{"id":81138,"date":"1995-04-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1995-04-19T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/kanwar-lal-vs-iind-additional-distt-judge-on-20-april-1995"},"modified":"2017-08-19T21:49:15","modified_gmt":"2017-08-19T16:19:15","slug":"kanwar-lal-vs-iind-additional-distt-judge-on-20-april-1995","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/kanwar-lal-vs-iind-additional-distt-judge-on-20-april-1995","title":{"rendered":"Kanwar Lal vs Iind Additional Distt. Judge, &#8230; on 20 April, 1995"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">Kanwar Lal vs Iind Additional Distt. Judge, &#8230; on 20 April, 1995<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_citations\">Equivalent citations: 1995 AIR 2078, \t\t  1995 SCC  Supl.  (2) 394<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_author\">Author: P Sawant<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_bench\">Bench: Sawant, P.B.<\/div>\n<pre>           PETITIONER:\nKANWAR LAL\n\n\tVs.\n\nRESPONDENT:\nIIND ADDITIONAL DISTT. JUDGE, NAINITAL &amp; ORS\n\nDATE OF JUDGMENT20\/04\/1995\n\nBENCH:\nSAWANT, P.B.\nBENCH:\nSAWANT, P.B.\nAGRAWAL, S.C. (J)\n\nCITATION:\n 1995 AIR 2078\t\t  1995 SCC  Supl.  (2) 394\n JT 1995 (4)\t42\t  1995 SCALE  (2)858\n\n\nACT:\n\n\n\nHEADNOTE:\n\n\n\nJUDGMENT:\n<\/pre>\n<p>SAWANT, J.:\n<\/p>\n<p>1.   Leave granted.\n<\/p>\n<p>2.   These four appeals arc directed against a\t      common<br \/>\njudgment dated 19th October,  1987  delivered  by  the\tHigh<br \/>\nCourt  in  four writ petitions filed before it by  the\tfour<br \/>\nappellants.  Since the questions of<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">46<\/span><br \/>\nlaw  which  arise in these appeals arc common, it  would  be<br \/>\nsufficient to refer to the 808\tfacts in one of the  appeals<br \/>\nviz  civil  appeal arising out of S.L.P. No.  3204  of\t1988<br \/>\nsince the High Court has taken the facts from it.\n<\/p>\n<p>3.   In 1920s, Government of India being anxious to  develop<br \/>\nthe undeveloped, lands throughout the country including that<br \/>\nin   the  district  of\tNainital  offered  to  extend\tmany<br \/>\nconcessions  to those who agreed to develop the )and.\tLala<br \/>\nKhushi\tRam Dusaj, predecessor of the appellant was  one  of<br \/>\nthe  persons  who accepted the offer and agreed\t to  develop<br \/>\nland  in  District Nainital.  Government  of  India  granted<br \/>\nlease  of  4805\t acres\tof  land  to  Lala  Khushi  Ram\t for<br \/>\ndevelopment  under  the Crown Grants Act [later\t renamed  as<br \/>\nGovernment  Grants  Act, 1895 &#8211; hereinafter referred  to  as<br \/>\n&#8220;the Grants Act&#8221;] by a registered lease deed dated 25.8.1920<br \/>\nwhich  was executed by the Secretary of State for  India  in<br \/>\nCouncil\t for a period extending upto 31st March, 2013.\t One<br \/>\nof  the\t conditions  of the said lease\twith  which  we\t arc<br \/>\nconcerned here, was that the leased land would not be  taken<br \/>\naway  except as specified by the clauses of the\t lease\tdeed<br \/>\nand  that too for the purpose of land reforms.\tIn case\t the<br \/>\nland was taken away, compensation was payable to the  lessee<br \/>\nin  accordance with the provisions of the  Land\t Acquisition<br \/>\nAct,  1894.  Section 3 of the Grants Act provided  that\t all<br \/>\nprovisions,   restrictions,   conditions   and\t limitations<br \/>\ncontained  in any such grant or transfer shall be valid\t and<br \/>\ntake effect according to their tenor, any rule of law, stat-<br \/>\nute  or\t enactment  of\tthe  legislature  to  the   contrary<br \/>\nnotwithstanding.   After  taking possession  of\t the  leased<br \/>\nland,  the lessee Lala Khush; Ram is alleged to\t have  spent<br \/>\nmoneys to clear the jungle and level the uneven terrain\t and<br \/>\ndevelop the land for agriculture.\n<\/p>\n<p>4.   In\t the  year  1959,  the State  of  U.P.\tpassed\tU.P.