The Bombay Personal Inam Abolition Act, 1952 Complete Act - Bare Act

Amended by Bom. 9 of 1954.

Amended by Bom. 40 of 1956.

Adapted and modified by the Bombay Adaptation of Laws (State and Concurrent Subjects) Order, 1956.

Adapted and modified by the Maharashtra Adaptation of Laws (State and Concurrent Subjects) Order, 1960.

Amended by Mah. 43 of 1961.

An Act to abolish personal inams in the State of Bombay

WHEREAS it is necessary and expedient in the public interest to abolish personal inams in the State of Bombay It is hereby enacted as follows

(1) This Act may be called the Bombay Personal Inams Abolition Act, 1952.

(2) It extends to the 1[Bombay area of the State of Maharashtra] excluding the merged territories.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette specify in this behalf.

(1) In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,"

(a) "appointed date" means the date on which this Act comes into force

(b) "Code" means the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879

2[(ba) "Collector" includes an officer appointed by the State Government to perform the functions and exercise the powers of the Collector under this Act;]

(c) "inamdar" means a holder of a personal inam and includes any person lawfully holding under or through him;

(d) "inam village" or "inam land" means a village or a portion of a village or land, as the case may be, held by a person under a personal inam

(e) "personal main" means, "

(i) a grant of a village, portion of a village, 1[land including any share in the revenues of a village or any portion thereof or land) or] total or partial exemption from the payment of land revenue entered as personal inam in the alienation register kept under section 53 of the Code

(ii) a grant of money or land revenue including anything payable as a cash allowance on the part of the State Government in respect of any right, privilege, perquisite or office and entered as class I, I 111, IV or V in the records kept under the rules made under the Pensions Act, 1871.

Explanation "If any question arises whether any grant is a personal inam such question shall be referred to the State Government and the decision of the State Government shall be final 2[and the entry, if any, in respect of such grant in the alienation register kept under section 53 of the Code shall he deemed to have been amended accordingly];

(f) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act

(g) "Schedule" means a Schedule appended to this Act

(2) The other words and expressions used but not defined in this Act shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Code.

Nothing in this Act shall apply to"

(1) saranjams, jahagirs and other political inams

(2) devastan inams or inams held by religious or charitable institutions

(3) inams held for service useful to Government

(4) inams held for service useful to the community; and

(5) revenue free sites granted by Government for the construction of Schools, Colleges, Hospitals, dispensaries, religious or charitable institutions or other public works from which no profit is intended to be derived.

Explanation: For the purposes of this section inams held by religious or charitable institutions mean Devasthan or Dharmadaya inams granted or recognized by the ruling authority for the time being for a religious or charitable institution and entered as such in the alienation register kept under section 53 of the Code or in the records kept under the rules made under the Pensions Act, 1871]

Notwithstanding anything contained in any usage, settlement, grunt, sanad or order or a decree or order of a Court or any law for the time being in force, with effect from and on the appointed date "

(I) all personal inams shall be deemed to have been extinguished

(ii) save as expressly provided by or under the provisions of this Act, all rights legally subsisting on the said date in respect of such personal inams shall be deemed to have been extinguished

Provided that in the case of a personal inam consisting of exemption from the payment of land revenue only, either wholly or in part, such exemption shall be deemed to have been extinguished "

(a) if the amount of such exemption is or exceeds Rs. 5,000 with effect from the 1st day of August 1953; and

(b) in all other cases, with effect from the 1st day of August, 1955.

(1) All inam villages or 111am lands are and shall be liable to the payment of land revenue in accordance with the provisions of the Code and the rules made thereunder and the provisions of the Code and the rules relating to unalienated land shall apply to such lands.

(2) (a) An inamdar in respect of the inam land in his actual possession or in possession of a person holding from him other than an interior holder, referred to in clause (b) below, or

(b) an inferior holder holding inam land on payment of annual assessment only shall primarily be liable to the State Government for the payment of land revenue, due in respect of such land held by him and shall be entitled to all the rights and shall be liable to all obligations in respect of such land as an occupant under the Code or the rules made thereunder or any other law for the time being in force.

Notwithstanding anything contained in ally law, usage, settlement, grant, sanad or order but suit to the provisions of this Act, a sum equal to seven times (the amount of share in the revenues of a village or any portion thereof or land referred to in section 2(1) (e) (i), or as the case may be,] the amount of cash allowance referred to in section (2) (1) (e) (ii), if any, due to an inamdar as personal inam shall be paid to him as compensation i consideration of the extinguishment of his right to receive 2[such share or allowance].

