LAND LAWS Study Material 4th sem notes PDF

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LLB 4thSEMESTERLAND LAWSLAND LAWS STUDY MATERIALSLNOIMPORTANT SHORT QUESTIONS REP1 DOCTRINE OF ESCHEAT 42 DEFINE THE TERMS LAND AND OWNERSHIP AND TYPES OF OWNERSHIP (LIMITED ANDABSOLUTE)43 ZAMINDARIS (ZAMINDARI SETTLEMENT) 34 RYOTWARY SETTLEMENT (SYSTEM) 45 IX SCHEDULE OF THE CONSTITUTION 46 DEFINE ...

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Land Laws – 4th Semester

LLB 4 th SEMESTER LAND LAWS

Harinath J, Radhakrishna ANV and Aravinda Reddy

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Land Laws – 4th Semester LAND LAWS STUDY MATERIAL SL NO 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

IMPORTANT SHORT QUESTIONS DOCTRINE OF ESCHEAT DEFINE THE TERMS LAND AND OWNERSHIP AND TYPES OF OWNERSHIP (LIMITED AND ABSOLUTE) ZAMINDARIS (ZAMINDARI SETTLEMENT) RYOTWARY SETTLEMENT (SYSTEM) IX SCHEDULE OF THE CONSTITUTION DEFINE URBAN LAND AND WHAT IS URBAN LAND CEILING LAND GRABBING ACT PUBLIC PURPOSE

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IMPORTANT LONG QUESTIONS 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

LAND REFORMS EXPLAIN DOCTRINE OF EMINENT DOMAIN AND BONA VACANTIA PROCEDURE FOR ACQUIRING LAND UNDER THE LAND ACQUISITION ACT, 2013 SALIENT FEATURES OF THE LAND REFORMS (CEILING ON AGRICULTURAL LAND HOLDINGS) ACT, 1973 VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF THE A.P. ASSIGNED LANDS (PROHIBITION OF TRANSFER) ACT, 1977 EXPLAIN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A.P. LAND GRABBING (PROHIBITION) ACT, 1982 CULTIVATOR OF LAND AND HIS RIGHTS AND WHEN CAN TERMINATION OF TENANCY BE AFFECTED PARAMETERS FOR DETERMINATION OF PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION FOR THE LAND ACQUISITION

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IMPORTANT CASES 17 18 19 20 21 22

CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE LAND REFORMS LEGISLATION PROCEDURE FOR ACQUIRING LAND UNDER THE LAND ACQUISITION ACT, 2013 (FOR PUBLIC PURPOSE) ACQUIRING PRIVATE LAND FOR A FACTORY OF A MNC/SEZ MORTGAGE OF ASSIGNED LAND/SELLING OF ASSIGNED LAND LAND GRABBING ACT A TRIBAL SOLD HIS LAND TO A NON-TRIBAL

Harinath J, Radhakrishna ANV and Aravinda Reddy

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Land Laws – 4th Semester

PAPER-IV: LAND LAWS SYLLABUS Unit-I: Classification of lands — Ownership of Land — Absolute and limited ownership (tenancy, lease etc.) — Doctrine of Eminent Domain — Doctrine of Escheat - Doctrine of Bona Vacantia — Maintenance of land records and issue of Pattas and Title Deeds etc.

Unit-II: Law Reforms before and after independence — Zamindari Settlement — Ryotwari Settlement — Mahalwari System — Intermediaries — Constitutional Provisions — Abolition of Zamindaries, Jagirs and Inams -Tenancy Laws — Conferment of ownership on tenants/ryots.

Unit-III: Laws relating to acquisition of property — The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013- salient FeaturesProcedure for Land Acquisition: Issue of notification, Social impact assessment -Consent of landowners- Award enquiry, Payment of compensation & Reference to civil courts etc.

Unit-IV: Laws relating to Ceiling on Land Holdings — A.P. Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973 — Effect of inclusion in the IX Schedule of the Constitution — Interpretation of Directive Principles of State Policy.

Unit-V: Laws relating to alienation — Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation — Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, - Resumption of Lands to the Transferor/Government - Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act – ROR proceedings and Sada Bainama – Mutation of titles-Role of Revenue Courts.

Suggested Readings: 1. P. Rama Reddi and P. Srinivasa Reddy: Land Reform Laws in A.P., Asia Law House, Hyderabad. 2. P.S. Narayana: Manual of Revenue Laws in A.P., Gogia Law Agency, Hyderabad. 3. Land Grabbing Laws in A.P., Asia Law House, Hyderabad. 4. G.B. Reddy: Land Laws in A.P., Gogia Law Agency, Hyderabad 5. N.Maheshwara Swamy Lectures on Land Laws, Asia Law House, Hyderabad.

