23
of 2024 [11th
December 2024] AN ACT Whereas, erstwhile
Bettiah Raj is situated in the State of Bihar, Whereas, the Last known
Raja, Harendra Kishore Singh died inte-estate, Whereas, after death of the
last Raja of erstwhile of Bettiah Raj, his surviving wife Janki Kunwar was
declared incompetent to manage the property and affairs of Bettiah Raj, Whereas, the erstwhile
Government vide notification dated 1st April, 1897 took over management of Bettiah
Raj and placed in the custody of courts under Court of Wards Act, 1879, Whereas, after notification
dated 01st April, 1897, the entire properties and management of Bettiah Raj
within State of Bihar was taken over by the Court of Wards, Board of Revenue of
the State of Bihar, Whereas, properties of
Bettiah Raj situated in State of Uttar Pradesh were directed to be managed by
Board of Revenue of State of Uttar Pradesh, Whereas, UP Court of Wards
Act, 1912 has been repealed by the United Provinces Court of Wards (Repeal)
Act, 1967 with effect from 15th September, 1969, Whereas, as a consequence of
repeal, the functions of Court of Wards including management etc. has been
vested in Board of Revenue in the State of Uttar Pradesh. Whereas, there is no known legal
heir of last Raja of Bettiah Raj, Whereas, several claimants
have laid their claim which was ultimately decided by Hon'ble Supreme Court in
the case of State of Bihar & others vs. Radha Krishna Singh & others. Whereas, after final
adjudication by Hon'ble Supreme Court several suits have been filed both in
State of Bihar and in State of Uttar Pradesh in some of which claim has been
laid with regard to inheritance, Whereas, the property of
Bettiah Raj situated within State of Bihar and State of UP in course of time
has been subjected to numerous litigations, encroachment, unauthorized
occupation etc, Whereas, the property,
movable and immovable of Bettiah Raj is very extensive and valued at several
thousand crores of rupees, Whereas, it has been
observed that the manager of Bettiah Raj has not been able to effectively
protect the property, Whereas the property largely
comprises of land and appurtenances which can be utilized for larger public
interest of the State, Whereas, it is considered
expedient to enact a law to take over custody, title, possession and management
of Bettiah Raj properties both movable and immovable situated within State of
Bihar and in the State of UP and any other State subject to verification, Now, therefore, the
legislature of the State of Bihar in the 75th Year of Republic of India enacts
as follows:- CHAPTER 1 Preliminary (1)
This Act may be called the Vesting of Bettiah
Raj PropertiesAct, 2024. (2)
It covers all the properties of the Bettiah Raj. (3)
It shall come into force on the day of its
publication in the Official Gazette. In this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires,- (1)
"The Act" means the Vesting of
Bettiah Raj Properties Act (Act 23 of 2024) (2)
"Bettiah Raj Properties" means and
includes all movable and immovable properties of the erstwhile Raja of Bettiah. (3)
"Board of Revenue" means the Board
as constituted by the Bihar and Orissa Board of Revenue Act, 1913; (4)
"Collector" includes an Officer
appointed as such by the State Government to discharge all or any of the
function under the Act; (5)
"Court" means the Court of Wards as
constituted under section 5 of Court of Wards Act 1879; (6)
"Notification" means a notification
issued under Section 3 of the Act; (7)
"Prescribed" means prescribed by
rules made under this Act; (8)
"Public Demand" means public demand
as defined under Bihar & Orissa Public Demands Recovery Act, 1914 (Act 4 of
1914) (9)
"Premises" means real Properties,
land and the improvements on it, a building, store, shop, hotel, restaurant or
such other structure for the purpose of this Act. (10)
"Special Officer" means an Officer
not below the rank of Additional Collector appointed as such by the State
Government. (11)
"State Government" means the State
Government of Bihar. (12)
"Temporary Structure" means any
structure which do not require foundation to be erected and are easy to
dismantle, very easy to change the configuration of the structure and which
cannot be sealed of completely for the purpose of this Act. (13)
"Unauthorized Occupant" means any
person in possession of the Properties without any lawful instrument of lease
or agreement with the Custodian of Bettiah Raj Properties. (14)
"Vesting" means vesting of title
and possession. It includes all commensurate rights and interests flowing there
from and includes right of easement, passage etc. CHAPTER 2 Vesting of Bettiah Raj Properties (1)
All the existing properties, to the knowledge
of the Court and being looked after by the Court, of the Bettiah Raj, located
in or outside the State of Bihar, whether movable or immovable, shall stand
vested with the State Government from the date on which this Act comes into
force. (2)
The State Government, consequent upon
vesting, shall issue a notification, to be published in the Official Gazette,
to this effect, Provided that, the State
Government shall give details of all such lands and properties, so vested, in
the Notification. (3)
The Properties once vested with the State
Government cannot be subject to any succession under any Law and all ongoing
