Karnataka High Court
A.R.VENKATACHALA IYENGAR - Appellant
Versus
STATE OF MYSORE - Respondent
Decided On : 07-11-79
R.F.A. : 62 of 1973
Mysore (Personal and Miscellaneous) Inams Abolition Act - Duty to Collect Rents - Section 9a - Summary of Relevant Acts and Sections: Section 3, Section 9, Section 9-A, Section 26-B - The court held that the Act does not confer a right on the inamdars to collect rents after the date of vesting from the tenants entitled to continue. The Act extinguishes all rights, title, and interest vesting in the Inamdar, including the right to collect rents. The duty of the State to recover rents from the tenants and pay the same to the landlord does not arise as there is no corresponding right possessed by the inamdars.
Fact of the Case:
The appellants, as Inamdars, claimed rents payable by their tenants during the interregnum between the date of vesting and the determination of claims under the Mysore (Personal and Miscellaneous) Inams Abolition Act, 1954. The trial Judge dismissed the suit, leading to the reference to the Full Bench to decide whether the State Government had a legal duty to collect rents from the tenants and pay the same to the appellants.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the Act does not confer a right on the inamdars to collect rents after the date of vesting from the tenants entitled to continue. It held that the Act extinguishes all rights, title, and interest vesting in the Inamdar, including the right to collect rents. The duty of the State to recover rents from the tenants and pay the same to the landlord does not arise as there is no corresponding right possessed by the inamdars.
Issues: The main issue was whether the State Government had a legal duty to collect rents from the tenants entitled to continue under Section 9a of the Mysore (Personal and Miscellaneous) Inams Abolition Act, 1954, between the date of vesting and the determination of claims under Sections 9 and 9a of the Act.
Ratio Decidendi: The court's decision was based on the interpretation of relevant provisions of the Act, particularly Section 3, Section 9, Section 9-A, and Section 26-B. It emphasized that the Act extinguishes all rights, title, and interest vesting in the Inamdar, including the right to collect rents, and does not confer a duty on the State to recover rents from the tenants and pay the same to the landlord.
Final Decision: The court answered the question in the negative, holding that there is no legal or statutory duty on the part of the State Government to collect rents payable by the tenants entitled to continue under Section 9a for the period between the date of vesting and the determination of claims under Sections 9 and 9a of the Act.
( 1 ) THIS full Bench ha,s been constituted to decide the following question: whether under the provisions or by virtue of the provisions of the Mysore (Personal and Miscellaneous) Inams Abolition Act, 1954, there is a legal or statutory duty on the part of the State Government to collect rents payable by the tenants to be continued under Section 9a of the Act between the date of vesting and the determination of claims under Section 9a of the Act?"
( 2 ) THE reference arises out of Appeal No. 62 of 1973 which was preferred from a decree of the Civil Judge Shimoga. The appellants were the Inamdars of lands measuring about 345 acres comprised in the Inam villages of Kannur and Gowlampur situated in anandapuram Hobli, Sagar Taluk, Shimoga District. The said. Inam was abolished and vested in the Government with effect from first February 1959 consequent on the issuance of a notification dated 13th January 1959 under Section 1 (4) of the Mysore (Personal and Miscellaneous) Inams abolition Act, 1954 (hereinafter referred to as "the, Act" ). The lands were then in the occupation of tenants. The appellants and their tenants made claims for registration of occupancy rights before the Special Deputy commissioner. Upon investigation, it was found that the tenants did not belong to any of the categories like Kadim tenants, permanent tenants or quasi-permanent tenants on whom occupancy rights as against Inamdars were expressly conferred by the Act. They were however, registered as ordinary tenants under Section 9a with inamdars registered as occupants under S. 9 of the Act. But after the date of vesting till date of registration of occupancy rights the appllants did not and indeed could not collect rents from their tenants. The appellants complaining that they have lost rents payable by their tenants during that interregnum instituted O. S. No. 50 of 1969 in the Court of the Civil Judge, Shimoga claiming from the government three years rent amounting to Rs. 98,550/- payable by their tenants. The trial Judge dismissed the suit on the ground that the Government had no opbligation to collet rents from those tenants and pay in turn to the appellants. A Bench which heard the appeal against that decree, formulated the question and referred the same to a Full Bench for opinion and that is how the matter has come up before us.
( 3 ) IN order to reflect the real controversy as between the parties, we modify the question to read as follows: "whether under the provisions of the Mysore (Personal and miscellaneous) Inams Abolition Act, 1954, the State Government is under a tegal or statutory duty to collect rents payable by the tenants entitled to continue under Section 9a for the period between the date of vesting and the determination of claims under Sections 9 and 9a of the Act, and pay in turn to the occupants registered under Sec. 9?"
( 4 ) FOR a proper consideration of the question, it is necessary to have regard to the relevant provisions of the Act. The short title of the Act provides that it was expedient in the public interest to provide for the abolition of personal Inams and certain other Inams in the Mysore area except Bellary District. Section 2 (2) defines date of vesting to mean the date appointed by a notification issued under sub-section (4) of Section 1 section 2 (8), (12), and (14) defined 'kadim tenant' Permanent tenant' and quasi-permanent tenant respectively. Section 3 provides for consequences of the vesting of an inam. The Section so far as it is material provides:"3. Consequence of the vesting of an inam in the State.- (1) when the notification under sub-section (4) of Section 1 in respect of any inam has been published in the Mysore Gazette, them notwithstanding anything contained in any contract, grant or other istrument or in any other law for the time being in force with effect on and from the date of vesting and save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, the following consequences shall ensue, n
K. Doraiswamy v. The Special Deputy Commissioner for Abolition of Inams, Bangalore
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