All public roads, lanes and paths, the bridges, ditches, dikes and fences, on or beside, the same, the bed of the sea and of harbours, creeks below high water mark, and of rivers, streams, nallas, lakes, wells and tanks, and all canals, and water courses, and all standing and flowing water, all unbuilt village site lands, all waste lands and all uncultivated lands (excluding lands used for building or other non-agricultural purposes), which are situate within the limits of any inam village or inam land shall, except in so far as any rights of any person other than inamdar may be established in or over the same and except as may otherwise be provided by any law for the time being in force, vest in and shall be deemed to be with all rights in or over the same or appertaining thereto, the property of the State Government and all rights held by an inamdar in such property shall be deemed to have been extinguished and it shall be lawful for the Collector, subject to the general or special orders of the State Government, to dispose them of as he deems fit, subject always to the rights of a way and other rights of the public or of individuals legally subsisting.

Explanation " For the purposes of this section, land shall he deemed to be uncultivated if it has not been cultivated for a continuous period of three years immediately before the appointed date.

The rights to trees specially reserved under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, or any other law for the time being in force, except those the ownership of which has been transferred by the State Government under any contract, grant or law for the time being in force shall vest in the State Government and nothing in this Act shall in any way affect the right of the State Government to apply the provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, as in force in the 1[Bombay area of the State of Maharashtra] to forests in an inam village or inam land.

Nothing in this Act or ally other law for the time being in force, shall be deemed to affect the rights of any inamdar subsisting on the appointed date to mines or mineral products in an inam village or inam land granted or recognized under any contract, grant or law for the time being in force or a decree of a Court.

(1) Any inamdar having any right or interest in any property referred to in section 7 shall be entitled to compensation in the manner provided in the following paragraphs, namely

(a) within a period of twelve months from the appointed date, the inamdar shall apply in writing to the Collector stating the nature of his right or interest, the grounds of his claim and the amount of compensation claimed by him for the extinguishment of his right or interest

(b) the Collector shall hold a formal inquiry in the manner provided in the Code and if the Collector is satisfied that the applicant had any right or interest in the property and that such right or interest has been extinguished under section 7, he shall make an award in the manner prescribed in section 11 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, subject to the following conditions, namely "

(i) if the property in question is waste or uncultivated but is culturable land the amount of compensation shall not exceed three times the assessment of the land

Provided that if the land has not been assessed the amount of compensation shall not exceed such amount of assessment as would be leviable in the same village on the same extent of similar land used for the same purpose

(ii) if the property in question is land over which the public has been enjoying or acquired a right of way or any individual has any right of easement, the amount of compensation shall not exceed the amount of the annual assessment leviable in the village for uncultivated land in accordance with the rules made under the Code or if such rules do not provide for the levy of such assessment such amount as in the opinion of the Collector shall be the market value of the right or interest held by the claimant

(iii) if there are any trees or structures on the land, the amount of compensation shall be the market value of such trees or structures, as the case may be.

Explanation For the purposes, of this section the "market value" shall mean the value as estimated in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 23 and section 24 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, in so far as the said provisions may be applicable.

(2) Every award made under sub-section (1) shall be in the form prescribed in section 26 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and the provisions of the said Act shall, so far as may be apply to the making of such award.

Appeal shall lie against an award of the Collector to the 1[Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal constituted under the Bombay Revenue Tribunal Act, 1957], notwithstanding anything contained in the said Act.

(l) The 2[Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal] shall, after giving notice to the appellant and the State Government, decide the appeal and record its decision.

(2) In deciding an appeal under this Act the 2[Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal] shall exercise all the powers which a Court has and shall follow the same procedure which a Court follows in deciding appeals from the decree or order of an original Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Every appeal made under this Act to the 2[Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal] shall be filed within a period of sixty days from the date of the award of the Collector. The provisions of sections 4, 5, 12 and 14 of the Indian Limitation Act, 1908, shall apply to the filing of such appeal.

Notwithstanding anything contained in the court-fees Act, 1870 every appeal made under this Act to the 1[Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal] shall bear a court fee stamp of such value as may be prescribed.

The award made by the Collector subject to an appeal to the 1[Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal] and the decision of the 1[Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal] on the appeal shall be final and conclusive and shall not be questioned in any suit or proceeding in any Court

All in inquiries and proceedings before the Collector and the 1[Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal] under this Act shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of sections 193, 219 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code.

