Judgment Case ID: 2891

Judgment:
l Appeals Nos. 2480 to 2509 2543 to 2546	 2547 to 2553	 2559	 2575	 2576 and 2602 of 1966	 214 to 217	 672 to 674	 1053	 1054	 1055	 1062	 1063	. 1457 and 1458 of 1967	 and 162	 672 ' 673 and 1000 of 1968. Appeals from the judgments and orders dated June 24	 1966 and July 20	 1966 of the Madras High Court in Writ Petitions Nos. 1542 of 1965 etc. V. Vedantachari	 K. C. Rajappa	 section Bala krishnanand N. M. Ghatate	 for the appellants (in C.As. 2480 2482	 2484 2509	 2575 and 2576	 of 1966). V. Vendantachari and section Balakrishnan	 for the appellants (in C.As. Nos. 2543	 2544 and 2546 of 1966). section Balakrishnan and N. M. Ghatate	 for the appellant (in C.A. No. 2545 of 1966). section V. Gupte and K. Jaram	 for the appellants (in C.A. Nos. 2547 to 2553 and 2559 of 1966). 792 K. Parasaran	 K. R. Chaudhuri and K. Rajendra Chaudhuri	 for the appellants (in C.As. 2602 of 1966	 214 to 217 and 1055 of 1967). M. section K. Sastri section Gopalan and M. section Narasimhan	 for the appellants (in C.As. 672 to 674 of 1967). M. section Narasimhan	 for the appellants (in C.As. 1053 and 1054 of 1967). A. V. V. Nair	 for the appellants (in C.As. Nos. 1062 and 1063 of 1967). V. Vedantachart	 A. T. M. Sampath and E. C. Agarwala	 for the appellants (in C.As. 14517 and 1458 of 1967). P. C. Bhartari	 for the appellant (in C.A. No. 162 of 1968). K. Jayaram	 for R. Thiagarajan for the appellants (in C.As. Nos. 672	 673 and 1000 of 1968 and 2483 of 1966). section Mahan Kumaramangalam and A.	 V. Rangarm	 for the respondent State of Madras in	 all the appeals). R. Kunchitapadam	 Vineet Kumar and K. Jayaram	 for respondent No. 2 (in C.A. No. 2484 of 1966). M. K. Ramamurthy	 J. Ramamurthy and Vineet Kumar	 for respondent No. 2 (in C.As. 2488 to 2490 of 1966). The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Hegde	 J. In this batch of appeals	 the validity of the Mad ras Inam Estates (Abolition and Conversion Into Ryotwari) Act	 1963 (Madras Act 26 of 1963); the Madras Lease Holds (Abolition and. Conversion into Ryotwari) Act	 1963 (Madras Act 27 of 19 63) and the Madras Minor Inams (Abolition and Conversion Into Ryotwari) Act	 1963 (Madras Act 30 of 1963) is challenged on the ground that the material provisions in those Acts are violative of articles 14	 19(1)(f) and 31 of the Constitution. The provisions in these Acts reducing the tenants" liability to pay the arrears of rent are also challenged on the ground that the legislature had no competence to enact 'those provisions. A few other minor contentions are also raised in these appeals to which reference will be made in the course of the judgment. All these contentions had been unsuccessfully urged before the High Court. Dealing with the allegation of infringement of articles 14	 19 and 31	 the High Court in addition to holding that there has been no infringement of those Articles has further held that the challenge to the validity of these Acts on the basis of those 793 articles is precluded in view of article 31 (A). Dealing with the contention relating to the reduction of rent the High Court came to the conclusion that the legislature had power to enact the impugned provisions. The High Court also has given reasons for rejecting the other contentions advanced before it. Aggrieved by the decision of the High Court these appeals have been brought by special leave. The impugned statues deal with agrarian reforms. They purport to deal with Inam lands. It is profitless to go to the origin of Inams or about their early history. Suffice it to say that the Urdu word "Inam" means a gift. The Inams	 rants were made by the Rulers for various purposes. Some of them were granted to institutions and some to individuals. Broadly speaking there were three types of Inams The first type consisted of the grant of the melwaram right alone. The second category consisted of the grant of both the melwaram as well as the kudivaram right. In addition to these two Inams	 there were what are known "as Minor Inams. Sometime prior to 1862	 the Government took up the question of enfranchising the Inams. The Inams Commissioner went into the rights of various persons claiming to be Inamdars. Thereafter the Madras Enfranchised Inams Act '. 1862 (Madras Act 47 of 1862) was passed for declaring and confirming the title of the Inamdars. Section 2 of that Act provided that the title deeds issued by the Inams Commissioner or an authenticated extracted from the register of the Commissioner or Collector shall be deemed sufficient proof of the enfranchisement of land previously hold on Inam tenure. By Madras Inams (Assessment) Act	 1956 (Madras Act 40 of 1 95 6)	 full assessment was levied on 'all Inam lands except Warm inams granted on service tenure	 without affecting in any way the rights as between the Inamdar and other	 persons	 if any	 in possession or enjoyment of the Inam land. Where the Inam comprised the entire villa e	 the same was treated as an "estate" in the Madras Proprietary Estates ' Village Service Act	 1894 (Madras Act 2 of 1894) and the Madras Hereditary Village Offices Act	 1895 (Madras Act 3 of 1895) as well as in Madras Estate Land Act	 1908 (Madras Act 1 of 1908). Mdras Estates Land Act	 1908 recognised the ryots ' permanent tenure. That Act secured a permanent right of occupancy to every ryot who at the commencement	 was in possession of "ryoti" I and or who was subsequently admitted to the possession of such land. Then came the Madras Estate Land (Third Amendment Act	 1936 (Madras Act 18 of 1936). That Act amplified the definition of the "estate" in the Madras Estate Land Act	 1908	 so as to bring within its scope A	 Inam villages	 of 794 which the grant was made	 confirmed or recognised by the Government. It also provided that when a question arises whether any land was the land holder 's private land or not	 the land should be presumed not to be Inamdar 's private land until