The provisions of Chapter IV of the Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1969, shall have effect notwithstanding the partition, and the lands allotted to the sons and daughters on partition are available for inclusion in the determination of the ceiling area.

PATNAIK, J.

( 1 ) REFERENCE of these two applications, one by the father Nityananda (O. J. C. No. 262 of 1977) and the other by his sons Prakash Guru and others (O. J. C. No. 266 of 1977), has been made to resolve if the lands allotted to members of the erstwhile Hindu joint family on partition can be dubbed for the purpose of determining the ceiling area under Chapter IV of the Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1969 (hereinafter referred to as the 'act' ).

( 2 ) ADMITTEDLY Nityananda has three sons and three slaughters. Admittedly none of the sons was major and married on 36-9-1970, the appointed day under Section 37 (b) of the Act. By a registered deed of partition dated 31-121965/13-1-1986, the lands in village Gunderpur were allotted to the shares of the sons and the daughters.

( 3 ) A suo motu proceeding under Section 42 of the Act was started by the Revenue Officer against Nityananda and the draft statement was published on 30-9-1975 in O. L. R. Ceiling Case No. 98 of 1975. Nityananda filed his objection stating that the lands in village Gunderpur were not available for being proceeded against in the ceiling proceeding started against him as by then by the above mentioned partition, the lands had been allotted to the shares of the sons and the daughters. He contended that since the partition, the lands were no longer held by him, but by his sons and daughters and the latter being the holders of the lands in their individual status, in the ceiling proceeding started against him, the lands so partitioned and allotted to the shares of the sons and the daughters were not available for inclusion. He submitted that the lands in village Pardhiapalli which had been allotted to him were the only lands held by him. The Revenue Officer, however, aggregating all the lands, both in Gunderpur and Pardhiapalli and treating the sons, the daughters and Nityananda as members of one family for the purpose of Chapter IV of the Act, finalised the proceeding. Appeal and revision filed by the father and the eons being unsuccessful, these writ applications were filed.

( 4 ) THE Division Bench of this Court which heard these matters was of the view that the provisions contained in Chapter IV of the Act shall have effect notwithstanding the partition and having regard to the importance of the question involved, the matter should be heard by a larger Bench and this Full Bench has been constituted to resolve the controversy,

( 5 ) MR. S. S. Basu, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners in both the writ applications, contended that by the partition the family came to an end and the lands which fell to the shares of the sons and the daughters were no longer available to be treated as lands held by the father. The effect of the partition was that the members became absolute owners of the lands allotted to them individually. The lauds which were joint prior to the partition acquired different character and became the absolute property of the individual allottees and each allottee who so became absolute owner of the lands allotted to him was to be treated as a person under Chapter IV. He referred us to various provisions in Chapter IV to contend that the view taken by the Revenue Authorities was illegal and absurd.

( 6 ) THE learned Additional Government Advocate contended that the provisions of the Orissa Land reforms Act were a special law and would have overriding effect over any ether law, custom, usage, agreement, decree or order of court. He did not dispute that there was a partition as alleged by the petitioners.

( 7 ) WE have to keep our sights clear by keeping the object of the legislation in the forefront. The Act was enacted manifestly with a view to imposing ceiling on agricultural holdings and acquisition and distribution of the surlpus area to landless and weaker sections of the society and is in substance and reality an enactment relating to agrarian reforms. The statute has been intended to strike at vast concentration of land in the