| Content Provider | Supreme Court of India |
|---|---|
| e-ISSN | 30484839 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | NDLI |
| Subject Keyword | Ceiling Limits Agricultural Lands |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Law Judgement |
| Jurisdiction | India |
| Act(s) Referred | Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961 (27 of 1961) |
| Case(s) Referred | Referred Case 0 Referred Case 1 Referred Case 2 Referred Case 3 Referred Case 4 Referred Case 5 |
| Case Type | Appeal |
| Court | Supreme Court of India |
| Disposal Nature | Appeal Allowed |
| Headnote | Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961: ss.8, 10, 11, 21, 44B – Ceiling limits – Partition Deed dated 31.01.1970 (duly registered on 1.07.1970) executed between appellant, his wife, minor son and three minor daughters in respect of agricultural land of HUF – On 19.11.1976, 59 acres and 35 guntas of land of appellant declared surplus by SDO – Appeal filed by appellant, his wife, minor son and elder daughter – Two other minor daughters did not appeal being satisfied with the order of SDO since no part of land that devolved upon them by means of partition deed was declared surplus – State filed cross objections challenging the exclusion of land of the two daughters but did not implead them – Appellate authority allowed the objections holding that the partition deed though before the cut off date was against the principles of Hindu Law to the extent that it gave share to minor daughters in ancestral land – Whether the partition deed registered prior to cut-off date of 26.09.1970 was against the principles of Hindu Law to the extent it gave a share to minor daughters in the land and on that basis, was partition deed of no effect in law – Held: It is clear from the provisions of the 1961 Act that transfers or partitions of land made in anticipation of or in order to avoid or defeat the 1972 Amending Act were to be ignored in calculating ceiling limits – Under s.21, the Collector has to make a declaration as to entitlement of a person or family unit to hold within the ceiling area – Further, s.44B excludes pleaders from appearing on behalf of any party in any of the proceedings under the 1961 Act – This is for the reason that the Collector has to determine on the facts of each case, based on returns filed if any, as to what areas are to be excluded so far as determination of ceiling of a person or family unit is concerned – If it were to be held that the Collector could go into a trial as to genuineness of a particular partition deed, even though it is before the cut-off date, it would extend the legal fiction that is limited to transfers and partitions made after the cut-off date; and secondly, if a period even before the cut -off date can be considered, it would render the cut-off date otiose, as then in all cases the Collector could go into whether a particular transfer or partition has been entered into to avoid the effect of the 1972 Amendment Act, which is an enquiry restricted only to transfers and partitions which take place on or after 26.09.1970 upto the commencement date – Also, if the Collector were to substitute himself as a Civil Court deciding a Civil Suit, it would be absolutely essential for a person or family unit to engage a pleader of his choice to argue all the ramifications that his case may have, both in fact and in law – In fact, a Civil Court alone would have the jurisdiction to decide a question as to whether a partition deed entered into before the cut- off date is or is not sham, which would involve a declaration that the partition be declared void – The 1961 Act, therefore, bars the jurisdiction of the Civil Court only insofar as transfers and partitions are entered into on or after 26.09.1970 and before the commencement date, and not to transfers and partitions that take place before the cut-off date – This apart, once it is clear that the daughters are affected by virtue of the partition deed being held to be non est in law by the appellate tribunal, they ought to have been made parties to the appeal so that they could have made arguments in favour of the legal validity of the partition deed – This opportunity being denied to them is also fatal to the appellate authority’s order, which has, therefore, wrongly been upheld by the High Court – Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Lowering of Ceiling on Holdings) and (Amendment) Act, 1972 – Hindu Law – Partition – Jurisdiction – Interpretation of statutes – Legal fiction – Party, impleadment of.Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961: ss.8, 10 and 11 – Transfer and partition after cut-off date – Jurisdiction of Collector to declare such transfer/partition sham for determining ceiling area – Held: It is not possible to state that wherever the expressions “transfer” and “partition” occur in ss.8, 10 and 11 of the 1961 Act, they must be understood as meaning transfers and partitions which are genuine – If the word “genuine” is added, it would amount to straining the language of these provisions and giving these provisions a construction which they cannot possibly bear - a construction that would go against the object of giving the Collector a limited jurisdiction to decide whether lands fall within the ceiling area, and in so doing, whether transfers and partitions between the cut-off date and commencement date should be “ignored” – The language of s.11 also leads to the conclusion that even in case of a partition that is made after the cut-off date and before the commencement date, the power of the Collector is not to declare such partition sham, and therefore void, which is for a Civil Court to do, but is only to ignore such partition for the purpose of calculating ceiling area – Land Laws – Interpretation of Statutes. |
| Judge | Hon'ble Mr. Justice R.F. Nariman |
| Neutral Citation | 2020 INSC 207 |
| Petitioner | Vithaldas Jagannath Khatri (dead) Through Smt. Shakuntala Alias Sushma & Ors. |
| Respondent | The State Of Maharashtra Revenue And Forest Department & Ors. |
| SCR | [2020] 3 S.C.R. 913 |
| Judgement Date | 2020-02-19 |
| Case Number | 6006 |
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