<br \/>\nGovernment    Estates\tThekedari   Abolition\tAct,\t1958<br \/>\n[hereinafter referred to as the &#8220;Principal Act&#8221;] and  issued<br \/>\nnotifications under the said Act for taking over the  leased<br \/>\nlands granted under the Grants Act and issued  notifications<br \/>\nvesting all such lands in the State.  In 1960, the State  of<br \/>\nU.P. amended the Grants Act.  While retaining the provisions<br \/>\nof  Section 3 of the said Act the Amendment added a  proviso<br \/>\nto  the said section which stated that nothing in  the\tsaid<br \/>\nsection shall prevent, or be deemed ever to have  prevented,<br \/>\nthe  effect of any enactment relating to the acquisition  of<br \/>\nproperty,  land\t reforms  or the imposition  of\t ceiling  on<br \/>\nagricultural land.\n<\/p>\n<p>5.   By its decision dated 25th October, 1967\t  the\tHigh<br \/>\nCourt declared the provisions of the Principal Act as  ultra<br \/>\nvires the Constitution and quashed the notifications  issued<br \/>\nunder  the said Act, taking over the lands leased under\t the<br \/>\nGrants\tAct.   In 1970, the State of U.P. passed  the  Uttar<br \/>\nPradesh Government Estates Thekedari Abolition [Re-enactment<br \/>\nand  Validation] Act, 1970 [for short the  Validation  Act&#8217;]<br \/>\nwith the result that the Principal Act and the notifications<br \/>\nwhich  had been issued thereunder were revived by  adding  a<br \/>\ndeeming clause.\t Under the amended Principal Act, the  State<br \/>\nissued\tnotifications  on 16th October,\t 1970  applying\t the<br \/>\nprovisions of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land  Reforms<br \/>\nAct,  1950  [for  short the Z.A. Act]  to  the\tvillages  in<br \/>\nquestion.   In\tthe  year 1973, the  appellant\twho  is\t the<br \/>\nsuccessor of Lala Khushi Ram, the original lessee,  received<br \/>\nnotices\t under the amended Principal Act and  also  received<br \/>\ncopies of com-\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">47<\/span><\/p>\n<p>sensation roll showing the compensation at less than  Rs.3\/-<br \/>\nper  acre.   The appellant, therefore, filed  his  objection<br \/>\nbefore\tthe  Collector\twho  referred  the  matter  to\t the<br \/>\nrespondent   No.1-Additional   District\t Judge.\t   On\t17th<br \/>\nDecember,   1977,  respondent  No.1  partly   accepted\t the<br \/>\nreference.   The appellant, therefore, moved the High  Court<br \/>\nby  a writ petition.  On 19th October, 1987 the\t High  Court<br \/>\ndismissed  all the writ petitions before it by the  impugned<br \/>\ncommon judgment.  Hence the present appeals.\n<\/p>\n<p>6.   The  first contention raised in these appeals  is\tthat<br \/>\nthe  State  cannot  amend the Grants Act, which\t is  a\tpre-<br \/>\nconstitutional\tcentral statute by its own enactment,  viz.,<br \/>\nthe Principal Act so as to annul the provisions of Section 3<br \/>\nof  the Central Act.  The answer to this contention lies  in<br \/>\nthe  provisions\t of Article 372 of  the\t Constitution.\t The<br \/>\nrelevant provisions of Article 372 arc as under:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\t      &#8220;372.   Continuance in force of existing\tlaws<br \/>\n\t      and  their adaptation-(1) Notwithstanding\t the<br \/>\n\t      repeal by this Constitution of the  enactments<br \/>\n\t      referred to in Article 395 but subject to\t the<br \/>\n\t      other provisions of this Constitution, all the<br \/>\n\t      laws  in\tforce  in  the\tterritory  of  India<br \/>\n\t      immediately  before the commencement  of\tthis<br \/>\n\t      Constitution  shall continue in force  therein<br \/>\n\t      until altered or repealed or amended by a com-<br \/>\n\t      petent  Legislature  or  other  competent\t au-<br \/>\n\t      thority.