Appeal No 365 of 1965
Appeal by special leave from the Judgment and order dated February 18 1963 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Indore F Bench in Second Appeals Nos
68 and 70 of 1961
C B Agarwala B Dutta J B Dadachanji 0
C Mathur and Ravinder Narain for the appellant
K B Chaudhry for the respondent
B R L lyengar G L Sanghi and A G Ratnaparkhi for Intervener No 1
J B Dadachanji 0
C Mathur and Ravinder Narain for interveiier No 2
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Shah J
Ramgopal respondent in this appeal was a tenant F of certain Inam land situate in village Nanda Panth in Indore Tahsil
the appellant Rao Nihalkaran holder of the Inam 429 served a notice terminating the tenancy on the ground that he needed the land for personal cultivation and commenced an action in the Court of the civil Judge Class 11 Indore on July 21 1950 against Ramgopal for a decree in ejectment
The Trial Court decreed the suit
During the pendency of the appeal to the District Court Indore by Ramgopal against the decree Madhya Bharat Muafi  Inam Tenants and Sub tenants Protection Act 32 of 1954 was enacted and pursuant to the provisions thereof hearing of the appeal remained stayed till 1960
in the mean time the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code Act 20 of 1959 was brought into force
Ramgopal urged before the District Court that he had by virtue of section 185 of the Code acquired rights of an occupancy tenant and the appellant s right to obtain an order in ejectment on the ground set up must be refused
The District Judge accepted the contention of the respondent and allowed the appeal
Against the decree passed by the District Court Indore the appellant appealed to the High Court of Madhya Pradesh Indore Bench
Following their judgment in Rao Nihalkaran vs Ramchandra and Others 1 the High Court confirmed the decree of
the District Judge and dismissed the appeal
With special leave granted by this Court this appeal has been preferred
The dispute in the appeal centres round the meaning of the expression tenant used in section 185i cl
ii a of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code
The material part of the clause reads Every person who at the coming into force of this Code holds i ii in the Madhya Bharat region a any Inam land as a tenant or as a sub tenant or as an ordinary tenant shall be called an occupancy tenant and shall have all the rights and be subject to all the liabilities conferred or imposed upon an occupancy tenant by or under this Code
 It is common ground that the tenancy of ran occupancy tenant may be determined under section 193 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code by an order of the Sub Divisional Officer on the grounds specified in that section and personal requirement of the land lord is not one of such grounds
But counsel for the appellant urged that the rights of an occupancy tenant arise in favour of a person under section 185 1 cl
ii a only if there is between him and the claimant to the land a subsisting relation under which he holds land 1 L P A No 14 of 1961 decided on Sept 24 1962
430 as a tenant at the date when the Code came into force
The Code has it is said no retrospective operation and the person who under the law in force before the commencement of the Code had ceased to be a tenant because of termination of the contract between him and the landlord is not invested with the rights of an occupancy tenant under section 185 1 ii a
In the alternative it is contended that by virtue of section 261 and section 2622 operation of section 185 is expressly excluded when a person against whom proceedings have been instituted prior to the commencement of the Code for  a decree in ejectment in enforcement of a right acquired under the law then in force claims the states of an occupancy tenant
The District Court held that the expression tenant within the meaning of section 185 1iia of the Code includes a person whose tenancy stood determined before the commencement of the Code and with that view the High Court agreed
Counsel for the appellant complained that in reaching this conclusion the Courts below ignored the definition in section 2y of the Code that the expression tenant means a person holding land from a Bhumiswami as an occupancy tenant under Ch
XIV and said that a person qua whom the contractual relation under which he was inducted as a tenant was determied prior to the commencement of the Code is not a tenant within the meaning of section 185iiia
To appreciate this argument it is necessary to examine the relevant legislative history culminating in the enactment of the Code in 1959
In 1948 twenty Indian States including the States of Gwalior Indore and Malwa formed themselves into a Union
Five more States were later incorporated into this Union
Under the Constitution Madhya Bharat was formed as a Part B State out of the territories of the United States of Gwalior Indore  Malwa and certain enclaves merged therein and the Chief Commissioner s Province of Panth Piploda
Under the a new State of Madhya Pradesh was formed as from November 1 1956 consisting of the Part B State of Madhya Bharat parts of the former State of Madhya Pradesh the territories of the States of Bhopal and Vindhya Pradesh and Sironj sub division of Kotah in the former State of Rajasthan
