Proceedings and suits between land lords and tenants

FINANCIAL COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE, PUNJAB
STANDING ORDER NO. 2

Proceedings and Suits between Landlords and Tenants

Original issue, dated 9th July, 1909.
1st, reprint, dated 5th January, 1927.
2nd reprint, dated 13th October, 1951.
Revised on January 28, 1982.

In connection with this Standing Order, Chapter, IX of the Settlement Manual and paragraphs 552-578 and 797-812 of the Land Administration Manual should be consulted except that it has to be borne in mind that all references, instructions etc.  With regard to occupancy tenants are now redundant.

1. Notice of relinquishment by tenants-at-will.  The procedure connected with the issue of notices of relinquishment by tenants-at-will under the provisions of Section 36(2) of the Tenancy Act is described in paragraph 59 of the Land Administration Manual.  The form of the notice is the following :-

NOTICE ISSUED BY A.B.,   
    
ASSISTANT COLLECTOR OF THE DISTRICT

NOTICE OF RELINQUISHMENT issued pursuant to sub-section (2) of Section 36 of the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887.

In accordance with the application of C.D., the tenant, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN to E.F., the landlord, that the tenant will relinquish the tenancy above described at the end of the agricultural year now current.

1. Dated at the Revenue Office of This day of 19            .
    
2. (Seal and signature of Revenue officer).

2.  Notice of ejectment of tenants-at-will.  The procedure connected with the issue of notices of ejectment of tenants-at-will by landlords under section 45(1) of the Tenancy Act is given in paragraphs 60-63 of the Land Administration Manual.

The form of notice to be used is here given.

(Care should be taken that the particulars required are correctly entered as such notices are frequently set aside owing to defects of form.)

NOTICE ISSUED BY A.B.,   
    
ASSISTANT COLLECTOR OF THE DISTRICT

NOTICE OF EJECTMENT issued pursuant to the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 45 of the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887.

WHEREAS C.D. has made an application to this office stating that he is the landlord of the tenancy above described, and praying that E.F., the tenant thereof, be ejected; and

WHEREAS  it appears from the annual record that E.F. holds as a tenant of C.D., and is liable to ejectment by notice in accordance with the provisions of clause (b) of section 42 and of sections 43 and 45 of the Tenancy Act.

THIS NOTICE OF EJECTMENT is issued against E.F., the said tenant; and he is hereby informed that-

(1)  he must vacate the land before the first day of May next following, or if he intends to contest his liability to be ejected, he must institute a suit for that purpose in a revenue court within two months from the date of the service of this notice; and further that-

(2)  if he does not intend to contest his liability to be ejected, but has a claim for compensation on ejectment, he should, within two months from the date of the service of this notice, prefer his claim to an Assistant Collector of the 1st Grade.

 1. Dated at the Revenue Office of This day of 19            .
    
2. (Seal and signature of Revenue officer).

Paras 3 to 5. Deleted.

6.  Suits for and to contest ejectment. Suits (a) by landlords for the ejectment of tenants (b) by tenants to contest ejectment notice, or (c) by tenants to recover possession or to obtain compensation in cases of wrongful ejectment are dealt with in Paragraphs 801-805 of the Land Administration Manual.

Summary of provisions of the Tenancy Act relating to ejectment of tenants-at-will. The following summary of the provisions of the Tenancy Act so far as it deals with the ejectment of ordinary tenants-at-will may prove useful to Revenue Officers:-

(a)  A notice of ejectment can only be served by a Revenue Officer in the five months between 16th June and 16th November (Sections 41 and 42).

(b)  A suit in a Revenue Court by a tenant to contest his liability to be ejected must be filed within two months from the date of the service of the notice [Section 45(5)].  The very latest date in any agricultural year on which such a suit can be filed is, therefore, 15th January.

(c)  If a tenant fails to institute such a suit, the landlord can apply for an ejectment order [Section 45(5)].

(d)  If compensation is found to be due, the Revenue Office is bound to stay ejectment until it is paid (Section 71).

(e)  Save in accordance with the provisions of Section 47, an order of ejectment issued in consequence of a notice served under section 45(1) can only be executed between 1st May and 15th June (Section 47).

7.  The question of compensation must be decided in all ejectment and enhancement of rent suit.  The provisions of Section 70(1) of the Tenancy Act, by which the court is required to direct the tenant to file a statement of his claim, if any, to compensation for improvements or for disturbance and of the grounds thereof, are obligatory as mentioned in paragraph 804 of the Land Administration Manual, and should be observed in all suits brought by tenants to contest liability to ejectment or by landlords to eject tenants or enhance their rent.

8.  Decree not to be executed till compensation has been paid. In suits to contest liability to ejectment the Court is bound if the tenant fails, to direct his ejectment by its decree.  But, if a court directs the ejectment of a tenant or the enhancement of his rent, it is further bound to determine the amount of compensation due to the tenant and to stay execution of the decree until the landlord pays into court that amount less any arrears of rent or costs proved to the satisfaction of the court to be due to him from the tenant. 

The subject of compensation for improvements is dealt with in paragraphs 70,72,75-78 of the Land Administration Manual.

