Rights acquired under a repealed law are protected by section 6 of the Assam General Clauses Act, and vested rights cannot be taken away without express legislative intent.

A question of great importance relating to the right conferred on an occupancy tenant by the provisions of the Assam (Temporarily' Settled Areas) Tenancy Act, 1971, hereinafter referred to as to the Act, has come up for consideration in these writ petitions. The precise question for determination is whether the right conferred on an occupancy tenant by section 23 of the Act can be claimed in respect of a land which subsequent to the acquisition of the occupancy right came to be included in a town.

2. As is known, the Act does not apply to lands included in town vide section 2 (f). The definition of "town lands" as given in section 3 (18) of the Act as originally enacted was "any land within an area declared or deemed to be a Municipality or notified area under the Assam Municipal Act, 1956”. This definition was amended by the Assam (Temporarily Settled Areas) Tenancy (Amen­dment) Act, 1983, the relevant part of which is as below :-

"Town land" means any land-

a) included within the limits of the city of Gauhati as cons­tituted and notified under the provisions of sub-section (I) of section 42 of the Ganhati Municipal Corporation Act, 1959 (Assam Act I of 1973)".

This amendment Act was given effect from 5th March/73. It was so done because the Gauhati Municipal Corporation Act, 1969 had itself corns into force w.e.f. 5.3.73. Large parcels of agricultural land which were not included within the Municipality of Gauhati came within the fold of Municipal Corporation of Gauhati. A question has therefore arisen as to whether these tenants who had acquired the status of occupancy tenants and were personally cultivating the land of the tenancy could claim to acquire owne­rship rights of their landlords as visualised by section 23 of the Act in respect of those parcels of land which were not part of Gauhati Municipality but were included within the limits of Gauhati Municipal Corporation.

3. The right conferred by section 23 of the Act was claimed by many occupancy tenants. On their petitions being entertained and notices as contemplated by Rule 10 of the Assam (Temporarily Settled Areas) Tenancy Rules, 1972 having been given, the land owners have approached this Court seeking relief of quashing the proceeding which were initiated sometime in 1983-84. This is the common prayer in both these petitions which have therefore been heard together and are being disposed by this common judgment.

4. Before proceeding further we may note the relevant part of section 23 of the Act.

“ Acquisition of ownership rights and intermediary rights by tenants: (1) Any occupancy tenant personally cultivating the land of his tenancy, desirous of acquiring the ownership rights of his landlord may at any time make an application in writing to the Deputy Commissioner and on such application being made and the compensation as provided in section 25 is determined and paid by the occupancy tenant, the Deputy Commissioner shall declare the said occupancy tenant to have acquired the ownership rights free from all encumbrances."

(Emphasis supplied).

5. Question is whether after inclusion of the land in question within the limits of the city of Gauhati the occupancy tenants could exercise the aforesaid option after 5.3.73.

6. It is strenuously contended by Shri Barua that the rights, which were once acquired by the occupancy tenants over the land which at one point of time was not a part of town land got wiped out or extinguished after the definition of town land was amended as aforesaid. Of course it is fairly admitted by Shri Barua that those rights which had been concluded would not be affected by amendment; but then as right conferred by section 23 of the Act was sought to be enforced in 1983-84, it is urged that the tenants would not be entitled under the law to claim the same inasmuch as after 5th March/73 the tenant got robbed of this right in so far as the land included within the limits of the city of Gauhati is concerned. The submission of the learne