Case: Mir Fakir Mohd Vs. State Of West Bengal

SARKARIA, J.1. The principal question that has been mooted before us in this petition for special leave to appeal under Article 136 of the Constitution, against an appellate judgment dated 21st July, 1976 of the High Court at Calcutta, is, whether a bamboo garden or banana plantation is an Orchard within the meaning of Section 6(1) (f), of the West Bengal Estate Acquisition Act, 1954 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). The material portion of Section 6 of the Act reads as under:"6(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 4 and 5, an intermediary shall except in the cases mentioned in the proviso to sub-section (2) but subject to other provisions of that sub-section, be entitled to retain with effect from the date of vesting-(f) subject to the provisions of subsection (3) Land comprised in tea garden or orchard or land used for the purpose of live stock breeding, poultry farming or dairy."The petitioner claims himself to be an intermediary. The High Court has held (reversing the judgments of the courts below) that a cultivated bamboo garden would fall within the definition of Agricultural land in Section 2(b) of the Act and cannot in any view be called an orchard with in the purview of Section 6(1) (f) of the Act. It further held that a banana plantation is not an orchard because banana plants are not fruit trees.Mr. Purshotham Chatterjee, appearing for the petitioner contends that orchard has not been defined in the Act, and we must, therefore, interpret the expression orchard, in its popular sense and not in the strict botanical sense, as the High Court has done. An orchard, it is argued; in the broad Dictionary sense, means a garden of fruit plants, or fruit trees, and a banana plant, according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, is a "fruit-tree."2. As against this, Mr. Majumdar, appearing for the Respondent State, submits that a banana plant is not a tree but a herbacious plant. We are unable to accept the contention canvassed on behalf of the petitioner.3. Section 2(p) of the Act provides:" (p) Expressions used in this Act and not otherwise defined have in relation to the areas to which the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885, applies, the same meaning as in that Act and in relation to other areas meaning as similar there to as the existing law relating to land tenures applying to such areas, permits."4. Now, Section 14K(e) of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act (as amended) defines an Orchard to mean:"A compact area of land having fruit bearing trees grown thereon in such number that they preclude; or when fully grown would preclude, a substantial part of such land from being used for any agricultural purpose."5. In view of clause (p) of Section 2 of the Act, it will not be wrong to look to this definition in the Land Reforms Act, for guidance. This definition, it will be seen, substantially conforms to the dictionary meaning of the term orchard. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the modern connotation of orchard is "an enclosure with fruit trees", or "an enclosure for the cultivation of fruit trees". Websters New World Dictionary, also, gives its meaning as "an area of land, generally enclosed, devoted to the cultivation of fruit trees, nut trees, ". Thus, the existence of cultivated fruit trees on a compact area, is central to the connotation of orchard. The question before us, therefore, resolves into the issue, whether a banana plant is a tree ? A tree, according to the Shorter Oxford Dictionary, is "a perennial plant having a self-supporting woody main stem or trunk (which usually develops wood branches at some distance from the ground), and growing to a considerable height.Thus, for a plant to come within the connotation of tree, it must have two essential characteristics: (a) It must be perennial and not seasonal; and (b) Its main stem must be woody and not herbacious or pulpy.6. A banana plant lacks both these characteristics. It is not a perennial plant, but is more in the nature of a seasonal crop lasting for one or one and a quarter years. Once the plant yields fruit, it becomes useless and does not yield any further fruit. Further, its stem is not woody but fleshy or herbacious.7. Banana plant, according to Websters Dictionary, is "a tree-like perennial herb of the genus Musa plant with soft herbacious stalk". Oxford Dictionary, no doubt, loosely describes it as a fruit-tree belonging to the genus Musa sapientum, but it also concedes that it has no woody stem or trunk but only a soft herbacious stalk. The Websters Dictionary appears to be more correct w hen it uses the word tree-like for a banana plant.8. Thus considered, a banana plant cannot be regarded as a fruit tree. Therefore, a banana plantation is not an orchard within the contemplation of Section 6(1) (f) of the Act.9.

Decision:
0[ds]We are unable to accept the contention canvassed on behalf of theview of clause (p) of Section 2 of the Act, it will not be wrong to look to this definition in the Land Reforms Act, for guidance. This definition, it will be seen, substantially conforms to the dictionary meaning of the term orchard. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the modern connotation of orchard is "an enclosure with fruit trees", or "an enclosure for the cultivation of fruit trees". Websters New World Dictionary, also, gives its meaning as "an area of land, generally enclosed, devoted to the cultivation of fruit trees, nut trees, ". Thus, the existence of cultivated fruit trees on a compact area, is central to the connotation of orchard. The question before us, therefore, resolves into the issue, whether a banana plant is a tree ? A tree, according to the Shorter Oxford Dictionary, is "a perennial plant having awoody main stem or trunk (which usually develops wood branches at some distance from the ground), and growing to a considerable height.Thus, for a plant to come within the connotation of tree, it must have two essential characteristics: (a) It must be perennial and not seasonal; and (b) Its main stem must be woody and not herbacious orbanana plant lacks both these characteristics. It is not a perennial plant, but is more in the nature of a seasonal crop lasting for one or one and a quarter years. Once the plant yields fruit, it becomes useless and does not yield any further fruit. Further, its stem is not woody but fleshy orplant, according to Websters Dictionary, is "aperennial herb of the genus Musa plant with soft herbacious stalk". Oxford Dictionary, no doubt, loosely describes it as abelonging to the genus Musa sapientum, but it also concedes that it has no woody stem or trunk but only a soft herbacious stalk. The Websters Dictionary appears to be more correct w hen it uses the wordfor a bananaconsidered, a banana plant cannot be regarded as a fruit tree. Therefore, a banana plantation is not an orchard within the contemplation of Section 6(1) (f) of the Act.