MAHARAJA KUMAR SOMENDRA CHAND NANDYversusTHE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

                                                                  115


              MAllAR;\JA KUMAR SOMENDRA CHAND NANDY
                                 v.
                   THE STATE OF l1'ITAR PRADESH

                          JULY 10, 1985

         [V. BALAKRISHNA ERADI AND SABYASACHI MUK!IARJI, JJ • J         B

      Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act 1950
ss. 4 & 6 - Jagirdari rights - Grant of - Whether fall outside
the purview of the Act - Worship of deity - Entrustment of right
- Whether provision for -payment of compensation to be made•
                                                                        c
      A Jagir of 41 villages was conferred on Dewan Krishna Kant
Nandy, the predecessor-in-interest of the appellant by the Raja
of. Banaras. By .a fresh Sanad issued on January 10, ·1785 the
Governor-G>neral assigned the said villages as 'Altamga Jagir ',
for the purposes of defraying the expenses of worship etc. of the
deity in a temple. Subsequently, in the ·year 1793, the grantee         D
created a trust of the income of this Jagir in favour of the
deity. In the revenue settlement of 1841 the grantee was entered
as Jagirdar of these villages entitled to reaUse the land re-
venue and the zamindars were· to -pay the annual land revenue to
the Jagirdar, and since then the grantee and his descendants have
been realising the land revenue. In execution of the decrees in
the suits which were· filed against the defaulting zamindars, the       E
appellant's ancestors purchased t.he zamindari rights.

      When the U.P. Zamindari and Land Reforms· Act, 1950 came
into force i!l 1952, the appellant claimed to have two distinct
rights, namely, Jagirdari rights under the Sanad and additional
Zamindari rights acquired by purchase in exeeution of the               F
decrees. The appellant was, however, paid compensation in the
form of annuity in respect of those villages over which he had
acquired zamindari rights as the land was held in trust for
meeting ,the expenses of a religious institution •. The State's
claim that the Jagirdari rights of the appellant became vested in
the State under ss. 4 and 6 of the Act, was disputed by the             G
appellant contending that his Jagirdari rights fell outside the
purview of the Act and had not vested in the State.

      The appellant filed a writ petition in the High Court
alleging that he had not been paid compensation in resP.,ct of
Jagirdari rights and sought direction to the Governme.nt to             H
    116               SUPREME COURT REPORTS        [1985] SUPP.2 S.C.R.


A   recognize and enforce the Jagirdari rights over the said
    villages. The petition was dismissed and this order was confirmed
    by a Division Bench.

          Dismissing the Appeal to this Court,

B         HELD: · 1. The intention of the LegiSlature as clearly
    disclosed by the Scheme of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition
    and Land Reforms Act, 1950 was to extinguish estates, all
    derivative rights in estates and interest of intermediaries
    between the State and the tiller of the soil. All grants and
    confirmation of title in respect of a right or privilege over
    land in an estate or its .revenue, would stand automatically
C   determined under the provisions of the Act. [118 G-H]

          State of Uttar Pradesh v. Kumlar Sri Trivikrma Narain
    Singh, [1962] 3 S.C.R. 213 followed.

          2. In the instant case, the appellant was having Jagirdari
    rights over 41 villages under the Sansd issued in January 1785,
D   and the interest of the appellant in the land constituted an
    estate under Cl. (8) s. 3 of the Act read with Cl. (26) of that
    section. As a result of the combined operation of ss. 4 and 6 of
    the Act, the Jagirdarl. rights on the date of the coming into
    force of the Act automatically ceased and became vested in the
    State free from encumbrances with effect from the specified date.
E   [119 D-11, 120 A]

           3. The Sansd expressly states that the grantee shall take
    and use the produce of the original lands and increase thereof
    .without being liable to pay any Dewani contributions and govern-
    ment demands. [119 CJ
F
          4. The appellant and his predecessors were entitled to take
    possession and hold control over the lands. The application for
    grant of the Sansd clearly shows that the request was for conf ir-
    mation of the grant of 41 mouzas of land and for the issue of a
    Sanad evidencing such confirmation. [119 D]
G
          (Per.,Sabyasachi lkil<harji J. coDCUrring)

