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TMI Blog1971 (11) TMI 13X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ication for composition on June 16, 1966, he included in his return the total extent of his land including the above extent of 29.37 acres of land, which was admittedly in excess of the ceiling limit of the holding which the petitioner could possess or own. But as the lands were included in the returns made by the petitioner, the Agricultural Income-tax Officer passed an order of composition as above on July 28, 1966. Thus he included in the said order the extent of 29.37 acres of land also for computing the amount of tax payable by the petitioner under the process of composition available under section 65 of the Act. On July 12, 1967, the petitioner informed the Agricultural Income-tax Officer that there is a reduction in the extent of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cultural Income-tax Act. The Madras Land Reforms Act is intended to provide for the fixation of ceiling on agricultural land holdings, which was one of the agrarian reforms brought to subserve the principles in article 39 of the Constitution of India. The said article provides that the State should direct its policy towards securing that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good. Section 7 of the Land Reforms Act provides that on and from the date of the commencement of that Act, no person shall be entitled to hold land in excess of the ceiling area. The expression "to hold land" is defined in section 3, clause (19) of the Land Reforms Act as meaning owning l ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , may be for the State, but not as its owner? The learned Government Pleader sustains the order under the proviso to section 10(1) of the Agricultural Income-tax Act. Section 10(1) dealing with exemption from assessment of the which prescribes the ceiling limit, runs as follows : "10. (1) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to a person who holds land not exceeding twelve and a half standard acres : Provided that no person who held or holds land during any part of a financial year in excess of the exempted extent shall be entitled to the exemption under this sub-section even though the extent of land held by him during the rest of that financial year may not be in excess of the exempted extent." The proviso as above no doubt leads t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... urposes. Such being the case, the element of possession, which is the only feature which is conspicuous in the instant case cannot convert such possession into ownership as is ordinarily understood in jurisprudence ; and if the circumstances disclose that the petitioner cannot, in the eye of law, be said to be owner of such excess land then he cannot be said to be a person who held or holds the land during any part of the financial year in excess of the exempted extent, as contemplated in the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 10 of the Agricultural Income-tax Act. The Commissioner of Income-tax applied the proviso apparently viewing possession as equivalent to ownership. These are distinct judicial concepts. Thus understood, the petitio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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