disputes, suits or proceedings relating to succession pending before any Court
of law on the date of commencement of this Act shall stand abated. (4)
The Court of Wards, consequent upon vesting,
shall hand over all the papers, documents, records, maps and all relevant
information to the concerned Collector of the districts where the properties of
Bettiah Raj are located. All existing leases or the
existing privileges upon the lands and properties of the Bettiah Raj Properties
shall stand extinguished from the date of such notification. (1)
All Bettiah Raj properties vested in the
State under this Act shall be free from all encumbrances and shall be exempt
from attachment, seizure or sale in execution of decree of a Civil Court or
orders of any other authority and any proceeding or suit pending before any
Court of law on the date of commencement of this Act shall stand abated. (2)
Bettiah Raj Properties or tenure, including
the interests of the proprietor, whatsoever, in such properties or tenure
including premises used primarily as office for the collection of rent of such
Properties or tenure, and his interests in trees, forests, fisheries, jalkars,
hats, bazars, melas, and ferries and all other sairati interests, as also his
interests in sub-soil, lands held in khas possession (excluding the interests
of raiyats or under-raiyats) and homestead shall, with effect from the date of
vesting, vest absolutely in the State, free from all encumbrances; (3)
All salami, rents, cess, royalties and
revenues in respect of lands comprised in Bettiah Properties or tenure on or
after the date of vesting shall be payable to the State and any payment made
otherwise shall not be binding on the State; (4)
All arrears or revenue and cesses remaining
lawfully due in respect of the Bettiah Properties or tenure on the date of
vesting and all other amounts recoverable from the lessees, transferees,
settlees, occupants of the Bettiah Properties, shall be recoverable by the
State Government; (5)
All amounts collected or recovered from the
lessees, transferees, settlees, occupants of the Bettiah Properties, shall be
recoverable by the State Government; (6)
No suit shall lie in any Civil Court for the
recovery of any amount due from such lessees, transferees, settlees, occupants
of the Bettiah Raj Properties, the payment of which is secured by a mortgage of
or is a charge on the Bettiah Raj Properties or tenure, and all suits and
proceedings for the recovery of any such money, which may be pending on the
date of vesting, shall stand abated; (7)
No portion of the Bettiah Raj Properties or
tenure shall be liable to attachment or sale under processes of any Court and
any order of attachment passed in respect of such Properties or tenure before
the date of vesting shall cease to be in force; (8)
The Collector shall be deemed to have taken
charge of Bettiah Raj Properties or tenure, including any institution,
religious or secular, of any trust or building, along with all its interests; Provided further that the
Collector may take direct possession of any property after serving an order in
writing to the occupant requiring him to deliver possession or show cause
within a time specified in the aforesaid order. If such person fails to deliver
possession or show cause or if the cause is rejected by the Collector, after
giving to such person an opportunity of being heard, the Collector, for reasons
to be recorded in writing, take or cause to be taken, such steps, or use or
cause to be used such force as deemed necessary, for taking delivery of
possession of the property concerned. (1)
The State Government may appoint Special
Officer in each District of Bihar to assist the Collector in achieving the
objectives of this Act and performing various functions indicated in this Act
and the Rules made thereunder. (2)
The Special Officer shall discharge such
functions as mentioned in this Act and shall function under direct control and
supervision of the Collector. (1)
Any person, consequent upon said Notification
under Section 3, may file an objection before the Special Officer within 60
days. (2)
The Special Officer shall hear the objection
and dispose it off within 90 days of such filing. (3)
The Special Officer, while hearing such an
objection, shall issue notices to all concerned and pass a reasoned order,
either rejecting or allowing the objection. (4)
If the objection is allowed by the Special
Officer, the Properties under objection shall be deemed to have been excluded
from such Notification. If the objection is rejected by the Special Officer,the
properties shall continue to remain part of the notification. (5)
Every order passed by the Special Officer
shall be placed before the Collector for taking further action as mentioned in
this Act. In case, the objections are rejected by the Special Officer, he shall
make a request to the Collector to take possession of such property. CHAPTER 3 Identification of Bettiah Raj
Properties (1)
The State Government may, at any time, on its
own or on receipt of any information or otherwise, initiate steps to identify
any other Bettiah Raj properties lying hidden from the Court, immovable or
moveable, and shall be competent to undertake such extensive survey for that
purpose. (2)
The State Government may devise such
procedures as are required for correct and proper identification of the Bettiah