Apparently the diverse land tenures prevalent in the covenanting States and the laws governing them remained in operation in their respective territories even after the formation if the Part B State of Madhya Bharat
Attempts were made to evolve a uniform pattern of revenue administration in conformity with the directive principles of State Policy in the Constitution to bring the tiller of the soil into direct relation with the State
The Legislature of the Part B State of Madhya Bharat enacted Act 66 of 1950 to consolidate and declare the law relating to revenue administration in the United States of Gwalior Indore and Malwa and land revenue land tenure 431 and other matters connected with the land in the Ryotwari tracts or villages of the United States
Section 54 of Act 66 of 1950 defined Pakka tenant ordinary tenant sub tenant and prescribed the duties of a tenant by section 55
By section 73 a Pakka tenant was prohibited from sub letting for any period any land comprised in his holding unless he belonged to any of the classes mentioned in section 74
By section 74 certain classes of disabled persons were permitted to sub let the whole or any part of their holding
But such a sub lease made in pursuance of the provisions of the Act was to cease to be in force after one year of the determination of the disability by death or otherwise
By section 75 it was provided that a sub lease of the whole or any part of the holding of a Pakka tenant effected properly and legally prior to the commencement of the Act was to terminate after the expiry of the period of sub lease or expiry of four years after the commencement of the Act whichever period was less
By section 76 a sub lessee failing to hand over pos session after expiry of his right was to be deemed a tresspasser and liable to ejectment in accordance with the provisions of the Act
The Legislature with the object of improving the conditions of agriculturists and with a view to remove the middleman between the State and the tiller of the soil also enacted the Zamindari Abolition Act and the Abolition of Jagirs Act
Another statute which has a bearing on the dispute in this appeal the Madhya Bharat Muafi and Inam Tenants and Sub tenants Protection Act 32 of 1954 was enacted to provide for the duration of the Act for the protection of tenants or ordinary tenants and sub tenants of Muafidars Inamdars and Istumurardars in Madhya Bharat against eviction by such Muafidars or Inamdars of their tenants as the case may be and for stay of suits and other proceedings relating to such eviction
By section 2ii the terms tenant sub tenant ordinary tenant and rent were given the same meaning as was assigned to them in sub sections
1 7 8  9 of section 54 of Act 66 of 1950
By section 1 a restriction was placed upon eviction of any tenant sub tenant
or ordinary tenant of Inam land during the continuance Act and it was declared that the tenant sub tenant or ordinary tenant shall not pay rent higher than what he was paying in the agricultural year ending June 30 1948
By section 4 all suits proceedings in execution of decrees or orders and other proceedings for the eviction of Inam land tenants sub tenants or ordinary tenants from Inam lands or in which a claim for such eviction was involved pending in the Court at the commencement of the Act or which may be instituted after such commencement were to be stayed subject to the provisions contained in the Act
By sub section
II of section 4 it was provided that if the Inamdar Muafidar or Istumurardar had taken possession of the land illegally from a tenant sub tenant or an ordinary tenant after August 15 1947 such a tenant sub tenant or an ordinary 432 tenant may apply to the Tahsildar to be restored to possession of such land and on such application the Tahsildar shall cause the land to be returned to such tenant sub tenant or ordinary tenant from the Inamdar Muafidar or Istumurardar as the ease may be
By section 6 it was provided that all suits and proceedings shall after the expiration of the Act be proceeded with subject to the provisions of any law which may then be in force from the stage which had been reached when the suit or proceeding was stayed
Act 32 of 1954 was intended initially to remain in force for a period of two years but its life was extended by later enactments
Protection against eviction during the continuance of Act 32 of 1954 by enforcement of a decree passed in a suit or a proceeding either before or after the date on which the Act was brought into force was conferred upon tenants sub tenants and ordinary tenants
It is clear from the terms of sections 3  4 of the Act that the Legislature did not seek to grant protection only to persons between whom and the claimants for protection there was a subsisting contractual relation
A person who was inducted into the land as a tenant sub tenant or ordinary tenant and who continued to hold the land at the commencement of the Act was entitled to protection notwithstanding that under the law in force prior to the Commencement of the Act the contractual relation was determined
The Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code was enacted in 1959
By section 157 of the Code it was declared that there shall be only one class of tenure holders of lands held from the State to be known as Bhumiswami and by section 158 it was provided that every person who at the time of coming into force of the Code belongs to any of the four classes specified shall be called a Bhumiswami and shall have all the rights and be subject to all the liabilities conferred or imposed upon a Bhumiswami by or under the Code and among the persons specified is every person in respect of land held by him in the Madhya Bharat region as a Pakka tenant or as a Muafidar Inamdar or Concessional holder as defined in the Madhya Bharat Land Revenue and Tenancy Act Samvat 2007
