Civil Appeal No 21 38 Of 1980 From the Judgment and Order dated the 16th November 1979 of Madras High Court in Civil Revision Petition No 544 of 1978
ATM Sampath for the Appellant
AS Nambiar for the Respondent
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by BALKRISHNA ERADI J
With the obvious intent of falling in line with the rest of the country in the matter of achieving the social goal of equitable distribution of cultivable lands by the imposition of ceiling on agricultural land holdings and distribution of surplus lands among landless persons the Legislature of the Union Territory of Pondicherry enacted The Pondicherry Land Reforms Fixation of Ceiling on Land Act 1973  hereinafter called the Act  The questions arising for determination of some of the provisions of the 1 Act Before we proceed to refer to the relevant sections of the Act we shall set out in brief the material facts which have given rise to the controversy before us
The appellant Vengdasalam Pillai is married to Smt
Senbagevalli Ammal
Five children three daughters and two sons were born to this couple
On March 17 1970 the appellant effected a partition of all his properties as between himself and his two sons both of whom were minors at that time
This partition was evidenced by a registered document
Under that document the appellant retained in his name an extent of 18563
hectares of land
The first son Shanmugasundaram minor was allotted 71024
hectares and the younger son Trinivasan was allotted an extent of 35482
hectares of land
An area of 57487 hectares stood registered in the name of the appellant s wife Senbagevalli the said land having been purchased by her in 1958 by utilising her Sridhanam money
The Act was passed by the legislative assembly on October 5 1974 and after it received the assent of the President on September 22 1974 it was published in the Gazette of Pondicherry on October 14 1974
929 Since the appellant did not voluntarily file a return under A section 71 of the Act a notice in Form 4 was issued to him by the Authorised Officer Land Reforms Karaikal under section 81 of the Act
In compliance therewith the appellant filed a return on December 121975 stating that he and his wife were holding only 76791 hectares of land
Thereafter separate notices were issued by the Authorised Officer to the appellant and his wife to file further representations if any and to appear before him for enquiry on the dates specified therein
In response to these notices the appellant and his wife filed separate representations reiterating their original stand that the lands allotted to the minor sons under the partition as also the lands acquired by the appellant s wife with the Sridhanam amounts could not be taken into account while computing the extent of the appellant s holding
The Authorised Officer rejected these contentions and held that the appellant was holding an extent of 182628 ordinary hectares equivalent to 114855 standard hectares of land and since the appellant s family consisted of himself his wife two minor sons and three unmarried daughters he was eligible to retain only 84000 standard hectares D Aggrieved by the aforesaid order passed by the Authorised Officer the appellant preferred an appeal in the Court of the Land Tribunal Karaikal
That appeal was allowed by the Land Tribunal which took the view that since the sons of the appellant had become divided from him by THE deed of partition executed in 1970 long prior to the appointed day specified in the Act and since the Lands standing in the name of the appellant s wife belonged to her independently in her own separate right there was no justification for clubbing together the lands of the appellant and those belonging to his wife and the two minor sons
The Land Tribunal held that since the two minor sons of the appellant and the wife of the appellant were holding their lands as independent owners the definition of family under section 21 of the Act was not attracted in this case and that the Authorised Officer ought to have excluded the lands belonging to the sons and the wife of the appellant while computing the extent of the holding of the appellant and fixed his ceiling on the said basis
It was further held that on such computation the total area of land held by the appellant was well within the ceiling limit and hence there was no liability on his part to surrender any surplus land
The correctness of the said decision of the Land Tribunal was called in question before the High Court of Madras by the Govern 930 ment of the Union Territory of Pondicherry by filing a Civil Revision Petition under section 50 of the Act
By the judgment now impugned before us the High Court allowed that revision petition set aside the decision of the Land Tribunal and restored the Order passed by the Authorised Officer
The High Court held that on a combined reading of the definition of family contained in section 210 of the Act with the further provision contained in section 42 it was clear that notwithstanding any transaction of partition entered into prior to the appointed day the minor sons of a person will for the purposes of the Act be treated as members of the family of such person together with his wife and unmarried daughters
