THE RAJASTHAN JAGIR DECISIONS AND PROCEEDINGS (VALIDATION) ACT, 1955

Act No. 18 of 1955

5th day of November 1955

An Act to validate certain decisions given, and proceeding taken, in respect of matters relating to the resumption of Jagir in the Covenanting States of Rajasthan, and the recognition, according to law, of succession-to the rights and title of Jagirdars therein, and to provide the forum for the disposal of such cases and proceedings.

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S.1 Short title & commencement

(1) This Act may be called the Rajasthan Jagir Decisions and proceedings (Validation) Act, 1955.

(2) It shall come into force at once.

S.2 Definitions

In this Act unless the subject or context otherwise requires.-

(a) the words "jagirs" and "jagirdars" shall have the meanings assigned, respectively, to the expressions "jagirs Land" and "jagirdar" by clauses (h) and (g) of section 2 of the Rajasthan Land Reforms and Resumption of Jagirs Act, 1952 (Rajasthan Act VI of 1952), and
(b) the words "law" shall mean an existing Jagir law as defined in clause (d) of section 2 of the Rajasthan Land Reforms and Resumption of Jagirs Act, 1952 (Rajasthan Act VI of 1952) and shall included any law relating to Jagirs of Jagirdars enacted after the commencement of that Act.

S.3 Validation of certain decisions

Notwithstanding anything Contained in the Covenant or in any judgment, decree or order of any Court, all final decisions given by the various grades of Revenue Courts or Officers, or by the Rajpramukh, in cases or proceedings arising out of, or under, the laws of the covenanting States providing for the resumption of jagirs in those states and the recognition of succession to the rights and titles of jagirdars therein shall be valid and shall be deemed always to have been valid and shall not be liable to be called in question in any Civil Court.

S.4 Continuance of pending cases and proceedings

Notwithstanding as aforesaid, if immediately before the commencement of this Act, any cases or proceedings of the nature referred to in section 3 are pending before any Revenue Court or Officer, or before the Rajpramukh—

(a) all action taken therein before such commencement by any such Court or officer, or by the Rajpramukh, acting, or purporting to act, under the relevant law of a covenanting State, shall be valid and shall be deemed always to have been valid and shall not be liable to be called in question in any Civil Court:
(b) any such cases or proceedings may be continued and completed in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws of the covenanting States by a Revenue Court or Officer Competent under such laws to deal therewith, subject to the provisions of the Rajasthan Revenue Courts (Designation) Ordinance, 1949 (Rajasthan Ordinance XXXVI of 1949);
(c) the orders of the Board of Revenue for Rajasthan passed in such cases or proceedi

S.5 Court in which new cases and proceedings may be instituted

(1) notwithstanding as aforesaid, any case or proceeding of the nature referred to in section 3 may hereafter be instituted in the Court of the Collector exercising jurisdiction in the area within which the subject matter of the case or proceeding is situated:

Provided that, if in any such case or proceeding, the gross yearly income from the subject matter thereof does not exceed two thousand rupees the claimant for succession is the natural born son of the deceased holder or the natural born son of his pre- deceased natural born-son, such case or proceeding shall be so instituted in the Court of the Sub-Divisional Officer exercising jurisdiction in the area within which the subject matter of the case or proceeding is situated.

(2) Where the subject matter of any such case or proceeding is situated within the legal limits of the jurisdiction of more than one Collector or Sub-Divisional Officer, the Board shall, on his own motion or otherwise, direct which of those Col

S.6 Trial and disposal of new cases and proceedings

(1) The Collector or Sub-Divisional Officer, as the case may be, in whose Court a case or proceeding referred to in section 5 is instituted or directed to be proceeded with, shall, in conducting the trial thereof, follow, as far as may be practicable, the same procedure as is provided for the trial of suits by him and shall, after hearing all persons interested in the subject matter thereof who desire to be heard, record his findings on all the matters in issue and make the final order:

Provided that in a case or proceeding in which the gross yearly income from the subject matter exceeds five thousand Rupees or the claimant for succession is not the natural born son of the deceased holder or the natural born son of his predeceased natural born son, the final order shall not be made and the Collector shall set forth his recommendations in writing and submit the case or proceeding to the revenue appellate authority for orders.

