The definition of 'estate' in Section 2 (g) of the Orissa Estate Abolition Act, 1951 (Orissa Act I of 1952), as amended by the Orissa Estate Abolition (Amendment) Act, 1954 (Orissa Act XVII of 1954), includes pre-settlement minor inams.

NARASIMHAM, C. J.

( 1 ) THE petitioner is the holder of a pre-settlement minor mam in Ganjam District and he has challenged the validity of Notification No. 4971-XV-2154-E. A, dated 15-7-1905 of the Government of Orissa issued under Section 3 (1) of the Orissa estate Abolition Act, 1951 (Orissa Act I of 1952) (hereinafter referred to as the act), vesting the said minor mam in the State of Orissa. The challenge is made on the ground that a pre-settlement minor inam does not come within the definition of the expression 'estate' as given in Section 2 (g) of the Act and that consequently the Government of Orissa have no jurisdiction to issue a Notification under Section 3 (1) of the Act in respect of this inam.

( 2 ) THE Act was introduced as a Bill in the Orissa Legislative Assembly on 17-11950 and was passed by the Assembly on 28-9-1951. The Governor of Orissa reserved it for the consideration of the President who gave his assent on 23-11952. Since then the Act has undergone several amendments, but the amendment with which we are primarily concerned in this writ application is the amendment made on 24-12-1954, by the Orissa Estate Abolition (Amendment) Act, 1954 (Orissa Act XVII, of 1954), by which the definition of the 'expression ''estate" in section 2 (g) of the Act was enlarged. The old definition of that expression, omitting immaterial portions, was as follows: ''2. (g) "estate" means any land held by an intermediary and included under one entry in any of the general registers of revenue-paying lands and revenue-free lands, prepared and maintained under the law for the time being in force by the Collector of a district, and includes revenue-free lands not entered in any register and all classes of tenures or under tenures, or an inam estate or part of an estate. . " By the said amendment of 1954 this definition was recast as follows:.

"2 (g) "estate" includes a part of an estate and means any land held by or vested in an intermediary and included under one entry in any revenue roll or any of the general registers of revenue-paying lands and revenue-free lands prepared and maintained under the law relating to land revenue for the time being in force, and includes revenue-free lands not included in any register or revenue-free roll and all classes of tenures or under-tenures, and any jagir, inam or muafi or other similar grant. "

Section 3 of the amending Act may also be quoted:

"3. For the purpose of removal of all doubts it is declared that such lands and such rights in relation thereto and such persons who hold such lands and such rights as were heretofore covered by the definitions of the words "estate" and ''intermediary" in the Orissa Estate Abolition Act, shall not cease to be so covered merely on the ground that hy virtue 08 the provisions of this Act the said definitions have been amended and widened in scope. "

It will be noticed that in the old definition of "estate" was included only an inam estate or part of an estate, whereas in the new definition the expression ''any inam" has been substituted. Section 3 of the amending Act expressly stated that the amendment was intended to widen the scope of the definition. The necessity for making this amendment arose chiefly in consequence of the definition of "estate" as given in the Madras Estates Land Act, 1908, as applied to Orissa. Section 3 (2) (d) of that Act defined "estate" as: ''any inam village, of which the grant has been made, confirmed or recognised by the British Government, notwithstanding that subsequent to the grant the village has been partitioned amongst the grantees or the 'successors-in-title of the grantee or grantees''. By virtue of this definition, therefore, only pre-settlement whole inam villages would come within the definition of "estate" even though they might have been subsequently partitioned amongst the successors-in-interest of the grantee or grantees.

( 3 ) PRIOR to the amendment of 1954 the Act contained the expression "inam estate" and