(1) Any inamdar having any right or interest in the share in the revenues referred to in section 2 (1) (e) (i) shall, within a period of twelve months from the commencement of the Bombay Personal Inams Abolition (Amendment) Act, 1961, make an application in the prescribed form to the Collector stating the amount of, or his right or interest in, the share, the grounds of his claim and the amount of compensation claimed by him for the extinguishment thereof.

(2) The Collector shall, after holding a formal inquiry in the manner provided by the Code, make an award, deter mining the amount of compensation.

(3) An appeal shall lie from the said award to the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal.

(4) The provisions of sections 10 to 16 (both inclusive) shall, so far as may be, apply to the proceedings in respect of such award or appeal, as the case may be.]

(1) If any person is aggrieved by the provisions of this Act as abolishing, extinguishing or modifying any of his rights to or interest in property and if compensation for such abolition, extinguishment or modification has not been provided for in the provisions of this Act, such person may apply to the Collector for compensation.

(2) The application under sub-section (1) shall be made to the Collector in the prescribed form within twelve months from the appointed date. The Collector shall, after holding a formal inquiry in the manner provided by the Code, make an award determining the compensation in the manner and according to the method provided for in sub-section (1) of section 23 and section 24 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. 1 (3) An appeal shall lie from the said award to the [Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal].

(4) The provisions of sections 10 to 16 (both inclusive) shall, so far as may be, apply to the proceedings in respect of such award or appeal, as the case may be.

(5) Nothing in this section shall entitle any person to compensation on the ground that any inam village or inam land which has wholly or partially exempt from the payment of land revenue has been under the provisions of this Act made subject to the payment of full assessment in accordance with the provisions of the Code.

The amount of compensation payable under the provisions of this Act shall be payable in transferable bonds carrying interest at the rate of three per cent, per annum from the date of the issue of such bonds and shall be repayable during a period of twenty years from the date of the issue of such bonds by equated annual installments of principal and interest. The bonds shall be of such denominations and shall be in such forms as may be prescribed.]

Nothing in this Act shall in any way be deemed to affect the application of any of the provisions of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948, to any inam village or inam land or the mutual rights and obligations of an inamdar and his tenants, save in so far as the said provisions are not in any way inconsistent with the express provisions of this Act.

The State Government may, subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this Act. Such rules shall when finally made be published in the Official Gazette.

1. Short title "These Rules may he called The Bombay Personal Inams Abolition (Compensation Bond) Rules, 1956.

2. Definition "In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires,

Act" means the Bombay Personal Inams Abolition Act, 1952.

3. Form and denominations of bonds "(1) There shall be a separate series of bonds in be issued in respect of payment of compensation amounts due under the Act.

(2) Every such bond shall be in Form ˜A' appended to these Rules.

(3) Such bonds shall be of any of the following denominations namely Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 200, Rs. 500, Rs. 1,0w), Rs. 5,060 and Rs. 10,000

4. Date of issue of bonds " The date of the coming into force of the Act shall be the date of issue of such bond

Provided that in the case of bonds issued in payment of compensation pertaining to inams covered by clause (b) of the proviso to section 4 of the Act, the date of issue of the bonds shall be 1st day of August 1955.

5. Annual instalment and repayment " Ito) Subject to the provisions of sub-rule (2), every such bond) shall be repayable in equated annual instalments in accordance with the Repayment Schedule in Form ˜B' and Tables Ito VII in Form ˜C'

Provided that if one or more instalments have fallen due before the delivery of the bond and have not been paid already, such instalments or any balance thereof shall be payable immediately after the delivery of the bond:

Provided further that in addition to the accrued amounts of instalments, interest at three per cent, per annum on the portion of the instalment amount, representing the amount of principal, for the completed number of years for which its payment has been delayed, shall be paid in cash by the Collector.]

1[(2) No interest shall be payable except as provided by or under the Act and the Rules made thereunder.]

6. Cash payments: " Amount of compensation or part thereof not covered by the smallest denomination of bonds specified in sub-rule (3) of rule 3 shall, unless already paid, be paid in cash.

7; Bonds to be subject to the provisions of Public Debt Act, 1944: " Save as provided in these Rules, the bonds shall be subject to the provisions of the Public Debt Act, 1944 and the Public Debt (Compensation Bonds) Rules, 1954.