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\t      (2)   For\t the purpose of bringing the  provi-<br \/>\n\t      sions of any law in force in the territory  of<br \/>\n\t      India into accord with the provisions of\tthis<br \/>\n\t      Constitution, the President may by order\tmake<br \/>\n\t      such  adaptations\t and modifications  of\tsuch<br \/>\n\t      law,  whether by way of repeal  or  amendment,<br \/>\n\t      &#8216;as may be necessary or expedient, and provide<br \/>\n\t      that  the law shall, as from such date as\t may<br \/>\n\t      be specified in the order, have effect subject<br \/>\n\t      to the adaptations and modifications so  made,<br \/>\n\t      and any such adaptation or modification  shall<br \/>\n\t      not be questioned in any court of law.<br \/>\n\t      (3)   Nothing in clause (2) shall be deemed-\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\t      (a)   to\tempower\t the President to  make\t any<br \/>\n\t      adaptation  or modification of any  law  after<br \/>\n\t      the   expiration\tof  three  years  from\t the<br \/>\n\t      commencement of this Constitution; or\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\t      (b)   to prevent any competent Legislature  or<br \/>\n\t      other  competent authority from  repealing  or<br \/>\n\t      amending\tany law adapted or modified  by\t the<br \/>\n\t\t\t    president under the said clause.<br \/>\n\t      Explanation 1.- The expression &#8220;law in  force&#8221;<br \/>\n\t      in this article shall include a law passed  or<br \/>\n\t      made  by\ta  Legislature\tor  other  competent<br \/>\n\t      authority in the territory of India before the<br \/>\n\t      commencement  of\tthis  Constitution  and\t not<br \/>\n\t      previously  repealed, notwithstanding that  it<br \/>\n\t      or  parts of it may not be then  in  operation<br \/>\n\t      either at all or in particular areas.&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Entry  18  of  List  II\t of  the  Seventh  Schedule  of\t the<br \/>\nConstitution reads as under:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\t      &#8221; 18.  Land, that is to say, rights in or over<br \/>\n\t      land,  land tenures including the relation  of<br \/>\n\t      landlord\tand  tenant, and the  collection  of<br \/>\n\t      rents; transfer and alienation of agricultural<br \/>\n\t      land; land improvement and agricultural loans;<br \/>\n\t      colonization.&#8221; .\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>7.   Article  246 [3] read with Entry 18 of List II  of\t the<br \/>\nSeventh\t Schedule  gives power to the State  Legislature  to<br \/>\nmake law with regard to rights in or over land, land tenures<br \/>\nincluding  the\trelation  of landlord  and  tenant  and\t the<br \/>\ncollection of rents, transfer and alienation of agricultural<br \/>\nland; land improvement and agricultural loans; colo-\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">48<\/span><\/p>\n<p>nization.   Admittedly,\t the lands in  question\t were  under<br \/>\npersonal  cultivation of the appellant and, therefore,\tthey<br \/>\nare  agricultural  lands.  Hence the State  legislature\t was<br \/>\ncompetent  to  enact the Principal Act\twhich  concerns\t the<br \/>\nrights\tin  or\tover the land etc. which  are  all  subjects<br \/>\ncovered\t by Entry 18 of List II.  In view of the  provisions<br \/>\nboth  of  clauses  [1] and [3] (b) of  Article\t372  of\t the<br \/>\nConstitution,  therefore,  the State Legislature  being\t the<br \/>\ncompetent  legislature\tto enact such law  could  repeal  or<br \/>\namend  the  Grants Act or any of  its  provisions  including<br \/>\nSection\t 3  thereof  This would be true also  of  the  State<br \/>\namendment  of the Grants Act by the Government Grants  [U.P.<br \/>\nAmendment]  Act, 1960.\tHence the contention that the  State<br \/>\nLegislature  could not amend the provisions of Section 3  of<br \/>\nthe Grants Act has to be rejected.\n<\/p>\n<p>8.   The  next\tcontention of the appellant is that  in\t the<br \/>\nabsence\t of  a fresh notification issued under\tthe  amended<br \/>\nPrincipal Act, the leasehold rights of the appellant  cannot<br \/>\nbe deemed to have been terminated, so as to enable the State<br \/>\nto resume the lands.