1. Abolition of jagirs — Ownership of trees in forest lands — Occupancy rights under Jagirs Abolition Act and Bombay Land Revenue Code. (Para 1 , 3 )
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1965 Supreme(SC) 55
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
24th February 1965
P.B. GAJENDRAGADKAR, C.J.I., M. HIDAYATULLAH, RAGHUBAR DAYAL, AND V. RAMASWAMI, JJ.
Shri U. R. Mavinkurve, Divisional Forest Officer, Chhota Udepur and others, Appellants
Versus
Thakore Madhavsinghji Gambhirsinghji and others, Respondents.
Civil Appeal No. 281 of 1962.
Advocates appeared
Mr. S. G. Patwardhan, Senior Advocate, (Mr. B. H. Dhebar, Advocate with him), for Appellants; Mr. S. T. Desai, Senior Advocate, (M/s. J. B. Dadachanji, O. C. Mathur, and Ravinder Narain, Advocates of M/s. J. B. Dadachanji and Co., with him), for Respondents No. 1,2,4,6,10 and 12.
Advocates:
J.B.DADACHAN, O.C.MATHUR, R.H.Dhebar, Ravindra Narayan, S.G.PATVARDHAN, S.T.DESAI
J.B.DADACHAN, O.C.MATHUR, R.H.Dhebar, Ravindra Narayan, S.G.PATVARDHAN, S.T.DESAI
Rights of occupancy under the Bombay Land Revenue Code do not include the right to trees in unsurveyed and unsettled villages; such rights are only conceded to the occupant upon completion of a survey settlement.
Headnote:(A) Bombay Merged Territories and Areas (Jagirs Abolition) Act, 1953 - Sections 3, 5(1)(b), 9, 10 - Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879 - Section 40 - Rights of occupants over trees in forest lands - Abolition of jagirs - Extinguishment of rights - Whether rights of occupancy include the right to cut and remove trees in unsurveyed and unsettled villages - Rights of the State Government to trees in unalienated land are deemed conceded to the occupant only upon completion of survey settlement - In the absence of such settlement, the right to trees remains with the State Government. (Paras 7, 8)
(B) Jagirs Abolition Act - Section 3 - All rights of a jagirdar as incidents of jagir are deemed extinguished unless expressly provided otherwise - Section 9, which vests reserved trees in the State Government, does not operate as a saving clause for other trees in favor of the jagirdar - Contrast with Section 10 which expressly saves rights to mines or mineral products. (Para 8)
Facts of the case:
Respondents were proprietary jagirdars whose lands were subject to a jagirs abolition act. Under the act, they became occupants of the forest lands. The state government prohibited the cutting of reserved species of trees and advertised the sale of cut material. The respondents challenged these orders in the High Court, which ruled that as occupants, they were entitled to the trees standing on the forest lands. The state government appealed this decision to the Supreme Court.
Findings of Court:
The High Court erred in holding that the respondents were entitled to the trees. The rights of occupancy under the land revenue code do not automatically include the right to trees in villages that have not undergone survey and settlement.
Issues: Whether trees standing in forest lands of unsurveyed villages belong to the occupants (former jagirdars) or the State Government, and whether the occupants have the right to cut and remove reserved species of trees.
Ratio Decidendi: Under the jagirs abolition act, all rights of jagirdars were extinguished except those expressly saved. While the respondents became occupants, the land revenue code stipulates that the government's right to trees is only conceded to the occupant after the completion of a survey settlement. Since the villages in question were not surveyed or settled, the right to the trees was not conceded to the occupants and remained with the State Government.
Result: Appeal allowed.
Legal Category Hierarchy
Table of Contents
2. Whether jagirdars, as occupants under the Jagirs Abolition Act, are entitled to trees in forest lands, including reserved species, despite the absence of survey settlement. (Para 3 , 8 )
3. Occupancy rights under the Bombay Land Revenue Code do not include tree ownership unless a survey settlement is completed, as the State's rights are only then conceded. (Para 7 , 8 )
4. Rights to trees in unalienated land vest in the State unless conceded to the occupant upon completion of a survey settlement under the Bombay Land Revenue Code. (Para 7 )
5. Appeal allowed — High Court order set aside — Special Civil Application dismissed. (Para 9 )
6. Do jagirdars who become occupants under the Jagirs Abolition Act automatically acquire rights to trees on forest lands?