the contrary was proved. In 1937	 the Madras Government appointed the	 Prakasam Committee to enquire into and report the conditions which prevailed in the Zamindari and other proprietary areas in the State. That committee submitted its report together with a draft bill on the lines of its recommendations	 but no action was taken on that report as the Congress Ministry which appointed it resigned. Then we come to the Madras Estates (Abolition and Conversion Into Ryotwari) Act	 1948 (Madras Act 26 of 1948). This Act applies to all estates i.e. Zamindari and under tenure estates and all Inam villages in which the grant consisted of melwaram alone. That Act as its preamble says is an Act to provide for the repeal of the permanent settlement	 the acquisition of the rights of landholders in permanently settled and certain other estates in the Province of Madras and the introduction of the ryotwari settlement in such estates. To complete the agrarian reform initiated by this Act	 the impugned Acts appears to have been enacted. The Preamble to Madras Act 26 of 1963 says that it is an Act to provide for the acquisition of all rights of landholders in Inam estates in the State of Madras and the introduction of the ryotwari settlement in such estates. That Act follows by and large the provisions in Act 26 of 1948. In Act 26 of 1963 Inams estates are divided into two categories namely (1) existing Inam estate and (2) a new Inam estate. The existing Inam estate refers to the estate consisting of the whole village and the new Inam estate means a part village Inam estate of Pudukkottai Inam estate. The "New Inam estate" was not an estate known to law earlier. It is merely a name given to part village Inam estate a Pudukkottai Inam estate for drafting convenience. Act 27 of 1963 is an Act to provide for the termination of the leases of certain lease holds granted by the Government	 the acquisition of the rights of the lessees in such lease holds	 and the introduction of the ryotwari settlement in such leaseholds. Act 30 of 1963 is an Act to provide for the acquisition of the rights of the Inamdars in minor Inams and the introduction of the ryotwari settlement in such Inams. We do not think it necessary to go into the contention that one or more provisions of the impugned Acts are violative of articles 14	 19 and 31 as in our. opinion these Acts are completely protected by article 31 '(A) of the Constitution which says that "Notwithstanding anything contained in article 13	 no law providing for 7 95 (a) the acquisition by the State of any estate or of any rights therein or the extinguishment or modification of any such rights. . shall be deemed to be void on the ground that it is inconsistent with	 or takes away or abridges any of the rights conferred by article 14	 article 1 9 or article 3 1. " The expression "estate" is defined in sub article (2) of Art31 (A). That definition includes not merely Inams but also land held under ryotwari settlement as well as land held or let for the purpose of agriculture or for purposes ancillary thereto	 including(	 waste land	 forest land	 land for pastures or site or buildings	 and other structures occupied by the cultivators of land	 agricultures and village artisans. The impugned Acts are laws providing for the acquisition by the State of an "estate" as contemplated ' by article 31 (A). They seek to abolish all intermediate holders and 'to establish direct relationship between the Government and the occupants of the concerned lands. These legislations were undertaken as a part of agrarian reforms. Hence the provisions relating to acquisition or the extinguishment of the rights of the intermediate holders fall within the protective wings of article 31 (A) see B. Sankara Roo	 Badami and ors. vs State of Mysore and anr. It is next contended on behalf of the appellants that the lands	 on which full assessment was levied under Act 40 of 1956 ceased to be inams and therefore provisions of the Madras Act 26 of 1963 cannot be applied to the same. We have not thought it necessary to go into the question whether as a result of Madras Act 40 of 1956	 certain Inams have ceased to be Inams	 as in our opinion	 whether they continued to be Inams or not they are still "estate" within the meaning of article 31 (A) because they fall either under sub clauses (1) or (II) or (111) of Clause (a) of article 31 (A) (2) and that being so the provisions of the impugned Acts cannot be challenged on the ground that they infringe articles 14	 19 and 31. The contention that as the State purported to abolish Inams and not other intermediaries the law cannot be held to be valid if the intermediaries sought to be removed are not Inamdars is an untenable one. If the impugned legislation can be traced to a valid legislative power	 the fact that the legislature wrongly described some of the intermediaries sought to be removed does not make the law invalid. From the above observations	 it should not be understood that we have come to the conclusion that the intermediaries concerned were not Inamdars. We have not gone into that question. From the provisions of (1) ; 796 The impugned Acts	 it is quite clear that the intention of the legislature was to abolish all intermediaries including the owners of those "estates" that were subjected to full assessment by Act 40 	of 1956. It was next urged that article 31(A) does not protect a legis lation where no compensation whatsoever has been provided for taking the "estates". We do not think we need go into that question. This contention bears only on the provisions of the Madras Act 26 of 1963. Section 18 of that Act provides that compensation shall be determined for each Inam as a whole and not separately for each of the interests in the Inams. The validity of this section was not challenged before us. All that was urged was that for some of the pro reties included in the Inam	 no compensation was