\n<\/p>\n<p>9.   As the facts in the present case reveal, the  Principal<br \/>\nAct was extended to the district of Nainital by notification<br \/>\ndated\t17th   June,  1965  w.e.f  26th\t June,\t 1965.\t  By<br \/>\nnotification  dated 30th June, 1966, issued under Section  3<br \/>\nof that Act, the lease of the appellant was determined.\t The<br \/>\nHigh  Court declared as unconstitutional the  provisions  of<br \/>\nthat Act and hence the Act was amended and re-enacted  w.e.f<br \/>\n20th  June,  1964  by  U.P.  Government\t Estates   Thekedari<br \/>\nAbolition [Re-enactment and Validation] Act, 1970.   Section<br \/>\n6 of the Validation Act validated anything done of purported<br \/>\nto have been done and any action taken or purported to\thave<br \/>\nbeen taken under the provisions of the Principal Act,  viz.,<br \/>\nU.P.  Government  Estates  Thekedari  Abolition\t Act.\tThat<br \/>\nSection reads as follows:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\t      &#8220;6.  Notwithstanding any judgment,  decree  or<br \/>\n\t      order   of  any  court  or  Tribunal  to\t the<br \/>\n\t      contrary, anything done or purporting to\thave<br \/>\n\t      been  done and any action taken or  purporting<br \/>\n\t      to have been taken under any provision of\t the<br \/>\n\t      principal Act before the commencement of\tthis<br \/>\n\t      Act including, in particular, any notification<br \/>\n\t      under   subsection  (3)  of  section  1,\t any<br \/>\n\t      determination of lease under section 3, or the<br \/>\n\t      recovery\tof  any rents or  other\t dues  under<br \/>\n\t      section 4 or the taking over of possession  or<br \/>\n\t      charge of land or of books, accounts or  other<br \/>\n\t      documents\t under section 6 of that Act,  shall<br \/>\n\t      be  deemed to be, and always to have  been  as<br \/>\n\t      valid as if the provisions of this Act were in<br \/>\n\t      force at all material times.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>10.In  view  of the said express validating  provision,\t the<br \/>\nnotifications  which were issued under the Principal Act  in<br \/>\nterms  revived\twith the revival of the\t Principal  Act\t and<br \/>\nhence  the  action taken under the said\t notifications\talso<br \/>\nstood  validated.   It\twas not\t necessary  to\treissue\t the<br \/>\nnotifications after the enactment of the Validation Act.  To<br \/>\nargue to the contrary would render the provisions of Section<br \/>\n6 of the Validation Act otiose.\n<\/p>\n<p>11.It  is for this reason that we are unable  to  understand<br \/>\nthe  reliance  placed  on behalf of  the  appellant  on\t the<br \/>\ndecision of this Court in Mahendra Lal Jaini v. 7he State of<br \/>\nUttar  Pradesh\tand Others [(1963] Supp.  1 SCR\t 9121.\t The<br \/>\nquestion  considered in that case was whether an  Act  which<br \/>\nwas  invalid  being  ultra  vires  the\tprovisions  of\t the<br \/>\nConstitution would stand re-\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">49<\/span><\/p>\n<p>vived  automatically on amendment of the relevant  provision<br \/>\nof  the Constitution.  It was held that such a\trevival\t was<br \/>\nnot  automatic and that the Act had to be  re-enacted  after<br \/>\nthe  constitutional  provision which it\t had  infringed\t was<br \/>\namended.  The ratio of that decision is, therefore, not\t ap-<br \/>\nplicable  to the facts of the present case.   The  Principal<br \/>\nAct has been re-enacted by amending the relevant  provisions<br \/>\nto  bring  them\t in conformity with the\t provisions  of\t the<br \/>\nConstitution  and  by  the provisions of Section  6  of\t the<br \/>\nValidation  Act,  as pointed out above, all  acts  done\t and<br \/>\npurported  to  have been done under the principal  Act\thave<br \/>\nbeen expressly validated.