It was further held that in computing the extent of the holding of the family as defined in the Act the separate properties of the minor sons as well as the separate property of the wife had all to be included by reason of the express provision contained in section 42 of the Act
In this view the High Court held that the Authorised Officer had acted fully in accordance with law in clubbing together the properties of the appellant his wife and the two sons who were minors on the appointed day
Aggrieved by the said decision of the High Court the appellant has filed this appeal in this Court by Special leave
We may now proceed to examine the relevant provisions of the Act
Section 2 is the definition section
Clause 4 thereof states that the expression appointed day  means the 24th day of January 1971
The definition of  family   which is very important for the purposes of this case is contained in clause 10 and it is in the following terms 10 family in relation to a person means the person the wife or husband as the case may be of such person and his or her minor sons and unmarried daughters The only other definition to which we need refer is that contained in clause 24 which states that  notified date  means the date specified in the notification issued by the Government under sub section 1 of section 7
 It is common ground before us that the date so specified under section 71 is 311974
It is under section 4 that the ceiling limits of land holdings have been specified and it is necessary to reproduce the section in it full
It reads 931 41a Subjects to the provisions of Chapter VI the A ceiling area in the case of every person and in the case of every family consisting of not more than five members shall be 6 standard hectares
b The ceiling area in the case of every family consisting of more than five members shall subject to the pro vision of Chapter VI be 6 standard hectares together with an additional 12 standard hectares for every member of the family in excess of five Provided that the total extent of land held by any family shall in no case exceed twice the ceiling area referred to in clause a 2 For the purpose of this section all the lands held Individually by the members of a family or jointly by some or all of the members of such family shall be deemed to be held by the family
3a In calculating the extent of land held by a member of a family or by an individual person the share of the member of the family or of the individual person in the land held by an undivided Hindu family shall be taken into account
b In calculating the extent of land held by a family or by an individual person the share of the family or of the individual person in the land held by a firm society or association of individuals of individuals whether incorporated or not or by a company other than a non agricultural company shall be taken into account
Explanation For the purposes of this section a the share of a member of a family or of an individual person in the land held by an undivided Hindu family and b the share of a family or of an individual person the land held by a firm society or association of individuals whether incorporated or not or by a company other than a non agricultural Company shall be deemed to be the extent of land 932 i which in case such share is held on the appointed day would have been allotted to such member person or family had such land been partitioned or divided in proportion to the share held by such member person or family as the case may be no such day or ii which in case such share is acquired in any manner whatsoever after the appointed day would be allotted to such member person or family if a partition or division in proportion to the share held by such member person or family were to take place on the date of the preparation of the draft statement under sub section 1 of section 9
4 In calculating the extent of land held by any person any land which was transferred by sale gift or other wise or partitioned by that person after the appointed day but before the commencement of this Act shall be taken into account as if such land had not been transferred or Partitioned as the case may be
5a The land held by the public trust referred to in the proviso to clause 30 of section 2 shall be deemed to be held by the founder of the trust or his heirs or the family of the founder of his heirs
b In calculating the extent of land held by such founder or his heirs of such family the extent of the land held by the public trust shall be taken into account
6 In calculating the extent of land held by any person the extent of land which may revert to such person immediately after the death of any limited owner shall during the lifetime of limited owner be excluded
 Section 6 lays down that on from the appointed day no person shall
except as otherwise provided in this Act but subject to the provisions of Chapter VI be entitled to hold land in excess of the exiling area
The proviso to the said section is not material for the purposes of this case 933 Sub section 1 of Section 7 requires every person who on the A appointed day held land in excess of the ceiling area to furnish to the Authorised Officer within whose jurisdiction the holding of such person or the major part thereof is situated a return containing the particulars specified in clauses i to viii thereof within thirty days from such date as may be specified in the Notification issued by the Government in that behalf
