TMI Blog1958 (12) TMI 49X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 51, (hereinafter called the Abolition Act) and the Rampur Thekedari and Pattedari Abolition Act No. X of 1954, (hereinafter called the Thekedari Act). We propose to deal with them by one judgment as they raise common points and in the case of some Petitioners lands covered by both the Acts are involved. 2. The former State of Rampur was an independent State under the paramountcy of the British Crown before 1947. When India became a Dominion on the passing of the Indian Independence Act of 1947, the State of Rampur acceded in August, 1947, to the Dominion of India by means of an instrument of accession. This was followed by a merger agreement between the Ruler of the Rampur State and the Dominion of India on May 15, 1949, by which the Ruler agreed to transfer the entire administration or the State to the Dominion as from July 1, 1949. The Governor General then passed an order on July 1, 1949, known as the Rampur (Administration) Order by which a Chief Commissioner was appointed to administer the area of the former Rampur State under the Government of India. This was followed on November 29, 1949, by the States Merger (United Provinces) Order, 1949, promulgated by the Governor Gen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... do in order to bring lands in villages leased to them under cultivation and also provided what percentage of the profits was to be paid to the State as revenue. The leases further provided for a review after three years, six years and ten years whether the conditions had been carried out and for increase of the State's share of the profit after each review. It was also provided that in case the conditions were not carried out, the leases would be terminated and the villages taken under direct management by the State. Many Petitioners and Appellants before us are Thekedars or Pattedars to whom such leases were granted and the initial period of ten years has yet to run out. 4. The Abolition Act did not obviously apply to these leases. In 1954 the State of Uttar Pradesh decided to abolish this system of thekedari and pattedari prevalent in Rampur with a view to facilitating the introduction of land reforms therein. Consequently, the Thekedari Act was passed and received the assent of the President on April 18, 1954 and was to come into force from July 1, 1954. Section 2(6) of the Thekedari Act defines the word lease in terms to cover these leases. Section 3 provides for determ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for present purposes decided to abolish the jagirs, zamindaris and muafis in pursuance of a general policy to abolish all estates in the whole of Uttar Pradesh, these contracts and agreements must fall and those deriving benefits from these contracts and agreements cannot put I them forward against the general policy of the successor Government. 7. Clause (x) is in these terms- The present grants and allowances to the Rulers mothers, brothers, sisters, and other members of the Ruling family, list attached, will be continued during their life time and will be charged on the revenue of the State. Nawabzada Zafar All Khan is a brother of the Ruler and he falls back on this clause. It is enough to say, as pointed out by the High Court, that this clause deals with cash allowances to the relations of the Ruler, which will be clear from the list attached and also from the fact that the clause provides that these grants and allowances would be a charge on the revenue of the State. Nawazada Zafar Ali Khan's name does not appear in the list attached, and, therefore, he cannot take advantage of this clause. The contention based on the agreement, therefore, fails. Our attention wa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r as the power given to the State Government to extend the Abolition Act to other areas in the State of Uttar Pradesh to which it was not initially applied is concerned, it cannot be said that this power amounts to excessive delegation, for it is well settled that the legislature may leave it to the executive to apply the provisions of an Act to different geographical areas at different times depending on various considerations. This point, therefore, also fails in view of U.P. Act XIV of 1958. The contention that pending litigation is saved is not sound because the new law applies to all estates and no saving in respect of pending litigation can be implied; (see K.C. Mukherjee v. Mt. Ramratan Kuer 63 Ind App 47 : AIR 1936 PC 49. No other points were urged before us. All the Petitions and appeals relating to jagirs, zamindaris and muafis must therefore be dismissed. But it is only proper that parties should bear their own costs as the amendment came in 1958. 9. This brings us to the Petitions and appeals relating to thekedari and pattedari. In these cases also, reliance was placed on the agreements between the Ruler of Rampur and the Dominion of India. We have dealt with that al ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
