A minor cannot be considered a bona fide agriculturist cultivating the land personally for the purposes of regularization of unauthorized occupation under Rule 108-F(iv) of the Karnataka Land Revenue Rules, 1966.

R.DEVDAS J., (ORAL):

The petitioner had filed an application in Form No.53

seeking regularization of unauthorized occupation and

grant of land in respect of 3 acres and 36 cents in

Sy.No.9/3AP of Aletti Village, Sullia Taluk. The Committee

for regularization of unauthorized occupation considered

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the application filed by the petitioner and recommended

grant of the said land in favour of the petitioner and

accordingly saguvali chit was issued in favour of the

petitioner on 06.07.2004. However, respondent No.4 who

is said to be a relative of the petitioner filed an appeal

before the Assistant Commissioner invoking Section 49 of

the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964, for cancellation of

the grant made in favour of the petitioner. The appeal

was filed in the year 2011-12. The Assistant Commissioner

passed an order on 23.08.2013 holding that the total

extent of holding of the family of the petitioner was 29

acres and 28 cents. However, by a partition deed dated

07.10.2003 the petitioner’s father was allotted an extent

of 6 acres and 40 cents out of the joint family properties.

The Assistant Commissioner therefore held that since the

petitioner’s family was holding more than 4.99 acres, the

land could not have been granted in favour of the

petitioner in terms of Rule 108-F(iv) of the Karnataka Land

Revenue Rules, 1966 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Rules’

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for short) and accordingly proceeded to cancel the grant

made in favour of the petitioner.

2. Aggrieved the petitioner approached the Deputy

Commissioner by preferring an appeal under Section 50 of

the Act. Before the Deputy Commissioner it was argued

that the petitioner was not eligible for making an

application

seeking

regularization

of

unauthorized

occupation, since three years prior to the cut off date

prescribed under the provision, the petitioner was a minor

and he could not claim that he was in authorized and bona

fide cultivation personally and therefore, since the grant

was in contravention of the provisions of law, the grant

made in favour of the petitioner was required to be

cancelled. The Deputy Commissioner proceeded to uphold

the said contention and held that the appellant was only

about 11 years as on 14.04.1987 i.e., three years prior to

the cut off date and the minimum requirement of a person

holding such a land for a period of three years prior to the

cut off date to be eligible for seeking regularization of

unauthorized occupation. Though a compromise memo

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was sought to be filed by the parties, the Deputy

Commissioner rejected such a compromise petition and

proceed

to

uphold

the

order

of

the

Assistant

Commissioner.

3. Learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that in

terms of the provisions contained in Section 94-A read

with Rule 108-F of the Rules, there is no prohibition in law

for a minor to hold the land. It is submitted that a plain

reading of the provisions contained in Rule 108-F only

prescribes that as on the date of making the application

the person has to be a major.

4. Per contra, learned AGA draws the attention of

this Court to Rule 108-F (iv) and (v) of the Karnataka

Land Revenue Rules, 1966, which reads as follows:

“108-F. Eligibility for Grant – No person shall be eligible

for grant of land under this Chapter, unless,-

(i) xxxxx

(ii) xxxxx

(iii) xxxxx

(iv) he is a bona fide agriculturist cultivating the land

personally and is not prohibited from holding or

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acquiring land under the provisions of Karnataka

Land Reforms Act, 1961; and

(v) he is in authorized occupation of land for atleast a

continuous period of not less than three years

prior to the fourteenth day of April, 1990.”

5. The learned AGA would therefore submit that the

requirement in terms of Rule 108-F is that a person

making such an application seeking regularization of

unauthorized occupation should be a bona fide agriculturist

cultivating the land personally. Therefore, when admittedly

the petitioner was about 11 years old th