PETITIONER: MIR FAKIR MOHD. Vs. RESPONDENT: STATE OF WEST BENGAL DATE OF JUDGMENT15/02/1978 BENCH: SARKARIA, RANJIT SINGH BENCH: SARKARIA, RANJIT SINGH KAILASAM, P.S. CITATION: 1978 AIR 1072 1978 SCR (3) 9 1978 SCC (2) 36 ACT: West Bengal Estate Acquisition Act, 1954 s. 6 (1)(f)--Bamboo garden or banana plantation whether an 'Orchard' within the meaning of s. 6(1)(f) of the Act entitling an intermediary, to retain the land as such. HEADNOTE: The petitioner's claim, by virtue of the, provisions of s. 6(1)(f) of the West Bengal Estate Acquisition Act, 1954, for his entitlement, as an intermediary, to retain the land in which he has raised in addition to mango and Jack fruit trees, bamboo clumps and also banana-plants, was allowed by the Courts below but rejected by the Calcutta High Court in appeal by the State of West Bengal. The High Court held that though cultivated bamboo garden would fall within the definition of 'Agricultural land' in s. 2(b) of the Act, it cannot in any view be called an 'Orchard' within the purview of s. 6(t)(f) of the Act. It further held that a banana plantation is not an 'Orchard' because banana plants are not fruit-trees. Dismissing the special leave petition the Court, HELD : 1. In view of clause (p) of Section 2 of the West Bengal Estate Acquisition Act, 1954 read with s. 14K(e) of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, the existence of cultivated fruit trees on a compact area, is central to the connotation of 'Orchard'. A tree is "a perennial plant having a self-supporting woody main stem or trunk (which usually develops wood branches at some distance from the ground), and growing to a considerable height." [10.H, 11 A- B] (2) A plant to come within the connotation of 'tree' must have two essential characteristics : (a) It must be perennial and not seasonal; and (b) Its main stem must be "woody" and not herbacious or pulpy. A banana plant lacks both these characteristics. It is not a perennial plant, but is more in the nature of seasonal crop lasting for one or one and a quarter years. Once the :plant yields fruit, it becomes useless and does not yield any further fruit. Further, its stem is not "woody" but "fleshy" or 'herbacious". A banana plant, therefore, cannot be regarded as a fruit-tree and a banana plantation is not an 'Orchard' within the contemplation of s. 6(1)(f) of the Act. [11 B-C, E] JUDGMENT:
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Special Leave Petition
(Civil) No. 2107 of 1977.
(From the Judgment and Decree dt. 21-7-76 of the Calcutta
High ‘Court in Appeal from Appellate Decree No. 1658 of
1965).
Purshottam Chatterjee & Rathin Das for the Petitioner.
S. C. Majumdar & G. S. Chatterjee for the Respondent.
The order of the Court was delivered by
SARKARIA, J. The principal question that has been mooted
before us in this petition for special leave to appeal under
Article 136 of the Constitution, against an appellate
judgment dated 21st July, 1976 of the High Court at
Calcutta, is, whether a bamboo garden or banana plantation
is an ‘Orchard’ within the meaning of Section 6(1) (f), of
the West Bengal Estate Acquisition Act, 1954 (hereinafter
referred to
2-211 SCI/78
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as the Act). The material portion of Section 6 of the Act
reads as under :
“6(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in
Section 4 and 5, an intermediary shall except
in the cases mentioned in the proviso to sub-
section (2) but subject to other provisions of
that sub-section, be entitled to retain with
effect from the date of vesting-
(f) subject to the provisions of subsection
(3) Land comprised.in tea garden or orchard or
land used for the purpose of live stock
breeding, poultry farming or dairy.”
The petitioner claims himself to be an
intermediary. The High Court has held
(reversing the judgments of the courts below)
that a cultivated bamboo garden would fall
within the definition of ‘Agricultural land’
in Section 2(b) of the Act and cannot in any
view be called an ‘orchard’ within the purview
of Section 6(1) (f) of the Act. It further
held that a banana plantation is not an
‘orchard’ because banana plants are not fruit-
trees.
Mr. Purshotham Chatterjee, appearing for the
petitioner contends that ‘orchard’ has not
been defined in the Act, and we must,
therefore, interpret the expression ‘orchard,
in its popular sense and not in the strict
botanical sense, as the High Court has done.
An ‘orchard’, it is argued; in the broad
Dictionary sense, means a garden of fruit
plants, or fruit trees, and a banana plant,
according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, is
a “fruit-tree.”
As against this, Mr. Majumdar, appearing for
the Respondent State, submits that a banana
plant is not a ‘tree’ but a herbacious plant.
We are unable to accept the contention
canvassed on behalf of the petitioner.
Section 2(p) of the Act provides :
” (p) Expressions used in this Act and not
otherwise defined have in relation to the
areas to which the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885,
applies, the same meaning as in that Act and
in relation to other areas meaning as similar
thereto as the existing law relating to land
tenures applying’ to such areas, permits.”
Now, Section 14K(e) of the West Bengal Land
Reforms Act (as amended) defines an ‘Orchard’
to mean :
“A compact area of land having fruit bearing
trees grown thereon in such number that they
preclude; or when fully grown would preclude,
a substantial part of such land from being
used for any agricultural purpose.”
In view of clause (p) of Section 2 of the Act, it will not
be wrong to look to this definition in the Land Reforms Act,
for guidance. This definition, it will be seen,
substantially conforms to the dictionary meaning of the term
‘orchard’. According to the Oxford Dictionary,
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the modern connotation of ‘orchard’ is “an enclosure with
fruit trees”, or “an enclosure for the cultivation of fruit
trees”. Webster’s New World Dictionary, also, gives its
meaning as “an area of land, generally enclosed, devoted to
the cultivation of fruit trees, nut trees,”. Thus, the
existence of cultivated fruit trees on a compact area, is
central to the connotation of ‘orchard’. The question
before us, therefore, resolves into the issue, whether a
banana plant is a ‘tree’ ? A ‘tree’, according to the
Shorter Oxford Dictionary, is “a perennial plant having a
self-supporting woody main stem or trunk (which usually
develops wood branches at some distance from the ground),
and growing to a considerable height.
Thus, for a plant to come within the connotation of ‘tree’,
it must have two essential characteristics : (a) It must be
‘perennial and not seasonal; and (b) Its main stem must be
‘woody’ and not herbacious or pulpy.
A banana plant lacks both these characteristics. It is not
a perennial plant, but is more in the nature of a seasonal
crop lasting for one or one and a quarter years. Once the
plant yields fruit, it becomes useless and does not yield
any further fruit. Further, its stem is not ‘woody’ but
‘fleshy’ or ‘herbacious’.
Banana plant, according to Webster’s Dictionary, is “a tree-
like perennial herb of the genus Musa plant with soft
herbacious stalk”. Oxford Dictionary, no doubt, loosely
describes it as a ‘fruit-tree’ belonging to the genus Musa
sapientum, but it also concedes that it has no ‘woody’ stem
or trunk but only a soft herbacious stalk. The Webster’s
Dictionary appears to be more correct when it uses the word
‘tree-like’ for a banana plant.
Thus considered, a banana plant cannot be regarded as a
fruit tree. Therefore, a banana plantation is not an
‘orchard’ within the contemplation of Section 6(1) (f) of
the Act.
We are, therefore, of opinion that the High Court was right
in deciding that point against the petitioner. There is no
ground to interfere with its decision. The petition fails
and is dismissed.
S.R.
Petition dismissed’
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