GAUHATI HIGH COURT
B. B. DEB, J.
Ranjit Kumar Chakraborty -Appellant
Versus
Jiban Chandra Chakraborty and others -Respondent
Civil Revision Petition No. 2 of 2000
Decided On : 21-12-2000
Estate - Partition of Homestead Land - Section 54 of the C.P.C. - No Applicability
Fact of the Case:
The plaintiff sought to partition a homestead land with building structure among legal heirs. The preliminary decree was passed, and a Survey Commissioner was appointed for demarcation. The final decree was pending, and the execution of the partition decree had not yet arisen.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the provision of Section 54 of the C.P.C. relating to the partition of Estate did not apply to individual land or immovable property subject to payment of statutory revenue.
Issues: The main issue was whether Section 54 of the C.P.C. applied to the partition of homestead land and building structure among legal heirs.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the provision of Section 54 of the C.P.C. did not apply to individual land or immovable property enjoyed separately or jointly subject to payment of statutory revenue.
Final Decision: The petition was dismissed with no order as to costs.
Heard Mr. B. Das, learned senior counsel, assisted by Mr. R. B. Sinha, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. A. C. Bhowmik as well as Mr. D. K. Biswas, learned counsel for the respondents.
2. "We, all are kings in our kingdom" is the inner concept of modern Democratic Governments ruled by people through the system of adult franchise. During Monarchism the Kings/Rulers are the sovereign in all respects and the rest are the subjects (Prajas). In order to manage the vast area under the kingdom the Rulers started settling the land/immovable properties with individual on receipt of one time Nazrana (premium) and subject of payment of lump sum annual non-rateably assessed or agreed revenue (Khazna) and the land/immovable property so settled was called Estate belonging to the Estate holder commonly recognised as Zaminder/Jagirdars and the likes, having been authorised under the arrangement to resettle the Estate property partwise by inducting individual riyots (prajas) on receipt of one time salami (price) and subject to payment of periodically rateably assessed revenue by way of cash payment, or share of crops or rendering manual labours and this way the riyots acquired possessory occupancy right heritable but not transferable without the approval of the Estate holders. The provision of Section 54 of the C.P.C. contemplates to deal with the matter relating to partition of such Estate and not the individual property belonging to riyots.
3. After adoption of Indias Constitution on 26-1-1950 almost all the Provincial Government started enactment of Land Reforms Legislations of which the U.P. Zamindary Abolition Act was probably the pioneer. The status of the Estate holder are legally termed as "Intermediaries" in the several Land Reforms Act and their status of being Estate holders ceased to be operative and the Estate holders right stood vested in the Government by operation of related provisions of the Land Reforms Act which have been brought under the 9th Schedule of the Constitution of India and all land holders irrespective of status/strature, Zamindars or Prajas became the land owners/land holders with equal status having absolute right of ownership heritable of course subject to lawfully enforced restriction the right of transfer also.
4. The provision of Section 54 of the CPC has no way applicable to such land or property belonging to the aforesaid land holders. In modern set up of ours a new concept of Estate develops. The State Government having identified some considerable large area declares it to be Industrial Estate, Agri-farmery Estate, Plantation Estate, Fishery Estate and the likes. The State Governments through its administrative machinery use to give allotment of land piecewise to the individual or corporate body for promoting and developing Industry, Agri-farming (including Horticulture, Seri-culture, Pisci-culture) Forestry and sometime for housing scheme, treating the right of occupation, enjoyment of usufruct, sometime heritable but having no absolute transferable right. In fact the absolute ownership remains with the Government and the aforesaid class of Estate is not subject to partition but may be distributable being governed by the related Rules and Regulations and thus Section 54 of the C.P.C. is not applicable to such Estate.
5. In the present suit a homestead land with building structure thereon are sought to be partitioned among the legal heirs inherited the same from the ancestor and for this purpose the plaintiff brought the Title Suit bearing No. T.S. 103(P)/1994 before the learned Trial Court (Civil Judge, Senior Division) Court No. 1, Agartala, West Tripura) and the preliminary decree was passed determining the shares to be allotted to the parties to the suit by way of partition. Thereafter the plaintiff pre-decree holder applied for drawing up a final decree for identification of demarcated shares allotted to the parties and the learned Trial Court, as agreed by the parties (excep
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