The argument of counsel for the appellant is that the respondent not being a tenant at the commencement of the Code could not acquire the rights of an occupancy tenant and that any proceeding instituted against the tenant must be heard and disposed of according to the law in force prior to the commencement of the Code
The definition of the expression tenant in section 2y postulates a subsisting tenancy but that definition may be resorted to for interpreting section 185 1 only if the context or the subject matter of the section does not suggest a different meaning
A tenant is by the definition a person who holds land as an occupancy tenant from a Bhurmiswami but the status of a Bhumiswami is recognized 433 for the first time by the Code and an occupancy tenant from a Bhumiswami would mean only a person belonging to that class who acquires rights of occupancy tenant after the Code comes into force
The position of a tenant prior to the date on which the Code was brought into force does not appear to have been dealt with in this definition
The definition which is specially devised for the purpose of the Act throws no light on the nature of the right which invests
the holder of land with the status of an occupancy tenant at the commencement of the Code
In the context in which the expression tenant occurs in section 185 the defi nition could not be intended to apply in determining the conditions which invest upon a holder of land the status of an occupancy tenant
If the expression tenant in section 185 1 be released from the artificial definition as given in section 2y in view of the context in which it occurs the expression tenant in section 1851iia having regard to the object of the enactment would be ascribed the meaning that expression had in Act 32 of 1954
This view is strengthened by certain indications found in cl
iib if section 185 1 which provides that in the Madhya Bharat region every person who at the commencement of the Code holds any land as ryotwari sub lessee as defined in the Madhya Bharat Ryotwari Sub Lessee Protection Act 29 of 1955 shall be called an occupancy tenant
Unless a ryotwari sub lessee as defined in Act 29 of 1955 included a sub lessee whose tenure was terminated before the commencement of the Code that clause would not apply to any concrete case
The Court would not unless compelled by unambiguous language impute to the Legislature an intention to enact a provision which was ineffective
By section 73 of Act 66 of 1950 a Pakka tenant could not sub let for any period any land comprised in his holding except in the cases provided for in section 74 and by section 75 it was provided that all sub leases in force at the commencement of the Act were to terminate either on the expiry of the period of sub lease or expiry of four years whichever was earlier
All sub leases except those which were covered by section 74 ie sub leases granted by disabled persons before the commencement of Act 66 of 1950 stood terminated some time before the end of 1954 and by the express terms of section 76 the sublessees were to be deemed trespassers and liable to ejectment in accordance with the provisions of the Act
Notwithstanding these provisions by another Act 29 of 1955 scheme of which was substantially the same as the scheme of Act 32 of 1954 ejectment of ryotwari sub lessees other than a sub lessee under section 74 of Act 66 of 1950 was suspended for the duration of the Act and all suits and proceedings in execution for ejectment were to be stayed
By section 2b of Act 29 of 1955 Ryotwari sub lessee was defined as meaning a person to whom a Pakka tenant of any ryotwari land has sub let on sub lease any part of his ryotwari land
By 434 section 3 a ban was imposed against ejectment of all ryotwari sub lessees other than sub lessees under section 74 of Act 66 of 1950
By section 4 provision was made for ejectment of ryotwari sub lessees and provisions similar to sections 5  6 of Act 32 of 1954 were made in this Act also
A ban was therefore imposed against eviction of ryotwari sub lessees and proceedings for eviction against them were stayed by Act 29 of 1955
Therefore ryotwari sub lessees who had ceased by determination of the sub leases to have right in the lands were still protected from eviction during the pendency of Act 29 of 1955 and by section 1851iib of the Code upon the ryotwari sub lessees the rights of occupancy tenants were conferred
If the expression ryotwari sub lessee were to be construed to mean a ryotwari sub lessee between whom and his lessor there was a subsisting contract of sub letting the protection for all purposes would be ineffective for by express statutory provision read with section 74 of Act 66 of 1950 all ryotwari sub leases stood determined before Act 29 of 1955 was brought into force and by virtue of section 185 3 of the code a holder of land from a disabled Bhumiswami belonging to a class mentioned in section 1682 of the Code does not qualify for the status of an occupancy tenant
It may be noticed that in the class of disabled persons in sub s 2 of section 168 of the Code are included all persons who are declared disabled by sub section
