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TMI Blog1972 (4) TMI 98X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion of an area of approximately 1,27,904 acres, commonly known as the 'Concession Area' lying contiguously in the Kannan Devan Hills village. The petitioner grows and manufactures tea in the plantation set up and developed by it. The petitioner's predecessor-in-title was one Mr. John Danial Munro, who obtained, what is called, the first Pooniat Concession from Punhatil Kayikal Kela Varma Valuja Raja, on July 11, 1877 (Mithunam 20, 1052). This Concession recited that an, application was made for the grant of the above property to the Raja for coffee cultivation. The Concession conveyed the properties in consideration of ₹ 5,000/-. It was further stipulated in the Concession that "you shall clear and remove the jungles, and reclaim the waste lands within the said boundaries, and cultivate them with coffee up to the year 1058 and from the year 1059, pay our rent collector a yearly rent at the rate of 3,000 British Rupees." Various other conditions were mentioned but it is not necessary to refer to them because this Concession was superseded by another agreement called the Second Pooniat Consession. Before we refer to the terms of the Second Pooniat Conces- ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ovisions. For our purposes we may only mention the following provisions of the deed : (1) Assesment of one-half of a British Rupee per annum on every acre of land, other than grass land, which is opened up for the purpose of cultivation or otherwise. (2) Assessment of two annas and eight pies per annum on every acre, of grass land brought under cultivation or taken up for homesteads and farmsteads, or reserved as shooting reserves or for the grazing of cattle or for any other purposes. (6) The Society may use and appropriate to its own use within the limits of the Concession all timber except teak, cole-teak, blackwood, ebony (Karunthaly) and sandalwood, but should not fell any timber beyond what is necessary for clearing the ground for cultivation or for building, furniture and machinery, within the limits of the grant. No unvalued timber or articles manufactured therefrom should be carried outside, the limits of the grant except in conformity with the rules of the Forest and Customs Depart- ments for the time being in force. ( 10)The land is to be held in perpetuity as heritable or transferable property but every case of transfer of the grant by the Society should be immediat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , with the Poonjar Chief for the surrender of certain proprietary rights which he had been exercising over the tract known as Anjanad and Kannan Devan Hills." We have set out these facts in detail because it will be necessary to appreciate the significance of the documents in order to decide the question whether these lands fall within expression 'Janmam right' in art. 31A of the Constitution. According to the petitioner it has at all times been holding, cultivating, enjoying and dealing with the Concession Land as the absolute, owner thereof. The petitioner further alleges that it has established 23 tea estates, with factories on each estate for the manufacture of tea, hospitals, quarters and township, and shopping centres and is employing approximately 18,500 persons for the running of the said estates. The breakup of the area of 1,27,904 acres was given as follows Tea Estates 1. Tea Planted area 23,570,95 acres 2. Fuel area 17,851 .55 3. Building sites, roads, Workers gardens, Manner Township 2,605.35 4. Grazing land 1,453.75 5. Swamps and Streams 2,407.36 6. uncultivable lands, rocks, slips, barren lands, ridges etc-. 6,789.51 31,107 -52 31,107 .52 acres 7. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... appointed day, the possession of all lands situate in the Kaanan Devan Hills village in the Devicolam taluk of the Kottayam district shall stand transferred to and vest in the Government free from all encumbrances, and the right, title and -L128SupCI/72 interest of the lessees add all other persons, including rights of mortgagees and holders of encumbrances) in respect of such lands, shall stand extinguished. (2) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall apply in respect of- (a) plantations, other than plantations belonging to trespassers; (b) buildings, other than buildings belonging to tres- passers, and lands appurtenant to, and necessary for the convenient enjoyment or use of, such buildings; (c) play-grounds and burial and burning grounds; and (d) lands in the possession of the Central Government of any State Government or the Kerala State 'Electricity Board. (3) Nothing contained in tub-section (1) shall apply in respect of so much extent of land held by a lessee under his personal cultivation as is within the ceiling limit applicable to him under any law for the time being in force or any building or structure standing thereon or appurtenant thereto." It wil ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he basis that certain lands, which have vested in the State under s. 3, may be necessary for the efficient carrying on of the plantation. A procedure is laid down by which the Land Board shall determine, the extent of land necessary for purposes mentioned in s. 4 (a), (b) and (c) to be specified in the application of the landholder, and direct restoration of possession. Section 5 alleviates the rigour of s. 4 by giving the Collector power to remove the hardship, if any, on the management of the plantation on, the vesting of any land under sub-s. (1) of S. 3. Section 8 provides that no compensation shall be payable for the extinguishment under sub-s. (1) of s. 3 of the right, title and interest of the lessees or other persons or of the rights of mortgagees or holders of encumbrances. Section 9 may be set out in full. It reads thus 3 66 "9. Assignment of lands.