(2) In every case or proceeding submitted f

S.7 Objections may be lodged to recommendations

In every case or proceeding submitted for orders to the revenue appellate authority under the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 6 or to the Board of Revenue under the proviso, sub-section (2) of that section, any person who desired under sub-section (1) of that section to be heard and who is likely to be affected adversely by the recommendations made, may lodge an objection thereto, and the revenue appellate authority, before making the final order or his recommendations, and the Board of Revenue before making the final order, shall hear and dispose of all such objections.

S.8 Appeals

(1) An appeal shall lie—

(a) to the revenue appellate authority from the final order made in any case or proceeding referred to in section 5 by Sub- divisional Officer, or a Collector under sub-section (1) of section 6, and
(b) to the Board of Revenue from such final order made by a revenue appellate authority under sub-section (2) of section 6.

(2) An appeal shall also lie from any such final order passed by revenue appellate authority in appeal.

S.9 Limitation for appeals

(1) where an appeal lies under section 8, it may be presented—

(a) If it lies to the revenue appellate authority within thirty days, and
(b) If it lies to the Board of Revenue, within sixty days, of the order appealed from, exclusive of the time requisite for obtaining a certified copy thereof.

(2) The provisions of section 5 of the Indian Limitations Act, 1908 (central Act IX of 1908) shall apply to appeals under section 8.

S.10 Powers of the Board of Revenue

In every case or proceeding submitted to it for orders under the proviso to sub-section (2) of section 6 and in every appeal referred to it under section 8, the Board of Revenue, after hearing all parties desiring to be heard and after disposing of all objections, if any, lodged under section 7 or otherwise may-

(a) confirm or set aside the final order or the recommendations made by the revenue appellate authority originally or in appeal, or
(b) vary the same, or
(c) direct further inquiry to be made, or additional evidence to be taken in the case or proceeding,
(d) make such other order therein as may seem to it to be just and proper.

S.11 Power of the Board of Revenue to call for records

The Board of Revenue may call for the record of any case or proceeding referred to in section 5 which has been decided by any subordinate revenue court and in which no appeal lies to the Board of Revenue and if such subordinate Revenue Court appears—

(a) to have exercised jurisdiction not vested in it by law, or
(b) to have failed to exercise jurisdiction so vested, or
(c) to have acted in the exercise of its jurisdiction illegally or with material irregularity, the Board of Revenue may pass such orders in the case or proceeding, as it thinks fit.

S.12 Finality of Board's order

Every order passed by the Board of Revenue under section 10 of section 11 shall be final and binding on all concerned.

S.13 Bar to Jurisdiction of civil Courts

No case or proceeding referred to in section 5 shall lie in any Civil Court and no action taken or order made in any such case or proceeding by any Revenue Court or officer, shall be liable to be called in question in any Civil Court.

S.14 Power to make Rules

The State Government may make rules consistently with this Act, to carry out the provisions thereof.

S.15 Provisions for pending new cases or proceedings

If any case or proceeding of the nature referred to in section 3, having been instituted on or after the 5th day of November, 1955, might be pending on the date On which the Rajasthan Jagir Decisions and Proceedings (validation) Amendment Ordinance, 1957, came into force, such case or proceeding shall be dealt with and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of sections 5 to 13 and the rules, if any, made under section 14.

S.15A Revisional powers of Government

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, or in any other law, the State Government shall have power, on its own motion or on an application made to it in this behalf or on the facts otherwise coming to its knowledge or notice, to call for the record of any case relating to the resumption of a Jagir in a covenanting State or to the recognition of succession to the rights and titles of a jagirdar therein—

(i) which may have been decided by any revenue court or officer, including the Board of revenue for the State, irrespective of whether such decision is covered by section 3 or section 4 or section 6 or section 8 or section 10 or section 11 or section 15 of this Act, and
(ii) in which the claimant for succession is or was hot the natural born son of the deceased holder or the natural born son of his pre-deceased natural born son:

Provided that no action under this section shall be taken in respect of any such case which may have been so

S.16 Saving

Nothing contained in this Act or the rules made there under shall apply or be deemed ever to have applied to an application by the holder of a State-grant for sanction to adopt a son or to nominate a chela as his successor and to the grant of such sanction if, according to the existing Jagir law by which holder is governed, such sanction is a condition precedent to the recognition of the adoption or nomination for the purpose of succession to the State-grant; and the State Government or other authority competent under such law to entertain such an application and to grant such sanction shall notwithstanding anything contained in this Act continue to exercise the powers conferred by that law.