provided. Even if we assume this contention to be correct	 it cannot be as that no compensation was provided for the acquisition of the lnam as a whole. Hence article 31(A) bars the plea that there was contravention of article 31(2) in making the acquisition in question. One of the contentions taken on behalf of the appellants that the impugned Acts to the extent they purport to acquire mining lands are outside the purview of article 31 (A). It is not known whether the lands in which mining operations are going on were let or held as "estates". There is also no evidence to show that the owners of those lands were entitled to the mines. Hence	 it is not possible to uphold the contention that lands concerned in some of the appeals have been acquired without paying compensation. In order to avoid the bar of article 3 1 (A)	 a curious plea was put forward. It was urged that when the concerned bills were submitted to the President for his assent as required by the first proviso to article 31 (A)	 the President was not made aware of the implications of the bills. This contention is a wholly untenable one. There is no material before us from which we could conclude that the President or his advisers were unaware of the implications of those 'bills. We must proceed on the basis that the President had given his assent to those bills after duly considering the implication of the provisions contained therein. it was next urged that the provisions in the impugned Acts reducing the liability of the tenants in the matter of payment of the arrears of rent	 whether decreed or not was beyond the legislative competence of the State legislature. This contention is agairt untenable. Those attears are either affairs of rent or debts due from agriculturists. It they are treated as affears of rent then the State legislature had legislative power to legislate in respect of the same under Entry 18 of List II of the VIIth Schedule. If they are considered as debts due from agriculturists then the 797 State legislature had competence to legislate in respect of the same under Entry 30 of the same list. In regard to the Inams belonging to the religious and chari table institutions	 the impugned Acts do not provide for payment of compensation in a lumpsum but on the other hand provision is made to pay them a portion of the compensation every year as Tasdik. This is only a mode of payment of the compensation. That mode was evidently adopted in the interest of the concerned institutions. We are unable to agree that the method is violative of article 31(2). At any rate that provision is protected by article 31 A. It was next urged that by acquiring the properties belonging to religious denominations the legislature violated article 26 (c) and (d) which provide that religious denominations shall have the right to own and acquire movable and immovable property and administer such property in accordance with law. These provisions do not take away the right of the State to acquire property belonging to religious deuomintions. Those denominations can own acquire properties and administer them in accordance with law. That does not mean that the property owned by them cannot be acquired. As a result of acquisition they cease to own that property. Thereafter their right to administer that property ceases because it is no longer their property. article 26 does not interfere with the ' right of the State to acquire property. Mr. section V. Gupte appearing for some of the appellants urged that the Impugned Act contravenes the second proviso to article 31(A). From the material before us it is not possible to hold that any property under the personal cultivation of any of the appellants had been acquired. Further there is no material to show what the ceiling is. Hence it is not possible for us to examine the correctness of that contention. If in any particular case	 the second proviso to article 31 (A) has been breached	 then to that extent	 the acquisition will become invalid. It was urged by Mr. Sastri appearing for some of the appel lants that the impugned Acts do not acquire the lands concerned in some of the appeals. This contention was not 'gone into by the High Court. Dealing with that contention	 the High Court in its judgment observed : "But the applicability of the impugned Acts to the Inams in question cannot be conveniently investigated in the present writ proceedings. The question will have to be determined with reference to the terms of the 798 grant	 the extent of the grant has to be ascertained by reference to the relevant materials. Section 5 of Madras Act	 XXXI of 1963 (XXX of 1963 ?) makes special provision for determination of the question whether any non ryotwari area is or is (not an 'existing Inam Estate 'or ' part village Inam Estate ' or a minor Inam or whole Inam village in Pudukkottai. It is stated at the bar that in most of the cases now 'before us the parties have applied under the provisions of the said Act for determination of the character of the Inams respectively held 'by them. It	 is needless to point out that the Tribunal constituted under the Act will be entitled to decide that a particular property is neither an existing Inam estate ' nor a part village Inam estate nor a whole inam village in Puddukkottai and completely out of the coverage of Acts XXVI and XXX of 1963. We a1so make it clear that the disposal of these writ petitions now does not preclude the Inamdars from agitating The question that a particular property is not an Inam at all and does not under any of the aforesaid four categories or falls under one or other of the categories as may be urged for the inamdars. " We agree with the High Court that the contention in question can be more appropriately gone into in the manner suggested by the High Court. In the result these appeals fail and they are dismissed. But 	under the circumstances; we make no order as to costs in these appeals.

