[West Bengal Act 2 of 1950] [15th March, 1950] [Passed by the West Bengal
Legislature.] An Act to provide for the regulation of
certain rights inter se of bargadars and owners of land and for the
establishment of Bhag Chas Conciliation Boards for the settlement of
disputes relating to certain matters between bargadars and owners of land. Whereas it is expedient and necessary to
provide for the regulation of certain rights inter
se of bargadars and owners of land and for the establishment
of Bhag Chas Conciliation Boards for the settlement of disputes
relating to certain matters between bargadars and owners of land; It is hereby enacted as follows:— PRELIMINARY (1)
This Act may
be called the West Bengal Bargadars Act, 1950. (2)
It extends
to the whole of West Bengal. (3)
It shall
come into force on the date on which the West
Bengal Bargadars Ordinance, 1949 (West Ben Ord. X of 1949), ceases to
operate. (4)
It shall
remain in force up to the 31st day of March 1953. In this Act, unless there is anything
repugnant in the subject or context,— (a)
“Appellate
Officer” means an officer appointed under Section 11; (b)
“bargadar”
means a person who under the system generally known as adhi,
barga or bhag, cultivates the land of another person on condition of
delivering a share of the produce of such land to that other person but shall
not include any such person— (i)
if he has
been expressly admitted to be a tenant by the owner in any document executed by
him or executed in his favour and accepted by him, or (ii)
if he has
been held by a Civil Court to be a tenant; (c)
“Board”
means a Bhag Chas Conciliation Board established under sub-section
(1) of Section 6 and includes an officer authorised under the proviso to
sub-section (4) of that section; (d)
“Collector”
includes any officer appointed by the State Government to exercise all or any
of the powers of a Collector under this Act; (e)
“Court”
includes the High Court; (f)
“notification”
means a notification published’ in the Official Gazette, (g)
“owner” in
relation to any land cultivated by any person as a bargadar means the
person whose land the bargadar so cultivates; (h)
“prescribed”
means prescribed by rules made under this Act; and (i)
“produce”
includes straw or stalk of any crop. Rights of bargadars and
owners of land inter se. The produce of any land cultivated by
a bargadur shall be apportioned between the bargadar and
the owner of such land in accordance with the following principles, namely:— (1)
if
the bargadar and the owner whose land he cultivates agree in writing
to any mode of division, such mode of division shall be adopted, (2)
if there is
no such agreement as aforesaid— (a)
the bargadar or
the owner as the case may be who supplies any seed for growing any crop shall
be entitled to an amount of the produce equivalent to the quantity of seed
supplied; (b)
the bargadar and
the owner shall each be V entitled to one-third of the balance of the produce
which remains after deducting the amount of the produce referred to in
paragraph (a): Provided that the bargadar shall
receive a greater share of the balance of the Produce if he is entitled to such
greater share under a written contract between himself and the owner or under
any local custom or usage; (c)
the
remainder of the produce left after deducting the quantities referred to in
paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be divided between the bargadar and the
owner in such proportion as would be fair and reasonable having regard to then
respective contributions to the cost of cultivation including in particular the
supply of plough-cattle, plough and other agricultural implements and manure
and to the cost of protection or irrigation of the land. As between a bargadar and the owner
whose land he cultivates, the bargadar shall have the prior right to
supply plough-cattle, plough, other agricultural implements or manure or to
bear any other expenses of cultivation. (1)
The owner of
any land cultivated by a bargadar shall be entitled to terminate the
cultivation of such land by the bargadar on one or more of the
following grounds, namely:— (a)
that the
owner desires to cultivate the land by him self or by members of his family or
by servants or labourers; (b)
that
the bargadar has misused the land or has wilfully neglected to
cultivate it properly; Explanation.—If the produce of any land
cultivated by a bargadar in any year is unduly below the produce in
the same year of similar and similarly situated lands in the vicinity,
the bargadar shall be deemed to have wilfully neglected to cultivate
the land properly; (c)
that
the bargadar has failed to deliver to the owner within the prescribed
period at least that share of the produce to which the owner is entitled, under
paragraph (b) of clause (2) of Section 3; or (d)
that
the bargadar has failed to comply with any award or order of a Board
or of an Appellate Officer, as the case may be, within the time allowed by the
Board or by the Appellate Officer: Provided that the cultivation of such land by
a bargadar shall not he terminated on any of the above grounds except
under the order of a Board. (2)
Where the
cultivation of any land by a bargadar is terminated under clause (a)
of sub-section (1) and the land is not cultivated by the owner himself or by
members of his family or by servants or labourers within one year from the date
of such termination or the land having been so cultivated is allowed to be
cultivated by another bargadar within five years from such date,
the bargadar first mentioned shall be entitled to be restored to the
cultivation of the land by him. CONCILIATION PROCEEDINGS BETWEEN
BARGADARS AND OWNERS (1)
The State
Government may, by notification, establish one or more Bhag
Chas Conciliation Boards for any local area specified in the notification. (2)
Every Board
shall consist of a Chairman who shall be a person in the service of Government
and four other members, two of whom shall be representatives
of bargadars cultivating lands situated in the local area for which
the Board has been established and the other two shall be representatives of
owners of lands cultivated by such bargadars. (3)
The Chairman
and other members of the Board shall be appointed by the State Government and
each of them shall hold office for such term not exceeding two years as the
State Government may specify at the time of his appointment. (4)
The State