-(1) The Government,. shall, after reserving such extent of the land, the possession of which has vested in the Government under subsection (1) of section 3 (other than lands, the possession of which has been restored under section (4), as may be necessary for purposes directed towards the promotion of agriculture or the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he time of letting as per Annexures B & C to the Writ Petition. By the Royal Proclamation of 1899 (Annexure R-1) the Janmam right of the lessor, the Poonjar Chief, got vested in the Government of Travancore." [Para 4(1)]. "After the said vesting the writ petitioner is a lessee under a Janmi the Sircar, the State." [Para 4(2)]. Para 4(4) refers to pages 314 and 315 of Travancore State Manual- Vol. III where it is recorded that the lands of Poonjar Chief are Janmam lands. Further reference is made to Travancore Land Revenue Manual, Vol. IV, which we will discuss a little later. In the sur-rejoinder affidavit the petitioner denies that Poonjar Chief or Raja was the Janmi of the land covered by the impugned legislation. It is further alleged that "even asuming without admitting that the Poonjar Chief was a Janmi, the Janinam rights of the Chief became vested in the Sircar by the Royal Proclamation of 1899 (Annexure R-1), the lands became part of and merged with the Sircar land. The Sircar as the overlord and the Ruler of the State became the sole owner of the land and the petitioner became a permanent and perpetual lessee of Sircar with heritable and alienable righ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Management of plantations involves construction and maintenance of roads and buildings, running of hospitals, schools, creches, and canteens, etc. and in a miniature form, transport and,, public health activities. In short, a plantation is a self- contained unit of Organisation." In the report of P. C. Borooah Committee on Tea Industry following measures were recommended : "1. 18. Taking into consideration the difficulties faced by the industry because of Government enactments and in view of our recommendation in regard to the necessity for undertaking extensions of plantings to achieve the plan targets laid down by Government and the need for replacement to increase foreign exchange earnings of the country' the Committee recommends that the following measures should be taken by Government :- (i) The Central Government should take steps to convene a conference of all representatives of tea producing State Governments to frame a well-considered policy in regard to land required for expanding tea production. Where land is proposed to be resumed by the State Governments concerned, the Tea Board should be taken into consultation. (ii) The principles underlying all resu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... C.R. 393,420) Bhagwati, J., observed : "Industry in the wide sense of the term would be capable of comprising three different aspects : (1) raw materials which are an integral part of the industrial process, (2) the process of manufacture or production, and (3) the distribution of the products of the industry. The raw materials would be goods which would be comprised in Entry 27 of List II. The process of manufacture or production would be comprised in Entry 24 of List 11 except where the industry was a controlled industry when it would fall within Entry 52 of List I and the products of the industry would also be comprised in Entry 27 of List 11 except where they were the products of the controlled industries when they would fall within entry 33 of List 111. This being the position, it cannot be said that the legislation which was enacted by the Centre in regard to sugar and sugarcane could fall within Entry 52 of List 1. Before sugar industry became a controlled industry, both sugar and sugarcane fell within Entry 27 of List 11 but, after a declaration was made by Parliament in 1951 by Act LXV of 1951, sugar industry became a controlled industry and the product of that indus ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... titled under the general powers conferred by the first part of s. 91 of the Act of 1867 to regulate all the affairs of the company, even where that involved legislating in relation to matters exclusively reserved to the provincial legislatures by s. 92." It is not necessary to consider the situation where State legislation on a topic in List 11 makes the control of industry by the Union virtually impossible. No such question arises now. Coming now to the question of repugnancy : The object of the Tea Act, 1953, is to-provide for the control by the Union of the tea industry, including the control, in pursuance of the international agreement now in force, of the cultivation of tea in and the export of tea from India. Chapter 11 sets up a Tea Board. Section 10 sets out the functions of the Board. Broadly the duty of the Board is to promote by such measures as it thinks fit the development under the control of the Central Government of tea industry. Measures contemplated are listed in sub-s. (2) as follows : " (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (1), the measures referred to therein may provide for- (a) regulating the production and ex ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tate Legislature insofar as it provided for the requisitioning and acquisition of tea estate. As it was a pre Constitution Act and there was no Federal Law then declaring that the development of tea industry was expedient in the public interest, the Act was held to be constitutionally valid. The Court then examined the question whether the impugned Act would continue in force, under art. 372 of the Constitution in face of the Tea Act of 1953. This Court held that the impugned Act provided only for requisition or acquisition of lands in public interest and' it had nothing to do with tea industry. After examining the scheme of the Act, Subba Rao, J., observed : "It is, therefore, manifest that the Tea Act mainly concerned with the development of the tea industry, and it has nothing to do with the requisition or acquisition of lands, though the said lands may form part of a tea estate or used for purposes incidental to the tea industry. Indeed, s. 1 5 (1) (b) of the Tea Act provides for the contingency of a part of a land on which tea is planted being compulsorily acquired under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (Act 1 of 1894) or by any