\n<\/p>\n<p>12.  The  next\tcontention was that the\t Validation  Act  is<br \/>\nviolative  of the second proviso to Article 31A [1]  of\t the<br \/>\nConstitution.  Under the lease granted under the Grants Act,<br \/>\nthe  rights  of\t the  lessee  were  heritable  as  well\t  as<br \/>\ntransferable.  As a result of the determination of the lease<br \/>\nby  the Thekedari Abolition Act, the right which  have\tbeen<br \/>\nconferred  on the lessee are only heritable.  They  are\t not<br \/>\ntransfer able by virtue of the provisions of the U.P Tenancy<br \/>\nAct,   1939.   Hence,  the  lessee  is\tentitled   to\tfull<br \/>\ncompensation.\n<\/p>\n<p>13.  The  relevant  provisions of Article  31A\t[1]  of\t the<br \/>\nConstitution read as follows:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\t      &#8220;31A.   Saving  of  laws\tproviding  for\t ac-<br \/>\n\t      quisition\t of  estates,  etc.-  (1)   Notwith-<br \/>\n\t      standing anything contained in Article 13,  no<br \/>\n\t      law providing for &#8211;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\t      (a)   the\t acquisition  by the  State  of\t any<br \/>\n\t      estate  or  of any rights therein or  the\t ex-<br \/>\n\t      tinguishment  or\tmodification  of  any\tsuch<br \/>\n\t      rights, or<br \/>\n\t      x\t       x\tx\t x<br \/>\n\t      shall be deemed to be void on the ground\tthat<br \/>\n\t      it  is  inconsistent with, or  take-  away  or<br \/>\n\t      abridges\tany  of\t the  rights  conferred\t  by<br \/>\n\t      Article 14 or Article 19:\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\t      Provided that where such law is a law made  by<br \/>\n\t      the Legislature of a State, the provisions  of<br \/>\n\t      this  Article shall not apply  thereto  unless<br \/>\n\t      such   law,  having  been\t reserved  for\t the<br \/>\n\t      consideration  of the President, has  received<br \/>\n\t      his assent:\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\t      Provided further that where any law makes\t any<br \/>\n\t      provision for the acquisition by the State  of<br \/>\n\t      any  estate  and\twhere  any  land   comprised<br \/>\n\t      therein is held by a person under his personal<br \/>\n\t      cultivation,  it shall not be lawful  for\t the<br \/>\n\t      State  to acquire any portion of such land  as<br \/>\n\t      is within the ceiling limit applicable to\t him<br \/>\n\t      under  any law for the time being in force  or<br \/>\n\t      any building or structure standing thereon  or<br \/>\n\t      appurtenant  thereto, unless the law  relating<br \/>\n\t      to  the acquisition of such land, building  or<br \/>\n\t      structure,   provides  for  payment  of\tcom-<br \/>\n\t      pensation\t at a rate which shall not  be\tless<br \/>\n\t      than the market value thereof&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>14.What\t  is  prohibited  by  the  aforesaid  provision\t  is<br \/>\nacquisition  by the State of any portion of the\t land  under<br \/>\npersonal  cultivation  which portion is within\tthe  ceiling<br \/>\nlimit, without payment of its market value as  compensation.<br \/>\nBy  virtue  of\tthe  Principal\tAct,  as  amended,  what  is<br \/>\nconferred  permanently\ton the erstwhile lessees  under\t the<br \/>\nGrants Act is the hereditary tenancy.  The Principal Act  as<br \/>\namended,  by itself does not restrict the right of  the\t he-<br \/>\nreditary  tenant to transfer the land.\tThe  restriction  on<br \/>\nthe  transfer by a hereditary tenant has been placed by\t the<br \/>\nU.P.  Tenancy Act, 1939.  It is, therefore, not\t correct  to<br \/>\nsay  that it is the Principal Act as amended,  which  places<br \/>\nthe restriction on<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">50<\/span><br \/>\nthe  right  of the hereditary tenant to transfer  the  land.