned in section 6 exists on land, the owner thereof shall, in addition to the amount payable in respect of land, be entitled to be paid by the State Government an amount equivalent to twenty per centum of the market value of such structure or dwelling house, as the case may be. The amount shall be determined by the Collector in consultation with the concerned Executive Engineer of the Roads and Buildings Department:

Provided in respect of a structure only, that its owner may, in lieu of such payment and with the permission of the Collector, remove such structure from such land within the period specified by the Collector and he shall, for such removal, be entitled to enjoy all necessary easements.

6.        Private agreement.-

Where an owner enters into an agreement duly registered under the Jammu and Kashmir Registration Act, 1977 with the prospective owner, whereby the latter owns having paid and the former acknowledges the receipt of the amount payable in respect of a dwelling house mentioned in section 6, such agreement shall be given due effect and shall relieve the Government from making payment to such owner and also relieve the prospective owner of his liability to pay the levy for such dwelling house.

7.        Appointment of amount as between mortgagor and mortgagee.-

 

(1)     Where the land, that has vested in the State and for which amount is payable is subject to mortgage without possession the following principles shall apply for apportionment of the amount calculated according to the provisions of paras 2 and 3 as between the mortgagor and mortgagee namely :-

 

(a)      Where the Collector finds that the aggregate sum repaid to the mortgagee equals or exceeds one and a half times the principal money or the amount payable for the land, whichever is less, he shall declare the mortgage to have been redeemed and shall make payment of the amount calculated in accordance with the foregoing provisions to the mortgagor.

 

(b)      Where the Collector finds that the aggregate sum repaid to the mortgagee is less than one and a half times the principal money or the amount payable for the land, whichever is less, he shall direct payment of such sum of money to the mortgagee as is necessary to bring up the total to one and a half times the principal money or the amount payable for the land, whichever is less.

 

(2)     Where the mortgagor and the mortgagee enter into an agre-ment duly registered under the J&K Registration Act, 1977, whereby the latter acknowledges the receipt of the amount due to him under the mortgage, such agreement shall be given due effect and shall entitle the mortgagor to receive the full payment of the amount which he would have been entitled to if the land had not been mortgaged.

 

8.        Payment of amount.-

 

(1)     Subject to the provisions of sub-para (2) the amount payable to a person in lieu of land, including trees and structures and for a dwelling house mentioned in section 6, comprising a tenancy holding (known in revenue parlance as Khata), whether held by one tenant or jointly by several tenants, shall be paid by the Government in full and in one instalment.

 

(2)     The amount for trees situate in a forest as also the amount for trees and land held by a tiller/tiller-owner in excess of the ceiling area shall be paid in equal annual instalments not exceeding thirty :

Provided that no instalment shall be less than rupees five hundred :

Provided further that where the total amount so payable for trees is rupees five thousand or less it shall be paid in one instalment:

Provided also that the Revenue Minister, or an officer nominated by him in this behalf, may permit felling and removal of a tree for genuine personal and domestic use of the ex-owner in the National Extension Service Block in which the forest is situate.

PART B

COMPENSATION

1.        Compensation payable for land under the Act shall be assessed by the Collector and shall be the market value thereof prevailing on the first day of May, 1973 or the date of commencement of this Act, whichever is less.

 

2.        The Collector shall cause such land as is mentioned in para I to be measured ,and a plan prepared of the same. He shall then cause public notice to be given at convenient places on or near the land and shall require all persons, including mortgagees, if any, entitled to receive compensation therefor to appear personally or by an authorised agent before him at a time and place therein mentioned and state the nature of their respective interests in the land and the amount and particulars of their claims to compensation for such interest. Such notice shall be served also on all persons having interest in such land.

 

3.        On the date so fixed, or on the date to which the enquiry has been adjourned, the Collector shall proceed to enquire into the objections, if any, made, and shall, after giving an opportunity of being heard to every interested person and after examining any person whom he may think necessary to examine, determine the amount of compensation which, in his opinion, should be paid for the land in which the rights and interests have extinguished and vested in the State.

 

4.        (a) If the compensation so assessed does not exceed rupees twenty-five thousand, the Collector shall pass an order indicating-

(i) ???the area of the land;

(ii) ??the compensation payable for the land;

(iii) ??the apportionment of such compensation among all the persons entitled thereto; and

(iv)? ?reasons for the order including reasons why compensation is payable at market rates.

(b)   (i) If the compensation so assessed exceeds rupees twenty five thousand, the Collector shall submit the case to the Commissioner with a report containing all the particulars and reasons as are mentioned in clause (a).

(ii) Where the Commissioner finds that the amount of compensation does not exceed rupees fifty thousand, he shall pass an order accordingly indicating reasons therefor.

(c)     (i) The Commissioner shall submit the case to the Revenue Minister if more than rupees fifty thousand, are payable as compensation.

(ii) The Revenue Minister on receiving a case submitted to him under sub-clause (i) shall pass an order thereon giving reasons therefor.

(d) The Collector, the Commissioner and the Revenue Minister shall give an opportunity of being heard to the interested persons before passing an order under clause (a), sub-clause (ii) of clause (b) and sub-clause (ii) of clause (c), as the case may be.

5.        (i) The compensation shall be payable in such equal annual instalments, not exceeding twenty, as may be notified by the Government.

(ii) First instalment of compensation shall be paid within six months of the date on which possession of the land, for which such compensation is payable, is given to the allottee thereof under the Act.

PART C

1.        (a) Levy recoverable from a prospective owner, who was a tiller of land in Kharif 1971, for land, trees, structure or a dwelling house standing thereon shall be the amount payable for such land, trees, dwelling house and structures and calculated according to the provisions of PART A, increased by 10% thereof.

(b) Levy recoverable from allottees of land vested in the State under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Big Landed Estates Abolition Act, 1950 and held as a temporary measure under sub-section (2) of section 6 thereof shall be the value for such land assumed by clause (a) of sub-para (1) of para 2 and the value of trees, structures and dwelling house calculated in accordance with the provisions of PART A, both increased by 10% thereof.

2.        Levy recoverable for land, becoming surplus under section 5 and held on the first day of September, 1971 in personal cultivation by the owner thereof in excess of the ceiling area and subsequently allotted under the Act, shall be the value of such and ascertained in accordance with the provisions of PART B.

 

3.        The amount of levy mentioned in para I shall be payable by the prospective owner or, where more than one prospective owner share the same tenancy holding (Khata), all such prospective owners either in lum sum or in instalments:

Provided that where payment is made in instalments the Government may invest such instalments of levy in a manner it deems fit, giving credit of the interest accruing thereon to such prospective owner after deducting there from the administration Charges-:

Provided further that where payment is made in instalments, payment to the ex-owner/ex-intermediary shall be made after the full amount payable to him accrues to the credit of such Prospective owner or prospective owners, as the case may be.

4.        The amount of levy mentioned in para 2 shall be recoverable able in annual instalments not exceeding twenty.

 

5.        Mere payment of levy by a person shall not by itself confer on him any right of acquiring ownership of land.