Clause ii reads ii particulars of the members of the family and of the land held by each member of the family underlining ours Explanation IV to sub section 1 of section 7 is in the following terms Where in a family both husband and wife hold land separately and the aggregate of such land exceeds the ceiling area
the extent of land to be declared surplus by each of them shall bear the same proportion to the extent of land held by them
2 The notification referred to in sub section 1 shall contain such particulars and shall be published in such manner as may be prescribed
 These are the only provisions of the Act which have a direct relevance for deciding the questions raised in this case
However since the Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant sought to derive some assistance from the provisions contained in section 221 of the Act we may extract the said Sub section also Section 221 Except where a person is permitted in writing by the authorised officer a person holding land in excess of the ceiling area applicable to him under section 4 shall not after the commencement of this Act transfer by sale gift or otherwise or make any partition of any land held by him or any part thereof until the excess land which is to be acquired by the Govt
under section 17 has been determined and taken possession of by or on behalf of the Government
 The main argument advanced before us on behalf of the appellant was that since the two minor sons of the appellant had become divided from their father as a result of the partition effected under the document of March 17 1970 they could not be regarded as member 934 of the family of the appellant as on the appointed day  namely January 24 1971
On this basis it WAS urged that the lands the ownership in respect of which had become vested individually in the two minor sons by virtue of the allotments in their favour at the partition could not legally be included in the holding of the appellant for the purpose of fixation of his ceiling under the Act
Relying on the provisions contained in sub section 4 of section 4 Counsel for the appellant contended that the framers of the Act did 
not intend to nullify transactions by way of partition entered into before the appointed day  and it is only post appointed day partitions and transfers that are to be ignored under that sub section
Support was also sought to be derived from the provisions contained in subsection 1 of section 22 which prohibits partition and transfers by sale gift etc
Of any land held by a person having land in excess of ceiling area prescribed under section 4 until the excess land to be acquired by the Govt
under section 17 of the Act has been determined and taken possession of by or on behalf of the Government
Another point pressed on behalf of the appellant was that the properties separately owned by his wife in her own right by virtue of purchase effected by her by utilising her Sridhanam amounts ought not have been clubbed along with the lands belonging to the appellant in computing the appellant s holding
We see no force in any of the contentions aforementioned
The fallacy underlying the arguments advanced on behalf of the appellant is that they proceed on the erroneous assumption that the family referred to in the Act must conform to the concept of the joint family as known to Hindu Law
The provisions of the Act are applicable to all holders of land in the Union Territory of Pondicherry irrespective of religion community etc
The lands may be held by Hindus Christians Muslims or by persons belonging to other religious faiths
All of them are equally governed by the provisions of the Act
The concept of a joint family is totally foreign to the personal laws of some of these communities
It is therefore manifestly wrong to approach the interpretation of the sections of the Act with the preconceived notion that in using the expression family the legislature had intended to connote an undivided family as known to the Hindu Law and that after a partition had taken place in a Hindu joint family there cannot be a family  consisting of the father and his divided minor sons for the purpose of fixation of ceiling under the Act
The fact that the definition of  family contained in section 210 does not treat the 935 major sons of a person as members of his family is a clearly pointer A that an undivided Hindu family was not in the contemplation of the Legislature when it enacted that said definition section
Similarly the provision contained i n sub section 3a of section 4 that in calculating the extent of land held by a member of a family or by an individual person the share of the member of the family or of the individual person in the land held by an undivided Hindu family shall be taken into account furnishes a conclusive indication that the family mentioned in the Act is wholly distinct and different from an undivided Hindu family  The circumstance that a partition had taken place disrupting the joint family consisting of the appellant and his minor sons is therefore of no relevance in determining the total extent of the holding of the appellant in accordance with the provisions of Election 210 read with section 4 of the Act