No. They only acquire occupancy rights under the Bombay Land Revenue Code. Rights to trees are not automatically transferred and depend on whether the land has undergone survey and settlement. (Para 7 , 8 )
7. Under the Bombay Land Revenue Code, when is the State Government's right to trees in unalienated land conceded to the occupant?
The right is conceded only after the original survey settlement of the village or portion of the village is completed, subject to any express reservations made by the Government. (Para 7 )
8. Does Section 9 of the Jagirs Abolition Act save the rights of jagirdars regarding trees?
No. Section 9 is not a saving provision for jagirdars but rather vests rights to specially reserved trees in the State Government. Only specific rights, like those to mines under Section 10, were expressly saved. (Para 8 )
Judgment
RAMASWAMI, J. : Respondents Nos. 1 to 11 were the Jagirdars of Waghach State in former Sankeda Mewar in Reva Kantha Agency which now forms part of the State of Gujarat. They claimed that they were the full owners of all the land including forest areas in the said State and exercised full revenue power during their regime. There were 39 villages in Waghach State in all of which there were forests. Except for the lands which lands which were cultivated all the lands in the said villages were forest lands. Respondents Nos. 1 to 11 further claimed that they had full proprietary rights over the forest lands and enjoyed the produce as full owners thereof. By the agreement of merger dated June 1, 1948 the State of Waghch was merged with the State of Bombay with effect from June 10, 1948 On August 19, 1953 respondents 1 to 11 entered into an agreement with respondent No.12 whereby respondent No.12 became entitled to cut and remove all species of trees from the forest lands in the 39 villages for a period of ten years. On August 1, 1954, the Bombay Merged Territories and Areas (Jagirs Abolition) Act, 1953 (Act XXXIX of 1954) came into force. This Act was passed with the object of abolishing jagirs in the merged territories and merged areas in the State of Bombay and providing for matters consequential and incidental thereto. The jagirs were classified, under the Act into two categories namely. (1) proprietary jagirs and (2) No-proprietary jagirs. It is the undisputed position in the present case that the jagirs in the category of proprietary jagirs. Under S. 5 of the Jaagirs Abolition Act the Jagirdars became occupants in the lands including forest areas which were in their possession before coming into force of the Act, on July 6, 1956 the state Government issued a notification under S. 34 (A) of the Indian Forest Act, declaring all uncultivated lands in the said 39 villages to be forests for the purposes of Ch. 5 of the Act. On March 19, 1958, the Divisional Forest Officer wrote a letter to the respondents wherein he stated that all the rights of the jagirdars had been abolished by the Jagirs Abolition Act and that the reserved species of trees standing on the lands belonged to the state Government. He, therefore, asked the respondents to refrain from cutting teak and Pancharao trees standing in the forest lands. On July 11, 1958, the Divisional Forest Officer wrote another letter to the respondents in which he stated that the reserved species of trees-teak; blackwood and sandalwood-vested in the state Government and, therefore, prohibited the respondents from cutting and removing the material from those trees. He also warned the respondents that if they cut and removed the material of such trees they will be liable to prosecution. On the same date he wrote another letter to the respondents and informed them that the material obtained by cutting teak and blackwood trees which was lying in the forest lands, had been advertised for sale. The respondents thereafter filed a special Civil Application No. 2146 of 1958 in the High Court of Judicature at Bombay against the appellants for the grant of a writ in the nature of mandamus under Art. 226 of the Constitution directing them to cancel the orders contained in the letters of the Divisional Forest Officer, dated March 19, 1958 and July 11, 1958 and to restrain the appellants from enforcing the said orders. The High Court, by its judgment, dated January 14, 1059, allowed the application of the respondents holding that after coming into force of the Jagirs Abolition Act the rights of the jagirdars in the forest lands and the trees were extinguished but at the same time jagirdars became occupants of the forest lands under Section 5 (1) (b) of the said Act and they accordingly became entitled to the trees standing on the forest lands. The High Court held that all the trees standing on the forest lands belonged to the respondents 1 to 11 and the same did not belong to the state Govern