Government may, at any time, cancel by notification, the appointment of the
Chairman or of any other member of a Board or dissolve any Board stating the
reasons for such dissolution in the notification: Provided that when a Board is dissolved and
the State Government does not consider the appointment of another Board to be
necessary or desirable, it may authorise any person in the service of
Government to exercise all or any of the powers of the Board, as it thinks fit. (1)
Every
dispute between a bargadar and the owner whose land
the bargadar cultivates with regard to any of the following matters,
namely:— (a)
the division
or delivery of the produce; (b)
the priority
of the right to supply plough-cattle, plough, other agricultural implements or
manure or to bear any other expenses of cultivation; (c)
the
termination of or the restoration to cultivation of such land by the bargadar; (d)
the place of
thrashing or the place of delivery of the owner's share of the produce, shall
be decided by a Board established for the local area within which such land is
situated. (2)
In deciding
any dispute referred to in sub-section (1), a Board shall observe the
provisions of Sections 3, 4 and 5. Explanation.—Where there is an agreement
under clause (1) of Section 3, a Board shall consider whether such agreement
was made by the free consent of the parties thereto and shall disregard such
agreement if it is satisfied that consent to such agreement was caused by
coercion, undue influence, fraud, misrepresentation or mistake. (3)
The decision
of a Board shall be embodied in the form of an award where the dispute is in
respect of the division of the produce and shall in other cases be in the form
of an order. Where a Board established for a local area
within which the land which a bargadar cultivates is situated, is
satisfied that necessary steps may not be taken by the bargadar or
the owner as the case may be, for harvesting or thrashing any crop in proper
time, it may of its own motion or on the application of the aggrieved party
cause such crop to be harvested or thrashed at the expense of the defaulting
party and may order such expense to be recovered from the defaulting party in
such manner as may be prescribed. (1)
No award or
order or other proceedings whatsoever of a Board or of an Appellate Officer and
no proceedings' whatsoever in execution of such award or order shall be
questioned in any Court. (2)
No Court
shall entertain any suit or any proceedings whatsoever in respect of a matter
required under sub-section (1) of Section 7 to be decided by a Board referred
to in that sub-section. (1)
A Board may
exercise all such powers connected with the summoning and examining of parties
and witnesses and with the production of documents as are conferred on Amnion,
a Civil Court by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908). (2)
In deciding
any matter before it, a Board shall not be bound to observe the provisions of
the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Act V of 1908). All appeal shall lie within the prescribed
period to an Appellate Officer to be appointed by the State Government against
any award or order of a Board made under this Act, except where such award or
order was made by the Board with the consent of the bargadar and the
owner. (1)
The
procedure to be followed by a Board or try an Appellate Officer, shall be as
may be prescribed. (2)
An award or
order made by a Board or by an Appellate Officer, shall be executed by the
Collector in such manner as may be prescribed. SUPPLEMENTAL Every Chairman member of a Board and every
Appellate Officer shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of
Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860). Any person who fails to comply with an award
or order made under this Act shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to five hundred
rupees or with both. Any money payable under an award or order
made under this Act shall be recoverable as an arrear of public demand. No suit, prosecution or other legal
proceedings whatsoever shall lie against any person in respect of anything
which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or any rules
made thereunder. (1)
Nothing in
this Act shall be deemed to create any relationship of landlord and tenant between
owner and a bargadar who cultivates his land. (2)
Nothing in
this Act shall be deemed to confer on a bargadar any heritable or
transferable right to cultivate the land of the owner. The provisions of this Act and of any rules
made thereunder shall have effect notwithstanding anything to the contrary in
any other law, or in any custom, usage, contract or instrument. (1)
The State
Government may make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act. (2)
In
particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing
provisions, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters,
namely:— (a)
the period
within which a bargadar shall deliver to the owner the share of the
produce to which the owner is entitled under this Act; (b)
the manner
in which expenses shall be recovered under Section 8 from the defaulting party; (c)
the period
within which an appeal shall lie under Section 11 to an Appellate Officer; (d)
the
procedure to be followed by a Board or an Appellate Officer; (e)
the manner
in which an award or order made by a Board or Appellate Officer shall be
executed by the Collector; and (f)
any other
matter required to be prescribed under this Act. Any rule, order, award or appointment made,
any notification issued, any proceedings or prosecution commenced, any
punishment incurred or imposed any action taken or anything done under any
provision of the West Bengal Bargadars Ordinance, 1949 (West Ben. Ord.
X of 1949), shall on the said Ordinance ceasing to operate, be deemed to have
been made, issued, commenced, incurred, imposed, taken or done under the
corresponding provision of this Act as if this Act had commenced on the 14th
day of November, 1949. [1] Assent of the
Governor was first published in the Calcutta Gazette Extraordinary, of the
15th March, 1950.West Bengal Bargadars Act,
1950[1]
Section 5. Termination of cultivation by bargadar
Section 7. Bhag Chas Conciliation Boards to
have exclusive jurisdiction to decide certain disputes
Section 8. Power of Board to cause crop to be harvested
and thrashed
Section 13. Chairman, etc., to be deemed to be public
servants