2 of section 74 of Act 66 of 1950
If ryotwari sub lessees of disabled persons mentioned in subs
2 of section 74 of Act 66 of 1950 cannot claim rights of occupancy tenants by virtue of section 185 3 of the Code and other ryotwari sublessees cannot qualify for those rights because of the determination of their interest as sub lessees by virtue of sections 75  76 of Act 66 of 1950 section 185 1iib of the Code will not apply to any class of ryotwari sub lessees
This is a strong ground in support of the view taken by the High Court that the expression ryotwari sublessee in section 185 1iib of the Code include persons whose contractual relation has been det ermined either under the terms of contract of sub lease or statutorily under Act 66 of 1950
If that be the true meaning of the expression ryotwari sub lessee  there would be no reason to think that the Legislature sought to make a distinction between tenants sub tenants and ordinary tenants of Inam land in section 1851iia of the Code and ryotwari sub lessees of other lands in section 1851iib
A member belonging to those classes would therefore be included in the protection provided at some time prior to the date on which the Code was brought into force if he was in possession of land as a tenant sub tenant or ordinary tenant and he continued to hold the land till the date of commencement of the Code
The alternative argument that section 185 of the Code has Po application in respect of pending proceedings for ejectment is without substance
By section 261 of the Code a large number of 435 statutes specified in Sch
II were repealed
By section 261 certain enactments specified in Sch
11 including the Madhya Bharat Land Revenue and Tenancy Act 66 of 1950 and the Madhya Bharat Muafi and Inam Tenants and Sub tenants Protection Act 32 of 1954 were wholly repealed
But it is expressly provided in section 261 that the repeat shall not affecta the previous operation of any law so repealed or anything duly done or suffered thereunder or b any right privilege obligation or liability acquired accrued or incurred under any law so repealed or c  any penalty forfeiture or punishment incurred in respect of any offence committed against any law so repealed or d any invest igation legal proceeding or remedy in respect of any such right privilege obligation liability penalty forfeiture or punishment as aforesaid and any such investigation legal proceeding or remedy may be instituted continued or enforced and any such penalty forfeiture or punishment may be imposed as if the Act had not been passed
Section 262 which deals with transitory provisions by sub section
2 provides Any case pending in Civil Court at the coming into force of this Code which would under this Code be exclusively triable by a Revenue Court shall be disposed of by such Civil Court according to the law in force prior to the commencement of this Code Relying upon these two provisions it was urged that persons who were tenants sub tenants or ordinary tenants of Inam land prior to the date on which the Code was brought into for  whose rights have consistently with the law in force before that date been terminated cannot set up rights of occupancy tenants acquired under section 185 for within the meaning of section 261 the right to eject a tenant has accrued to the landlord before the commencement of the Code and a proceeding for enforcement of that right may be continued and the right enforced as if the Code had not been passed and the Court in which the proceeding is pending would be bound to dispose of the proceeding according to the law in force prior to the commencement of the Code
The argument is misconceived
Act 66 of 1950 did not deal With the right of a landlord to evict a tenant from land
Act 66 of 1950 was expressly repealed by the Code but since the right to evict a tenant was governed G by the general law of landlord and tenant the proviso to section 261 had no operation
In terms the proviso to section 261 protects a right privilege obligation or liability which had been acquired accrued or incurred under the law repealed by the Code
The right to obtain possession not having been acquired under the law repealed a legal proceeding pending at the date of the commencement of the Code will be disposed of according to the law then in force 
That was expressly provided by section 6 of Act 32 of 1954 and by section 6 of Act 29 of 1955
If at the date of the trial the tenant had acquired the right of an occupancy tenant he could not be evicted 436 otherwise than in the manner and for reasons mentioned in section 19 3 of the Code
Personal requirement for cultivation of land is not however a ground on which claim since the commencement of the Code for ejectment may be maintained
Section 2622 is a transitory provision which enables a Civil Court to hear and dispose of a suit notwithstanding that under the Code such a proceeding would be triable by a Revenue Court
It is expressly declared that such a proceeding shall be disposed of according to the law in force prior to the commencement of the Code
That however does not imply that the contract between the parties which was sought to be enforced unaffected by the statutory declaration of occupancy tenants under section 185 in favour of the tenant may be enforced
In our view sub section