Summary:
In the State of Madras there were :three types of inams namely: (1)those which constituted of the grant of melwaram alone; (2) thosewhichconsisted of the grant of both melwaram and kudivaram; and (3) minor inams. By Madras Inams (Assessment) Act	 1956	 full assessment was levied on all inam lands except melwaram inams granted on service tenure	 without affecting in any way the rights between the inamdars and the persons in possession or enjoyment of the land. To complete the agrarian reform initiated by the Madras Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act	 1948	 the he Madras Inam Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act	 1963 the Madras Leaseholds (Abolition and Conversion	 into Ryotwari) Act	 1963	 and the Madras Minor Inams (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act	 1963	 were enacted. Under the first	 acquisition of all rights of landholders in inam estates and the introduction of ryotwari settlement in such estates was provided for. Section 18 of the Act provides that compensation shall be determind for each inam as a whole. The second Act provides for the termination of the leases of certain leaseholds granted by the Government	 the acquisition of the rights of the lessees in such leaseholds and the introduction of ryotwari settlement; and the third Act provides for the acquisition of the rights of inamdars in minor inams and the introduction of the ryotwari settlement. The Acts contain provisions reducing the liability of the tenants in the matter of payment of arrears of rent. On the question of the validity of the Acts	 HELD : (1) The impugned Acts could not be challenged as violative of Arts 14	 19 and 3 1. They deal with 'estates ' as defined in article 31A of the Constitution	 and provide for their acquisition by the State ' They seek to abolish all intermediate holders and to establish direct relationship between the Government and the occupants of the concerned lands. They were undertaken as a part of agrarian reform and hence	 the provisions relating to acquisition or extinguishment of the rights of the intermediate holders fall within the protective wings of article 3 IA. [795 D E] B. Shankara Rao Badami & Ors. vs State of Mysore & Anr. 	 ; 	 followed. (2) Assuming that as a result of the levy of full assessment under the 1956 Act	 the lands cease to be inams and the intermediaries ceased to be inamdars	 the lands are still 'estate ' within the meaning of article 31A	 because	 they fall under one of the sub cls. 1	 II or III of article 79 1 3 IA(2) (a). If the impugned legislation can be traced to a valid legislative power the fact that the Legislature wrongly described some of the intermediaries sought to be removed does not make the law invalid. [795 E H] (3) In the Absence of any material to the contrary	 the court must proceed on the basis that the President had given his assent to the bills after duly considering the implication of the provisions contained therein. [796 E G]	 (4) If the arrears of rent are treated as rent then the State Legislature has power to legislate with respect to the liability of tenants to pay the arrears	 under Entry 18 of List 11	 VII Schedule. If they are considered as debts due from agriculturists then the State Legislature has competence to legislate under Entry 30 of the same list. [796 G H; 797 A] (5) In the case of the first of the impugned Acts	 assuming that for some of the properties included in the inam no compensation was provided	 article	 31A bars the plet that there was contravention of article 31(2).[796 C D] (6)In regard to the inams belonging to the religious and charitable institutions	 the impugned Acts do not provide for payment of compensation in a lumpsum but provision is made to pay a portion of the compensation every year as tasdik. The method adopted is not violative of Art 31(2) and is at any rate protected by Art	 31A. [7917] A C] (7) Article 26(c) and (d) of the Constitution provide that religious denominations shall have the right to own and acquire properties and administer them according to law. But that does not mean that the properties owned by them cannot be acquired by the State. [797 C E] (8)It is open to the inamdars to agitate before the. Tribunal constituted under the last Act that a particular property is not an inam at all and that the Acts do not apply to them. [798 D E]