Harinath J, Radhakrishna ANV and Aravinda Reddy

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Land Laws – 4th Semester

SHORT ANSWERS 1. DOCTRINE OF ESCHEAT. Answer: As per Byrne Dictionary, it is provided that “where person possessed of personal property, intestate and leaving no next-of-kin, the Crown becomes entitled to all such property. Black’s Law Dictionary defines escheat as “the preferable right of the state to an estate left vacant, and without there being any one in existence able to make a claim thereto.” Although dense, the definition, once parsed, describes a relatively simple concept: under the laws of nearly every state, a business that is holding property on behalf of a third-party (called the “owner”) is obligated to report and turn over the unclaimed property to the state, after passage of a prescribed “dormancy” period. Escheat in Hindu Law The law of escheat of lands for want of heirs was witnessed in old Hindu society. It was called then as ‘Gayari’. In Biswanath Khan and others vs. Prafulla Kumar Khan, Justice A.M. Bhattacharjee observed that: “not that such a doctrine (escheat) was unknown in India for our ancient law-giver Manu, for example, declared more than 2000 years ago thus in Manusawhita (Chapter IX, Verse 189) Aharajyam Brahmanadravyam Rajna Nityamiti Sthiti, Itareshantu Varnanam Sarbabhave Harenripa. This, while negativing the king’s right to Brahminical property even of failure of all heirs, affirmed the king's title to all the properties belonging to person of other classes dying leaving without any heir”. Section 2(iv) of the Telangana Escheats and Bona Vacantia Act, 1974, defines the term “escheat” to mean any property the owner of which dies intestate and without leaving legal heirs. That means, for constituting escheat two conditions must prevail, namely, A. The property owner must die intestate and B. He must not have any legal heirs. In such cases, the State becomes the owner of such property. Article 296, Property accruing by escheat or lapse or as bona vacantia: Subject as hereinafter provided any property in the territory of India which, would have accrued to His Majesty or, as the case may be, to the Ruler of an Indian State by escheat or lapse, or as bona vacantia for want of a rightful owner, shall, if it is property situate in a State, vest in such State, and shall, in any other case, vest in the Union. Provided that any property which at the date when it would have so accrued to his Majesty or the Ruler of an Indian State was in the possession or under the control of the Government of India or the Government of a State shall, according to as the purposes for which it was then used or held were purposes of the Union or a State, vest in the Union or in that State. 2. DEFINE THE TERMS LAND AND OWNERSHIP AND TYPES OF OWNERSHIP (LIMITED AND ABSOLUTE). Answer: Land Meaning: The land is immovable property, real or immovable property consists of: a. Land, b. That which is fixed to land, c. That which is incidental or appurtenant (belonging; pertinent. E.g. "properties appurtenant to the main building") to land, d. That what is immovable by law. In economics, land does not mean soil. According to Marshall, ‘Land’ means ‘the materials and forces which nature gives freely for man’s aid in land and water, in air and light and heat’. As a factor of production, land represents the natural resources which are scarce and useful in many ways and yield income. Definitions of ‘Land’: As per Section 3(a) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 “The expression ‘Land’ includes benefits to arise out of land, and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth”.