9.  Compensation for disturbance. Revenue Court must not overlook the question of compensation for disturbance that is due to a tenant (other than a joint owner of the land in suit,) who has cleared waste land and brought it under cultivation.  This description of compensation is due in addition to the compensation for improvements, but only if the tenant is ejected from the land the question of compensation for disturbance does not arise in enhancement suits.  The law on the subject of compensation for disturbance is explained in paragraph 73 of the Land Administration Manual.

10.  Scale of Compensation for disturbance.  In dealing with the claims of tenants for compensation on disturbance, Revenue Officers and Courts should bear in mind that the scale of compensation given in Section 69 is a maximum scale; and that the sum to be actually awarded in each case is to be determined according to the merits of the case.

11.  Deleted.

12.  Decrease in suits for arrears of kind rent. In dealing with suits for arrears of rent payable in kind reference should be made to paragraphs 807 and 808 of the Land Administration Manual.  In such suits sufficient use is not made of the documentary evidence contained in Patwaris’ papers and village registers; also there is a great uncertainty regarding the outturn on each class of land.  In such suits it is necessary therefore, to have finding on each of the following points:-

(a)  the area under each kind of crop grown in the harvest for which the rent is claimed.

(b)  the approximate gross outturn.

(c)  the share of the produce, after deducting kamiana and reaper’s dues, if any, to which the landlord is entitled.

(d)  the price at which the landlord’s share should be commuted.

Information under head (a) can be obtained from the khasra girdawari.  It will therefore, be necessary that the Courts should insist on landlords, who use for rents in kind filing with their plaints not only the usual extract from the jamabandi, but also one from the khasra girdawari for the harvest for which the rent is claimed.  Patwaris should also be directed to note on the extract from the jamabandi the amount of the deemed payable for the land in dispute for each harvest, the land revenue and cesses being shown separately.  The area to be ascertained as under each crop will, of course, be that under matured crops, failed crops (Kharaba) being deducted.

As to (c) the extract from the jamabandi should show in the rent column the share of the produce due to the landlord.

Information concerning points (b) and (d) will be found in paragraphs 807 and 808 of the Land Administration Manual.

Collectors should direct Tehsildars to send a copy of the harvest prices recorded for each assessment circle to each Revenue Court every six months.

13.  Tabular Statement to be given in judgment. Every judgment in which a decree is passed for arrears of rent payable in kind should contain a statement in the following form showing succinctly the process by which the decree has been arrived at :-

1. Village

2. Assessment

3. Circle

There may, of course, be good reasons for departing from the amount brought out by a calculation made at the circle rate of outturn.  The harvest may have been above or below a normal yield owing to exceptionally good or bad rainfall or irrigation.  Such reasons must be taken into consideration before deciding on the amount to which the landlord is entitled.  The financial Commissioner has no wish to bind the Courts to hard and fast rules, or to insist that all rents should be decreed by mere rule of thumb.  All that is wanted is that the Revenue Courts shall have before them such data as are available for a right decision in suits of this kind and that they shall make an intelligent use of them. 

14.  Responsibility of first Court of Appeal.  All Appellate Court should insist that the particulars set forth in paragraph 12 above shall always be contained in the judgment of the Court of first instance.

Paras 15 and 16. Deleted.

Para 17. Cancelled.

18.  According to the existing provisions of law, the landlord can have a recourse to civil proceedings to seek the ejectment of the tenant, only on the following grounds :-

Under the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 (Section 40)

(1)  That he has used the land comprised in the tenancy in a manner which renders it unfit for the purposes for which he held it;

(2)  where rent is payable in kind, that he has without sufficient cause failed to cultivate that land in the manner or to the extent customary in the locality in which the land is situate;

(3)  on any ground which would justify ejectment under the contract, decree or order.

Under the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 (Section 9)

(1)  He is occupying the land reserved under the Act or he is a tenant of a small land owner; or

(2)  he fails to pay rent regularly without sufficient cause; or

(3)  he is in arrears of rent at the commencement of the Act; or

(4)  he has failed or fails, without sufficient cause, to cultivate the land comprised in his tenancy in the manner or to the extent customary in the locality in which the land is situate; or

(5)  he has used or uses the land comprised in his tenancy in the manner which has rendered, or renders unfit for the purpose for which he holds it; or

(6)  he has sublet the tenancy or a part thereof; provided that where only a part of the tenancy has been sublet, the tenant shall be liable to be ejected only from the said part; or

(7)  he refuses to execute a qabuliyat or a patta, in the form prescribed, in respect of his tenancy on being called upon to do so by an Assistant Collector on an application made to him for this purpose by the land-owners; or

(8)  he holds the land in any capacity whatever in excess of the permissible area.

19.  According to the existing concept of landlord-tenant relationship, the rights of tenant are to be safeguarded subject to the exceptions given in Para 18 above.  Since both the enactments viz. the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1997 and the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 are in force, the parties can have recourse to the civil proceedings for the redress of their grievance by invoking the provisions of these Acts, provided the provisions contained in the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887 do not come in conflict with those in the Punjab Security of land Tenures Act, 1953.  In other words, the remedies provided under the Punjab Tenancy Act co-exist with those under the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act except to the extent that the former are inconsistent with the latter.

20.  For forms of notices, the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Rules, 1956 may be consulted.