That is because the Act has created a special statutory unit consisting of the persons satisfying the description contained in clause 10 of section 2 as constituting a family for the purpose of fixation of ceiling
The stress is only on the existence of the relationship mentioned in the section and unity of title or jointness of holding in relation to property are not essential elements for attracting the applicability of the definition
Under the definition contained in section 210 a person the wife or husband of such person and his or her minor sons and unmarried daughters together constitute a family
Section 42 expressly provides that for the purpose of fixation of ceiling on the lands held individually by the members of a family or jointly by some or all of the members of such family shall be deemed to be held by the family
The result is that the separate properties of the members constituting the statutory family are all to be treated as forming part of the holding of the family  for the purpose of determination of the ceiling area
Such being the position emerging from the provisions of section 210 and section 412 the properties held by the minor sons of the appellant individually as well as the lands separately owned by Smt
Senbagevalli wife of the the appellant by virtue of the purchase effected by her with her Sridhanam amounts were all liable to be taken into account while computing the total extent of holding of the family of the appellant
Counsel for the appellant sought to rely on the provision contained in Explanation IV to section 7 for contending that there was no justification for including the separate properties of Smt
Senbagevalli in the holding of the appellant s family 
We see nothing in 936 the said provision which lends support to the contention of the appellant The Explanation itself clearly proceeds on the footing that for purposes of computing the ceiling and determining the area of surplus land to be surrendered the lands held separately by the husband and wife are to be pooled together
All that the Explanation lays down is that when the aggregate of such lands exceeds the ceiling area the extent of the land to be declared surplus by each of the spouses shall be fixed in proportion to the respective areas of land separately held by each of them
In other words the liability to surrender excess land is to be fixed in proportion to the extent of land held separately by the two spouses
Counsel for the appellant also relied on the provision contained in sub section 4 of section 4 of the Act as furnishing an indication that transactions of partition that have taken place before the appointed day  are not to be ignored and that only post appointed day partitions are to be treated as ineffective
We find no force in this argument
The purpose of section 44 is to peg down the process of determination of ceiling area to the state of things that obtained on the appointed day  and it is in that context and for the said purpose that the sub section provides that in calculating the extent of land held by any person any land which was transferred by sale gift or otherwise or partitioned by that person after the appointed day but before the commencement pf the Act shall be taken into account as if such land had not been transferred or partitioned
The conclusion that emerges from the foregoing discussion is that the High Court was perfectly right in holding that the lands standing in the names of the wife and the two minor sons of the appellant as their separate properties were also liable to be included in the holding of the appellant for the purpose of fixation of ceiling under Section 4 of the Act
The appeal accordingly fails and is dismissed but in the circumstances without costs
APJ Appeal dismissed


Summary:
The appellant s family consisted of himself his wife and five children three daughters and two sons
On March 17 1970 the appellant affected a partition of all his properties by a registered document between himself and his two minor sons
The appellant retained 18563 hectors of land for himself
The first son Was allotted 71024 hectors and the younger son was allotted 35482 hectors
The appellant s wife purchased in 1958 57487 hectors of land by utilising her Sridbanam money
On the failure of the appellant to file a return under section 7 1 of the Act voluntarily the Authorised Officer issued a notice Form 4 under 
81 of the Act
The appellant thereupon filed a return on December 12 1915 stating that he and his wife were holding Only 76791 hectors
Thereafter the Authorised Officer issued separate notices to the appellant and his wife to file further representations if any and to appear before him for enquiry
Separate representations were filed reiterating the original stand that the lands allotted to the minor sons under the partition as also the lands acquired by the appellant s wife with the Sridhanam amounts could not be taken into account while computing the extent of the appellant s holding
The Authorised Officer rejected these contentions and held that the appellant was holding an extent of 182628 ordinary hectares equivalent to 114855 standard hectares of land and he was eligible to retain only 84000 standard hectares