Raj properties. (3)
The State Government, after having followed
due procedure, shall be competent to issue such supplementary Notification(s)
as required under Section 3 of this Act. CHAPTER 4 Powers of the Collector Consequent upon vesting, the
Collector shall have powers to take possession of such lands and properties of
the Bettiah Raj. Provided, however, that the
Collector shall give a notice of 15 days to the occupants to vacate the
Properties and remove their personal items. (1)
The Collector shall have powers to remove any
encroachment, whether permanent or temporary structures, over the properties
mentioned in the Notificationas per the Bihar Public Land Encroachments Act,
1956; (2)
The Collector shall have power to evict any
occupant of a Bettiah Raj Property and seal the premises if he so desires. With respect to the Bettiah
Raj Properties vested in the State Government under this Act, the Collector
may:- (i)
Take or authorize the Special Officer for
taking of such measures as he considers necessary or expedient for preserving
such Properties; (ii)
Authorize the Special Officer to exercise all
or any of the powers of the Collector; (iii)
Take such actions to recover the money payable
to him including steps to recover the same under the Public Demands Recovery
Act, 1914; (iv)
Enter into such contracts/agreements as are
required for maintenance and preservation of the Bettiah Raj Properties; (v)
Incur out of the Properties, any expenditure
including the payment of any taxes, duties, cesses and rates to Government or
to any local authority and of any wages, salaries, pensions, provident fund
contributions to, or in respect of, any employee of the Bettiah Raj; (vi)
Manage the Corpus Fund subject to the
directions of the State Government; (vii)
Make such other payments out of the funds of
the Bettiah Raj as may be directed by the State Government; (viii)
Fix and collect the rent, standard rent,
lease rent, license fee or user charges, as the case may be, in respect of
Bettiah Raj Properties; (ix)
Secure vacant possession of the Bettiah Raj
Properties by evicting the unauthorized or illegal occupant or trespasser and
remove unauthorized or illegal constructions, if any; (x)
Enter into any Properties for the purposes of
inspection; (xi)
Seal any Bettiah Raj Properties after giving
reasonable opportunity to the occupant to vacate on his own; (xii)
By notice in writing, require any person whom
he believes to be capable of giving information concerning any Bettiah Raj
Properties to attend before him at such time and place as may be specified in
the notice and examine any such person concerning the same, reduce his
statement to writing and require him to sign it; (xiii)
By notice in writing, require any person whom
he believes to have in his possession or control any account book, letter book,
invoice, receipt or other document of whatever nature relating to any Bettiah
Raj Properties, to produce the same or cause the same to be produced before him
at such time and place as may be specified in the notice and to submit the same
to his examination and to allow copies of any entry therein or any part thereof
to be taken by him; (xiv) Hire
any law firm, law officers, legal professionals or lawyers to defend, represent
and fight cases, suits, proceedings at such a remuneration as may be fixed by
the State Government; (xv)
Hire amins, surveyors, field retainers,
accounting professionals, chartered accountants and such other skill-based
manpower as are essential to fulfill the objectives of this Act; (xvi) Establish
an Asset Management Unit in his office for the purposes of inventory management
& preservation of all moveable and immoveable Bettiah Raj Properties. It shall be lawful for the
Collector to collect or recover money from such properties also as are under
dispute or are sub-judice in a court of law. CHAPTER 5 Management & Disposal of
Bettiah Raj Properties (1)
The State Government shall take such steps as
are essential for management and preservation of the Bettiah Raj Properties
vested in it. (2)
The State Government may devise such rules
and procedures as are required for proper management and preservation of the
Bettiah Raj properties. (3)
The State Government may, give all or any of
its powers to the Collector in the interest of better management of the Bettiah
Raj properties and for such period as it deems fit. (4)
Any money payable by the lessees of Bettiah
Raj or any other person to the Court or the Collector before the commencement
of this Act shall be paid to the Collector regardless of the expiry of any
Act/Rules under which such monies were payable. (5)
All income, before and after the commencement
of this Act, from the Bettiah Raj properties is recoverable as public demands
under the Public Demands Recoveries Act, 1914 (Act 4 of 1914). (6)
The Collector shall deposit all the income
received from the Bettiah Raj properties into such account as directed by the
State Government. However, the State Government may, by a special order, allow
him to retain a specific percentage of the Income received and be kept in a
Corpus Fund for management and preservation of the Bettiah Raj
properties/structures, particularly those having historical or archeological
importance. Provided that the Collector