Harinath J, Radhakrishna ANV and Aravinda Reddy

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Land Laws – 4th Semester According to Section 3 (iv) of the Land Revenue Code, 1879, “The term ‘Land’ includes benefits to arise out of land, and things attached to the earth, or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth, and also shares in, or charges on, the revenue or rent of villages, or other defined portions of territory”. Collins Dictionary of Law defines land as “Land not only the physical surface of the land but everything growing on or underneath that surface, anything permanently affixed to the surface (such as a building) and the airspace above that surface. It includes not only the soil or earth but always any water, a pond, for example, being regarded as land covered by water. Land may be divisible both horizontally and vertically; thus, ownership of the surface may be vested in one person while ownership of mines and minerals are vested in another. It is perfectly possible to have ‘flying freeholds’, where ownership of different storeys of the same building is vested in different persons. Scotland has a developed law of the tenement which has been given an even more coherent statutory basis in the twenty-first century”. Definition of Ownership Austin defines ownership as “a right availing against the world indefinite in point of the user, unrestricted in point of disposition and unlimited in point of duration over a determinate thing”. Holland defines ownership as “a plenary control over the object”. According to him, an owner has three rights on the object owned: 1. Possession, 2. Enjoyment, 3. Disposition. According to Salmond, “ownership in most comprehensive signification denotes the relation between a person and any rights that are vested in him. That which a man owns in this sense is in all cases a right. Ownership, in this wide sense, extends to all clauses of rights, whether proprietary or personal in rem or in personam, in re-propria, or in re-alieva (encumbrance); and it applies not only to rights in the strict sense, but to liberties, powers and immunities”. Pollock says, “Ownership may be described as the entity of the powers of use and disposal allowed by law”. In short, ownership, in sensu stricto (strictly speaking), is a right of an individual or a body corporate or unincorporated, to possess a thing, to exclusively use it, to alienate or even to dissolve it in a lawful manner – we may define ownership as a right to the enjoyment of the uses of the subject matter (corpus) with a right to alienate or deal with the property. Ownership is a proprietary right. Kinds of Ownership Ownership refers to the legal right of an individual, group, corporation or government to the possession of a thing. The subject of ownership is of two types - material and immaterial things. Material ownership is that which is tangible like property, land, car, book, etc. Immaterial ownership is that which is intangible like patent, copyright, trademark, etc. Now we will discuss the kinds of ownership. 1. Absolute ownership: Ownership in land can be either an absolute or limited ownership. When in a person all the rights of ownership i.e. A. Jus utendi – the right to the use of a thing, B. Jus porsidendi – the right to possess a thing, C. Jus abutendi – the right to enjoy a thing, D. Jus disponendi vel transferendi – the right dispose a thing or to transfer it as by sale, gift, etc. (right of alienation), E. Jus sibi habendi – the right to hold a thing for oneself, and F. Jus alteri nan habendi or jus prohibendi – the right to exclude others from its use. Absolute ownership is a free transferable and inheritable property a person can have as his actual right.

Harinath J, Radhakrishna ANV and Aravinda Reddy

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Land Laws – 4th Semester An absolute owner is the one in who have vested all the rights over a thing to the exclusion of all. When all the rights of ownership, i.e. possession, enjoyment and disposal are vested in a person without any restriction, the ownership is absolute. 2. Limited ownership: Limited ownership is the ownership that is not absolute or perfect. Where the owner enjoys the right to use and enjoy the property for a limited period of time as long as some other person is alive. When there is a limitation on user, or duration or disposal, the ownership is called limited ownership. For example, limited ownerships in English law is life tenancy when an estate is held only for life. Under a lease, the cultivator has limited ownership for the lease period only. The tenants can have limited ownership until the cease of the tenancy. And, before the enactment of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, a woman had only limited ownership over the estate because she held the property only for her life and after her death; the property passed on to the last heir or last holder of the property. Another example of limited ownership in English law is life tenancy when an estate is held only for life. *Absolute and Limited ownerships are important, below-given types are only for reference. 3. Corporeal ownership: Corporeal ownership is of that object which is tangible in nature. Example: Land, goods, etc. 4. Incorporeal ownership: Incorporeal ownership is that which is intangible in nature. Example: Copyright, reputation, etc. 5. Sole ownership: When a property is owned by only one legal owner it is called sole ownership. Example: A person owns a car. 6. Co-ownership: When a property is owned by two or more legal owners it is called co-ownership or joint ownership. Example: Partnership of business between three partners. 7. Legal ownership: It is the legal claim or title to an asset or property. Therefore, a person who has legal ownership on a property can transfer it to another party. Example: a lender who has lent money for a property is the legal owner of that property. 8. Equitable ownership: We do not consider equitable ownership as true ownership because it is only the benefit of the property that the buyer will use and enjoy. Example: If MR. X is the legal owner of a property and MR.Y is the equitable owner. Then MR.X is not entitled to the use and enjoyment of the property whereas, MR.Y doesn’t own the property but has the right to use and enjoy it, something which MR.X cannot do. 9. Trust and beneficial ownership: Legal and beneficial ownership belongs to an entity who has the specific property right “use and Title” in equity. But the property belongs to some other person. Example: If MR. John’s property is transferred to trustees to hold it for the benefit of the beneficiaries. It is not MR. John’s trust that owns the land or shares but the trustees of MR. John’s who owns it. So their names would be used as the trust and beneficiaries. 10. Vested ownership: According to law vested ownership has the complete and full ownership on the property. Example: Two people sharing ownership of a property. If one dies the other gets the gain of vested ownership of the property. 11. Contingent ownership: In Contingent ownership, the owner does not have the full claim to the property, but he can claim it on the fulfilment of some conditions. These conditions are of two types namely condition precedent and condition subsequent. Condition Precedent is where on the fulfilment of it the title is completed. Condition subsequent is whenever on the fulfilment of it the title already completed is extinguished.