926 Aggrieved by the said order the appellant preferred an appeal before the Land Tribunal which allowed the appeal taking the view that since the sons of the appellant had become divided from him by the deed of partition executed in 1970 long prior to the appointed day specified in the Act and the lands standing in the name of the appellant s wife belonged to her independently in her own separate right there was no justification for clubbing together the lands of the appellant with those of his wife and sons and that the definition of  family under section 10 of the Act was not attracted to this case and the appellant was well within the ceiling limit
The State respondent challenged the decision of the Land Tribunal before the High Court in a Civil Revision Petition under section 50 which set aside the decision and restored the Order passed by the Authorised Officer
The High Court held 1 that a combined reading of In definition of  family contained in s 210 and the provision contained in section 4 2 makes clear that notwithstanding any transaction of partition entered into prior to the appointed day the minor sons of a person will I for the purposes of the Act be Ideated as members of the family of such person together with his wife and unmarried daughters
and 2 that in computing the extent of the holding of the family as defined in the Act he separate property of the wife had to be included by reason of the express provision contained in section 4 2
Dismissing the appellant s appeal  HELD 1
The High Court was right in holding that the lands standing in the names of the wife and the two minor sons of the appellant as their separate properties were also liable to be included in the holding of the appellant for the purpose of fixation of ceiling under section 4 of the Act
9 3 6F 2
i The provisions of the Pondicherry Land Reforms Fixation of Ceiling on Land Act 1973 are applicable to all holders of Land in the Union Territory of Pondicherry irrespective of their religion community etc
It is therefore fallacious to assume that the  family referred to in the Act must conform to the concept of the joint family as known to Hindu Law
The concept OF a joint family is totally foreign to personal laws of some of the communities
934F G 2
ii It is manifestly wrong to approach the interpretation of the sections of the Act with the preconceived notion that in using the expression family the Legislature had intended to connote an undivided family as known to the Hindu Law and that after a partition had taken place in a Hindu joint family there cannot be a family  consisting of the father and his divided minor sons for the purpose of fixation of ceiling under the Act
934G 927 2
iii The fact that the definition of family contained in section 2 10 A does not treat the major sons of a person as members of his family is a clearly pointer that an undivided Hindu family was in the contemplation of the Legislature when it enacted the definition section 934H 936A 3
Sub section 3 a of section 4 which provides that in calculating the extent of land held by a member of a family or by an individual person the share of the member of the family or of the individual person in the land held by an undivided Hindu family shall be taken into account furnishes a conclusive indication that the family mentioned in the Act is wholly distinct and different from an undivided Hindu family  935B In the instant case the circumstance that a partition had taken place disrupting the joint family consisting of the appellant and his minor sons is of no relevance in determining the total extent of the holding of the appellant in accordance with the provisions of section 2 10 read with s 4 of the Act
A special statutory unit consisting of the persons satisfying the description contained in clause 10 of section 2 as constituting a family for the purpose of fixation of ceiling has been created
The stress is only on the existence of the relationship and unity of title or jauntiness of holding in relation to properly are not essential elements
Under the definition contained in section 2 10 a person the wife or husband of such person and his or her minor sons and unmarried daughters together constitute a family
935C D 4
The position emerging from the provisions of section 2 10 and section 41 2 is that the properties held by the minor sons of the appellant individually as well as the lands separately owned by his wife purchased by her with her Sridhanam amounts are all liable to be taken into account while computing the total extent of holding of the family of the appellant
935F 5
Explanation IV to section 7 proceeds on the footing that for purposes of computing the ceiling and determining the area of surplus land to be surrendered
the lands held separately by the husband and wife are to be pooled together
The liability to surrender excess land is to be fixed in proportion to the extent of land held separately by the two spouses 936B 6
The purpose of section 44 is to peg down the process of determination of ceiling area to the state of things that obtained on the appointed day  and it is for the said purpose that the sub section provides that in calculating the extent of land held by and person any land which was transferred by sale gift or otherwise Dr partitioned by that person after the appointed day but before the commencement of the Act shall be taken into account as if such land had not been transferred or partitioned
936D E 928