shall incur all expenditure from the Corpus Fund as per the Rules made by the
State Government. The State Government may, by
general or special order, direct that any or all of the Bettiah Raj properties
vested in it under this Act shall be managed, sold, confiscated, taken over or
disposed off in such manner as may be prescribed. CHAPTER 6 Miscellaneous (1)
All orders passed by the Special Officer
under Section-7shall be appealable before the Collector within 30 days from the
date of order. The Collector shall dispose
of such appeals within next 30 days. (2)
All such orders passed by the Collector shall
be subject to revision before the Board of Revenue at any time within 30 days
from the date of the order. (3)
The Board of Revenue shall dispose off such
revision application within 60 days of such filing. (1)
With a view to achieve the objectives of this
Act and for proper management/monitoring of Bettiah Raj Properties, a Committee
within the Board shall be constituted as under:- (i)
Chairman-Cum-Member, Board of Revenue –
Chairman (ii)
Additional Chief Secretary/Principal
Secretary, Department of Revenue and Land Reforms – Member (iii)
Additional Chief Secretary/Principal
Secretary, Department of Finance – Member (iv)
Collectors of the Districts where Bettiah Raj
Properties are located – Member (v)
Secretary, Board of Revenue – Member Secretary The Chairman shall be
competent to invite any other person or officer to this Committee. The
Committee shall meet at least once in three months. (2)
The above Committees shall also have the
powers.- a)
To reduce or waive the lease or license
charges or any other fee/duty/penalty payable under this Act or dues
outstanding before the coming of force of this Act; b)
To levy,enhance,reduce, fix all types of
receivables under the lease or otherwise; c)
To liaise with the Board of Revenue of the
State of UP with respect to properties of Bettiah Raj located in UP. (3)
The Committee shall exercise such other
powers and responsibilities as are entrusted to it by the State Government. The State Government may, by
notification, in the Official Gazette, make rules, not inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act, to carry out the purposes of this Act. All officers and persons
empowered to exercise any powers or to perform any functions under this Act
shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of sub-section 28of
section-2 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act 45 of 2023). No suit, prosecution or
other legal proceeding shall lie, against the State Government, the Court or the
Collector or any other officer acting on behalf of the Collector or the State
Government, for anything which is done in good faith or intended to be done
under this Act. No court shall have
jurisdiction to order divestment from the State Government of Bettiah Raj
Properties vested in it under this Act. Save as otherwise expressly
provided under this Act, every order made by the State Government, the Board,
the Court or the Collector,the Special Officer under this Act shall be final
and shall not be called in question in any original suit, application or
execution proceeding and no injunction shall be granted by any court in respect
of any action taken or to be taken in pursuance of any power conferred by or
under this Act. (1)
The provisions of this Act shall have effect
notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for
the time being in force. (2)
The preservation and management of Bettiah
Raj Properties in all respect shall be governed only by the provisions of this
Act and by no other State Act relating to land revenue or rent control matters. Notwithstanding anything
contained in the Act, the State Government may, in public interest, issue any
direction to the Board of Revenue, the Court or the Collector or his
subordinate officers in order to enforce the provisions of the Act. (1)
Every order, notification, rule, regulation
or procedure which was made under the Court of Wards Act,1879(Bengal Act 9 of
1879) or Bihar & Orissa Board of Revenue Act, 1913 (Bihar & Orissa Act
1 of 1913)or by the State Government or by the Board or by the Court or by the
Collector, relating to Bettiah Raj Properties and which was in force
immediately before the expiration thereof shall, in so far as such order is not
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, be deemed to continue in force
and to have been made under this Act. (2)
Notwithstanding anything contained in any
judgement, decree or order of any court, tribunal or other authority, any
transfer of any Bettiah Raj Properties, vested in the State Government by
virtue of any order of attachment, seizure or sale in execution of decree of a
civil court or orders of any tribunal or other authority, shall be deemed to be
null and void and notwithstanding such transfer, continue to vest in the State
Government under this Act. (1)
If any difficulty arises in giving effect to
the provisions of this Act the State Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, make such provisions as it deems necessary or expedient for
removing the difficulty. (2)
Every notification issued under this section
shall, as soon as may be after it is issued, be laid before each House of State
Legislature.the Vesting Of Bettiah Raj Properties act, 2024
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