3. ZAMINDARIS (ZAMINDARI SETTLEMENT). Answer: Land Revenue Systems in British India: Three major systems of land revenue collection existed in India. They were – Zamindari, Ryotwari and Mahalwari. Meaning of Zamindari: “Zamindar” is the holder of large estate, who derived rights from the sovereign to realize the rent from the tenants.

Harinath J, Radhakrishna ANV and Aravinda Reddy

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Land Laws – 4th Semester

Zamindari System:  Zamindari System was introduced by Cornwallis in 1793 through the Permanent Settlement Act.  It was introduced in provinces of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Varanasi.  The Zamindars were confirmed by the British Government in 1802.  Under this system, the land was held by Zamindars and they are responsible for the payment of land revenue.  Also known as the Permanent Settlement System.  Zamindars were recognized as the owner of the lands.  Zamindars were given the rights to collect the rent from the peasants.  Zamindars never cultivated the land they owned, they rented them out to the cultivators.  The realized amount would be divided into 11 parts. 1/11 of the share belongs to Zamindars and 10/11 of the share belongs to East India Company.  The total amount of revenue was fixed for each locality.  The amount of land revenue may be fixed once for all when it was called ‘permanent settlement’ or the settlement with regard to land revenue may only be temporary and may, therefore, be revised after every 30 or 40 years, as the practice may be.  Zamindars were given virtually free power to evict the occupier or ryot who failed to pay the rent.  The original rent payable by each ryot to his Zamindar had to be specified by Zamindar in writing.  In case any doubt or dispute about rent assessment, the Dewani-Adalat was empowered to decide the matter.  Under the British Empire, the Zamindars were to be subordinate to the crown and not act as independent lords.  The Zamindar system is known as ‘absentee landlordism’.  The Zamindari system covered about 57 per cent of the area of the country. Advantages of the Zamindari System 1) The Company was assured of the exact amount of revenue every year and it made the revenue certain and permanent. 2) This settlement created a loyal class of landed aristocrats. 3) The evils of periodical assessment were removed. 4) The procedure of land revenue collection becomes easy. 5) It made the revenue administration less costly and the collection of revenue easy. 6) It resulted in an extraordinary increase in agricultural production due to extensive cultivation of land. 7) It increased the financial position of the Government. 8) It provides security to the interests of Zamindars; and 9) It gave impetus to trade and commerce.

Harinath J, Radhakrishna ANV and Aravinda Reddy

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Land Laws – 4th Semester The disadvantage of the Zamindari system 1) The Zamindars became permanent owners of land and it created absentee landlordism. 2) The cultivators could not get protection but they were left to the mercy of the Zamindars because they did not do anything to promote their well-being and the cultivators became tenants and they lost their rights. 3) The Zamindars used to charge heavy amounts of money as rent and on non-payment, evict the cultivators. 4) The Zamindars did not take much interest in the development of the lands and this resulted in low yields from lands. However, the permanent settlement of the Zamindari system of 1793 is the wisest and most successful measure which the British Government had adopted in India. 4. RYOTWARY SETTLEMENT (SYSTEM). Answer: Ryotwari system: ‘Ryot’ means individual cultivator, peasant, subject and tenant of land, ‘Ryotwari’ is the arrangement about rent made annually in India, directly between the Government and the ryots.  This system of land revenue was instituted in the late 18th century by Sir Thomas Munro, Governor of Madras in 1820.  This was practised in the Madras and Bombay areas, as well as Assam and Coorg provinces.  In this system, the peasants or cultivators were regarded as the owners of the land. They had ownership rights, could sell, mortgage or gift the land.  The taxes were directly collected by the government from the peasants.  The rates were 50% in dryland and 60% in the wetland.  The rates were high and unlike in the Permanent System, they were open to being increased.  If they failed to pay the taxes, they were evicted by the government.  Ryot means peasant cultivators.  Here there were no middlemen as in the Zamindari system. But, since high taxes had to be paid only in cash (no option of paying in kind as before the British) the problem of moneylenders came into the show. They further burdened the peasants with heavy interests.  The revenue assessment is announced by the land-owner, when the tenant objects, he is heard and may be able to sustain his plea for an abatement, so that there is really, a settlement in that sense. Ryotwari system is one of the three principal methods of revenue collection in British India. It was prevalent in most of southern India, being the standard system of the Madras Presidency (a Britishcontrolled area now constituting much of present-day Tamil Nadu and portions of neighbouring states). The system was devised by Capt. Alexander Read and Thomas (later Sir Thomas) Munro at the end of the 18th century and introduced by the latter when he was governor (1820–27) of Madras (now Chennai). The principle was the direct collection of the land revenue from each cultivator by government agents. For this purpose, all holdings were measured and ass...