<br \/>\nFurther while under the old lease, which is abolished by the<br \/>\nPrincipal  Act, the lessee could hold the land only for\t the<br \/>\nperiod\tof  the lease which was in the\tpresent\t case,\tupto<br \/>\n2013, by virtue of the conferment of the hereditary  tenancy<br \/>\nunder  the Principal Act, the lessee can now hold such\tland<br \/>\npermanently.   It cannot be said that the conferment of\t the<br \/>\npermanent hereditary tenancy on the erstwhile  tenure-lessee<br \/>\nis in any way inferior to the rights of the lessee under the<br \/>\nold  grant.   Hence in the first instance, the\tquestion  of<br \/>\npayment\t of compensation does not arise.  Secondly,  a\tmere<br \/>\nrestriction on the incidence of the lease or owner.-,hip  is<br \/>\nnot acquisition within the meaning of Article 31A.\n<\/p>\n<p>15.Article  31A [1] (a) of the Constitution states  that  no<br \/>\nlaw providing for the acquisition by the State of any estate<br \/>\nor any rights therein or the extinguishment or\tmodification<br \/>\nof any such rights, shall be deemed to be void on the ground<br \/>\nthat it is inconsistent with, or takes away or abridges\t any<br \/>\nof  the rights conferred by Article 14 or Article  19.\t The<br \/>\nsecond\tproviso\t to Article 31A [1],  however,\tstates\tthat<br \/>\nwhere any law makes any provision for the acquisition by the<br \/>\nState  of  any estate and where any land comprised  in\tsuch<br \/>\nestate\tis held by a person under his personal\tcultivation,<br \/>\nit shall not be lawful for the State to acquire the  portion<br \/>\nof  such land as is within the ceiling limit  applicable  to<br \/>\nhim  under any law for the time being in force,\t unless\t the<br \/>\nlaw  relating to the acquisition of such land  provides\t for<br \/>\npayment\t of compensation at a rate which shall not  be\tless<br \/>\nthan the market value thereof\n<\/p>\n<p>16.\tThus  there  is\t a  clear  distinction\tbetween\t the<br \/>\nprovisions of Article 31A [1] (a) and of the second  proviso<br \/>\nto the said Article.  Whereas Article 31A[1] (a) holds valid<br \/>\nthe acquisition by the State of any estate or of any  rights<br \/>\ntherein\t or the extinguishment or modification of  any\tsuch<br \/>\nrights, the second proviso carves out an exception to it  by<br \/>\nproviding  that [i] if any, estate is acquired by the  State<br \/>\nwhich comprises any land under personal cultivation and [ii]<br \/>\nif such land is within the ceiling limit applicable to\tsuch<br \/>\nperson, such land as is within the ceiling limit will not be<br \/>\nacquired  without payment of compensation.  In other  words,<br \/>\nthe  second  proviso provides for compensation only  if\t the<br \/>\nland  within  the ceiling limit is wholly  acquired  by\t the<br \/>\nState.\t If only some of the rights of the person  concerned<br \/>\nin  such land are acquired or extinguished or are  modified,<br \/>\nthe second proviso does not come into play.  In the  present<br \/>\ncase,  instead\tof  having  the\t full  rights  as  a  lessee<br \/>\nincluding the right to transfer the land, the appellant will<br \/>\nbe  a  hereditary tenant without the right to  transfer\t the<br \/>\nland.\tTo  that  extent the rights  of\t the  appellant\t are<br \/>\nmodified or his right to transfer the land is  extinguished.<br \/>\nHe  has\t not been deprived of all his rights.\tIt  is\tnot,<br \/>\ntherefore,  a case of acquisition of his estate\t within\t the<br \/>\nmeaning\t of the second proviso to Article 31A  [1].   Hence,<br \/>\nthe appellant is not entitled to compensation as provided by<br \/>\nthe  said  proviso.  Further, as pointed  out  earlier,\t the<br \/>\nappellant  is  conferred with the rights as  the  hereditary<br \/>\ntenant\tpermanently  in\t place of his earlier  rights  as  a<br \/>\ntenure-lessee  which  were to expire after 2013.   This\t is,<br \/>\ntherefore,  a clear case of modification of the rights\tand.<br \/>\nnot  of\t acquisition  of  all  the  rights.   