Back
Andhra Pradesh High Court
Judges : P.RAMACHANDRA RAJU
Chamanlal R.Patel - Appellant
Versus
State OF A.P. - Respondent
Decided On : 08-24-76
LAND REFORMS - DECLARATION OF HOLDING - FIRM - SHARE OF PARTNER IN LAND HELD BY FIRM - WHETHER TO BE TREATED AS HOLDING OF FIRM OR PARTNER - INTERPRETATION OF SECTIONS 3(O), 5(5), 8 AND 10 OF ANDHRA PRADESH LAND REFORMS (CEILING ON AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS) ACT, 1973.
Fact of the Case:
Four partners of a firm filed separate declarations under Section 8 of the Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973 (the Act). The Land Reforms Tribunal and Appellate Tribunal clubbed the declarations and treated the entire extent of land held by the firm as one holding, resulting in excess land being determined. The partners challenged this decision in four separate civil revision petitions.
Finding of the Court:
The court held that the Tribunals erred in clubbing the declarations and treating the entire extent of land as one holding. The court interpreted Sections 3(o), 5(5), 8, and 10 of the Act and concluded that the intention of the legislature was to treat the land held by the firm as the land of the individual partners and not that of the firm as a different entity.
Issues: Whether the firm, being a 'person' as defined under Section 3(o) of the Act, is required to file a declaration under Section 8 of the Act.
Ratio Decidendi: The court relied on the provisions of Sections 5(5) and 10 of the Act, which contemplate that the share of individual partners in the land held by a firm would be available for surrender to the government as the land of the partners. The court also considered the general scheme of the Act, which is to ensure that every individual or family unit is entitled to have at least a standard holding.
Final Decision: The court allowed the four civil revision petitions and sent the cases back to the Land Reforms Tribunal to treat the four declarations separately and dispose of the same accordingly.
( 1 ) THESE four Civil Revision Petitions arise out of four declarations filed separately by four persons, the four petitioners respectively in the above four civil Revision Petitions, under Section 8 of the Andhra Pradesh land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the Act )
( 2 ) THESE four petitioners formed into a partnership called "m/s Mahes- war Plantation and Agricultural Firm . After constituting themselves as a firm, under a registered sale deed dated 17-6-1970, they purchased Ac. 160. 97 cents of dry land. The petitioners Filed their declarations showing their individual holdings as 1/4th share in Ac. 160- 97 cents purchased by them in the name of the firm. The Land Reforms Tribunal Madanapalle considering the four declarations together and treating the entire extent of Ac. 160-97 cents of land as belonging to one legal entity. the firm, and all the four declarations as single declaration made by the firm constituting the four partners, computed the extent of Ac. 160-97 cents as 3. 0610 standard holdings and held that the declarants are holding 2. 0610 standard holding of land in excess of the ceiling area. Aggrieved by that, the four petitioners preferred four separate appeals before the land Reforms appellate Tribunal Chittoor. The appellate Tribunal agreed with the-view taken by the land Reforms Tribunal, madanapalle and dismissed the four appeals. Hence these four civil Revision Petitions respectively by the four partners of the firm.
( 3 ) IT appears that the petitioners are not owning separately any other land apart from the one purchased by - them in the name of the firm. All the four partners are having equal shares in the firm. Therefore each of them is having 1/4th interest in Ac. 160-97 cents of the land purchased. On the ground that the frm is also a person as defined under section 3 (o) of the Actind such a person has to file a declaration as provided under section 8 of the act and therefore the four declarations respectively filed by the four petitioners have to be clubbed together as one filed by the firm and not by the individual partners, the Tribunals found the entire extent of Ac. 160. 97 cent of land as one holding and accordingly determined the excess as mentioned above.
( 4 ) THE question for consideration is whether the view taken by the Tribunals in clubbing the four declarations into one and treating the entire extent o one holding for purpose of the Act, is valid under law.
( 5 ) SECTION 8 of the Act deals with ileclaratiom of holding. 11 is provided therein uut every perto/i (the emphasis is mine) whose holding on the notified dale together with anv land transferred by him exceeds the specified limit, shall furnish a declaration in respect of his holding. The term person is defined under section 3 (o) of the Act. As per the definition it includes an individual, a family unit; a trustee, a company, a firm, a society or an association of individuals, whether incorporated or not. Therefore from a plain reading of the definition it appears that a firm also has to file a declaration with regard to any agricultural land it holds as provided under section 8 of the Act.
( 6 ) BUT the matter does not stop there There are other provisions in the act from which it appears that the share of a partner in the land held by a firm will be treated as his holding or part of his holding as the case may be, and he has to show it in his declaration and it would be required to be surrendered by the partner as his land if it becomes necessary Section 5 of the act dea s with what constitutes a holding and how it is to be com pined The relevant provision for our present purpose is the one made under sub section (5) of section 5 of the Act. It is convenient to extract it here. "where an individual or a member of the family unit is a member of a cooperative society, company or firm the share of such individual or member of a family unit in the lard
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