other law for the tim ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... holder, (raiyat, under raiyat) or other intermediary and any rights or privileges in respect of land revenue." Dealing with the first point there is no doubt that the Poonjar Raja was a janmi when the First Concession was granted to the predecessor-in-interest of the petitioner, and if nothing had transpired after that the whole lands would have fallen within the expression 'janmam right'. But the Royal Proclamation dated September 24, 1899, changed the situation. The Poonjar Chief surrendered certain rights which he had been exercising over the tract known as Anjanad and Kannan Devan Mills. What is the effect of this surrender ? According to the learned Advocate-General, the janmam rights still subsisted and instead of the Poonjar Chief H.H. the Maharaja became the janmi. The nature of 'janmam right' has been examined by this Court previously in Kavalappara Kottarathil Kochuni v. State of Madras ([1960] 3 S.C.R. 887). Subba Rao, J., as he then was, speaking for the Court, observed : "Under the definition, any janmam right in Kerala is an "estate". A janmam right is the freehold interest. in a property situated in Kerala. Moor in his "Mala ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... urths of the whole land in the State belong on Janmam to the Sircar, the remaining one- fourth being distributed among the classes mentioned in para 32 It is interesting to note that in certain parts of Madras Janmam rights existed 'and the 'Government lands were called government janman lands. (See Government Order No. 1902 Revenue dated November 1, 1926) Para 3 of that order deals with the janmam estates and reads as under : "3. JANMABHOGAM.-Paragraph 11 of 'the Board's Proceedings-"Lands have neither to been des- cribed as- (a) Government Janmam, i.e. lands which are held directly from the Government and on which taram assessment and janmabhogam are paid to the Government and (b) private janmam, i.e. lands which are held directly from the Government and on which taram assessment but not janmabhogam is paid to the Government." It seems to us that on the material placed before us it is difficult to resist the conclusion that the lands in dispute fall within the expression "Janmam right". If, as stated in Travancore Land Revenue Manual Volume IV, there are no lands that do not belong to a Janmi and the Sircar becomes a janmi by gift, es ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ith the latter class of tenants in whose case the ordinary law of landlord and tenant is applicable. Revenue law, on the other hand, makes no distinction between a Kanapattom tenant and a non-Kanapattom tenant if he holds under a Janmi recogonised in the revenue accounts. Hence for revenue purposes, Jenmom lands are lands that are entered in the revenue accounts under the heads of Devaswomvaka, Brahmaswomvaka and Madampimar- vaka i.e. to say a land to be classed as Jenmom land should have been recognised as such in the revenue accounts. The mere circumstance that a land belongs. to a Jenmi does not bring it under Jenmom tenure and conversely the mere fact that Janmom land is absolutely transferred to a non-Jenmi does not any the less detract from its original character. Jenmom lands are allodial properties and the proprietary right in them is considered as inherent in the individual and not derived from the State." It thus appears that the State grants like Kanan Devan Hills Concession and Ten Square Miles Concession, and Munro Lands, were treated under the heading 'Pandaravaka Lands, i.e. lands belonging to the Sircar. The case of Pandaravaka lands from the erstwhile S ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... an estate is whether it comes within the definition of the word " estate" in the existing law in a particular area or is for the purpose of that area the local equivalent of the word " estate" irrespective of whether there are intermediaries in existence or not." It seems that if it is held that the- land does not fall within the expression 'janmam right' it may possibly be covered by the decision of this Court in Purushothaman Nambudiri's case (Supra) but as arguments were not addressed to us on this point we do not express our final opinion. The next question which arises is : If the lands acquired by the impugned Act are an estate, is the impugned Act a law for effecting agrarian reforms ? Section 9 of the impugned Act envisages three purposes : (1) reservation of lands for promotion of agriculture; (2) reservation of land for the welfare of agricultural population; (3) assignment of remaining lands to agriculturists and agricultural labourers. Do the first two purposes fall within the concept of agrarian reforms ? Flood control and prevention of erosion are undoubtedly of great importance for promoting agriculture and yet it was held by ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... illage bus stands and waiting places; manure pits; hada rori; public latrines; cremation and burial grounds; panchayat ghar; Janj Ghar, grazing grounds; tanning places; meta grounds; public places of religious or charitable nature; and (iv) schools and play-grounds, dispensaries, hospitals and institutions of like nature, water works or tube-wells whether such schools, play-grounds, dispensaries, hospitals, institutions, water- works or tube-wells may be managed and controlled by the State Government or not." We are bound by the judgment. What are the, implications of this judgment ? All the purposes mentioned above were held to be comprised within the concept of agrarian reform. It is urged that the wording of the first two purposes in, S. 9 is too wide. But if we look at the definition of "common purpose", which was sustained by this Court in Ranjit Singh's case, it shows that the purposes sustained thereby would come tinder either the expression "promotion of agriculture" or "welfare of agricultural population" in s. 9. Indeed some would fall under both. For instance, reservation of lands for manure pits, water works or wells, village wat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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