2 is only procedural it provides that a Civil Court will continue to have jurisdiction to dispose of a civil suit pending before it at the commencement of the Code which if it had been instituted after the Code was passed would have been tried by a Revenue Court and in the disposal of such a suit the Civil Court will be governed by the procedural law applicable thereto prior to the commencement of the Code
There is nothing in section 2622 which seeks to nullify the statutory conferment of occupancy rights upon persons in the position of tenants sub tenants or ordinary tenants against whom proceedings were taken at the date when the Code was brought into force
The appeal therefore fails and is dismissed with costs
Appeal dismissed


Summary:
The appellant holder of an inam in Madhya Pradesh served a notice an his tenant the respondent terminating to tenancy on the ground that he wanted the land for personal cultivation and filed a suit for ejectment
The trial court decreed the suit
During the pendency of the appeal in the District Court article 32 of 1954 was enacted and pursuant to its provisions the hearing of the appeal was stayed
After the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code came into force in 1959 the District Court held that by virtue of section 185 of that Code the respondent acquired the rights of an occupancy tenant and dismissed the suit
The High Court confirmed the judgment of the District Court
In appeal to this Court it was contended that  i the rights of an occupancy tenant arise in favour of a personl under section 1851 i a only if there was between him and the landlord a subsisting tenancy at the date when the Code came into force and since under the law in force before the commencement of the Code the respondent had ceased to be a tenant because of the notice terminating the contract of tenancy the respondent was not invested with the rights of an occupany tenant and ii bi virtue of sections 261 and 2622 the operation of section 185 is expressly excluded when a person against whom ejectment proceedings have been instituted prior to the commencement of the Code in enforcement of a right then acquired claims the status of an occupancy tenant
HELD  i The respondent acquired the right of an occupancy tenant under the Code because the expression tenant in section 185 1 ii a includes a person whose tenancy was terminated before the commencement of the Code
The definition of the expression tenant in the Code postulates a subsisting tenancy but the position of a tenant prior to the date on which the Code was brought into force is not dealt with in the definition
In the context in which the expression tenant occurs in section 1851 that definition could not be intended to apply in deter ining the conditions which invest a holder of land with the status of an occupancy tenant at the commencement of the Code
Therefore having regard to the object of the enactment the expression should be ascribed the meaning it has in Act 32 of 1954
Under sections 3  4 of that Act a person who was inducted into the land as a tenant and who continued to hold the land at the commencement of the Act was entitled to protection against eviction and continue as tenant notwithstanding that under the law in force prior to the commencement of the Act
the contractual relationship of landlord and tenant was determined
432 D 432 14 433 C 428 There is no reason to think that the Legislature sought to make a A distinction between tenants of Inam land in section 185 1 ii a and ryotwari sub lessees of other lands in section 1851iib
Therefore if the expression ryotwari sub lessee  in section 1851iib includes a sub lessee whose tenaure was terminated before the commencement of the Code a tenant of inam land whose tenancy has been terminated would also be included in the protection provided at some time prior to the date on which the Code was brought into force he was in possession of the land as a tenant and he continued to hold the land till the date of the commencement of the Code
434 E H ii The provisions of the Code appeal to tenants in proceedings for ejectment pending at the commencement of the Code
The proviso to section 261 protects a right which had been acquired under a law repeated by the Code and the right could be enforced as if the code had not been passed
But the right to evict a tenant was governed by the general law of landlord and tenant and was not acquired under any repealed law
The proviso had no operation and a legal proceeding pending at the date of the commencement of the Code will be disposed of according to the law enacted in the Code
Therefore the tenant could not  be evicted otherwise than in the manner and for reasons mentioned in a 193 of the Code but personal requirement for cultivation of land is not a ground on which a claim for ejectment could be maintained
435 G436 A Section 2622 is only procedural it provides that a civil court will continue to have jurisdiction to dispose of a civil suit pending before it at the commencement of the Code Which if it had been instituted after the Code was passed would have been tried by a revenue court and in the disposal of such a suit the civil court will be governed by the procedural law applicable there to prior to the commencement of the Code
It does not nullify the statutory conferment of occupancy right upon persons in the position of tenants against whom proceedings were taken at the date when the Code was brought into force
436 B D