It  cannot  be<br \/>\ncontended further that this modification is less  beneficial<br \/>\nto the appellant On this account also the second proviso  to<br \/>\nArticle<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">51<\/span><br \/>\n31A[11 requiring compensation to be paid, does not come into<br \/>\nplay in the present case.\n<\/p>\n<p>17.It  was  then urged that in any case\t the  appellant\t has<br \/>\nbecome Government lessee within the meaning of Section\t133A<br \/>\nof  the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act,\t1950<br \/>\n[hereinafter called &#8216;the Z.A. Act&#8217;] and hence the land would<br \/>\nstand  excluded\t from the provisions of the  Principal\tAct.<br \/>\nThe  provision\tof  Section 133A of the Z.A.  Act  reads  as<br \/>\nfollows:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\t      &#8220;133A.   Government lessees.  Every person  to<br \/>\n\t      whom  land  has  been let\t out  by  the  State<br \/>\n\t      Government shall be called a government lessee<br \/>\n\t      in   respect   of\t  such\t land\tand    shall<br \/>\n\t      notwithstanding\tanything  to  the   contrary<br \/>\n\t      contained in this Act be entitled to hold\t the<br \/>\n\t      same   in\t accordance  with  the\t terms\t and<br \/>\n\t      conditions of the lease relating thereto.\t &#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>18.Since it is not disputed that by notification dated\t16th<br \/>\nOctober, 1970, the provisions of the Z. A. Act have been mad<br \/>\napplicable to the said lands and Section 133A has also\tbeen<br \/>\nmade applicable the lands covered by the Principal Act,\t the<br \/>\nland in question is excluded from the ambit of the Principal<br \/>\nAct.\n<\/p>\n<p>19.If  the scheme of the amended Principal Act is  examined,<br \/>\nit  would appear the the Act has been passed to provide\t for<br \/>\nabolition of the thekedari system in Government estates\t and<br \/>\nthe  &#8220;Government estate&#8221; has been defined in  the  Principal<br \/>\nAct  to\t mean land owned by the State  Government  in  Uttar<br \/>\nPradesh\t which\tindicates that the Act is intended  to\tdeal<br \/>\nwith  government  lands as well.  Moreover, Section  of\t the<br \/>\namended\t Principal Act which provides for  determination  of<br \/>\nthe  lease starts with a non obstante clause.  It  reads  as<br \/>\nfollows:\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\t      &#8220;3.Determination\tof leases.   Notwithstanding<br \/>\n\t      anything\t in  any  law,\tcontract  or   other<br \/>\n\t      document,\t it  shall be lawful for  the  State<br \/>\n\t      Government by order published in the  Official<br \/>\n\t      Gazette  to determine with effect from a\tdate<br \/>\n\t      (hereinafter called the date of determination)<br \/>\n\t      to be specified, any lease&#8221;\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>20. In view of this non obstante clause Section 133A of\t the<br \/>\nZ.A.  Act  cannot have the effect of denying the  State\t the<br \/>\npower  under  the  said Section 3 to  determine\t the  lease.<br \/>\nHence this contention must also fall\n<\/p>\n<p>21.  There  was no other contention  raised.   The  appeals,<br \/>\ntherefore, fail for the reasons given above and not for\t the<br \/>\nreasons\t given\tby  the High Court and\tare  dismissed\twith<br \/>\ncosts.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"hidden_text\">58<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court of India Kanwar Lal vs Iind Additional Distt. Judge, &#8230; on 20 April, 1995 Equivalent citations: 1995 AIR 2078, 1995 SCC Supl. (2) 394 Author: P Sawant Bench: Sawant, P.B. PETITIONER: KANWAR LAL Vs. RESPONDENT: IIND ADDITIONAL DISTT. JUDGE, NAINITAL &amp; ORS DATE OF JUDGMENT20\/04\/1995 BENCH: SAWANT, P.B. BENCH: SAWANT, P.B. AGRAWAL, S.C. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Kanwar Lal vs Iind Additional Distt. 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