          In the instant case, there is no provision for any
    compensation for vesting of the right of entrustment of certain
    duties of worship which belonged to the donee. The Act has not
H   been challenged on the ground as being ultra vires and though it
    is not necessary to provide for compensation in 811 cases after
              s.c.NANDY v. STATE [BALAKRISllNA ERADI, J.]        117


the amendment of the Constitution, this is a factor which              A
normally should be taken into consideration because taking away
of a right without some provision for compensation is normally
not favoured unless one is compelled by the language of the
provision. No provision has been made for this obligation of
worship i.e. whether the worship, would no longer be continued or
whether the State would carry on the worship. In the social            B
background this is a factor which normally deters one from
interpreting a document in a manner which haa abolished worship
of the deity. [121 E-G]

        CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION    Civil Appeal No. 2239 (N) of
1970.                                                                  c
      From the Judgment and Order dated 22.3.1966 of the Allaha-
bad High Court in Special Appeal No. 647 of 1961.

        D.N. Mukharjee and Ranjan Mukharjee for the Appellant.
                                                                       D
        s.c. Manchanda and Mrs. S.Dixit for the Respondent.
        The following Judgments w~re delivered :

      BALAKRISHNA ERADI, J. · This is an appeal by specia1 leave
aga!nst a judgment of a Di vision Bench of the Allahabad High
Court dated March 22, 966 dismissing Special Appeal No. 647 of         E
1961 and confirming the judgment of a learned Single Judge of the
said High Court rejecting Civil Misc. Writ No. 809 of 1958 filed
by the appellant herein.                    ··

      The appellant claims to be the descendant and successor-in-
interest of one Dewan Krishna Kant Nandy in whose favour a jagir       F
of 41 villages situated in the district of Ballfa had been
conferred by Raja Mahip Narayan Singh of Banaras. This jagir
grant was recognised by the East India Company and in token
thereof the Governor General> by a fresh Sanad dated January 10,
1785 assigned the said 41 villagea as 'Altamga J2,gir' in favour
of De'1an Krishna Kant Nandy. The Sanad mentioned that the grant       G
was being made for purposes of defraying the expenses of worship
etc. of the deity in a temple. Subsequently, by a document of
the year 1793, Dewan Krishna Kant Nandy created a trust of the
income of this jagir in favour of the deity. ·In the revenue
settlement of 1841, Dewan Krishna Kant Nandy was entered as
Jagirdar of these villages entitled to realise the land revenue        H
and the zamindars of the villages were charged with the duty of




                                                                  •
    118                  SUPREME COURT REPORTS      [1985] SUPP.2 S.C.R.


    paying the annual land r.evenue aggregating to Rs. 10, 000 to the



                                                                             I
    Jagirdar. It is the case of the appellant that since 1785,
    Dewan Krishna Kant Nandy and his descendants have throughout been
    realising the land revenue of the said villages. When some of the
    zam.indars defaulted in payment of the land revenue, suits for
    realisation of the outstanding arrears were filed against them
B   and in execution of the decrees obtained in those suits the
    appellant's ancestors purchased the zamindari rights of the.
    defaulting zamindars in respect of some of the villages. Thus, at
    the time -when the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land
    Reforms Act, 1950 (U.P. Act No. l of 1951) - hereinafter called
    tthe Act' - came into force in 1952, the appellant claims to have
    held two distinct rights namely, jagirdari rights in respect of
c   41    villages covered by the Sanad and additional zamindari rigilts
    in respect of the some of the villages acquired by purchase in
    execution of the decrees.

          When the provisions of the Ac't: were brought into force,
    the appellant was paid compensation in the form of annuity in
    respect of those villag1::s over which he had acquired zamindari
D   rights since the lands were held in trust for reeeting the expen-
    _ses of     a
               religious institution. The State of Uttar P·radesh
    claimed that the Jagirdari rights of the appellant became vested
    in the State under sections 4 and 6 o( the Act. But this claim
    was disputed by the appellant who cont<;!nded that his Jagirdari
    rights fell outside the purview of the Act and had not vested in
E   the Stafe. It was for resolving the said dispute that the
    appellant approached the High r.ourt with the Writ Petition com-
    plaining that he had not been paid compensation in respect of his
    Jagirdari rights over 41 villages and praying that a writ should
    be issued compeling      the Government to recognise and enforce the
    Jagirdari rights of the appellant over the said villages. The
F   Writ Petition was dismissed by the learned Single Judge, whose
    judgment, as already noticed was confirmed by a Division Bench of
    the High Court on appeal.

              From the facts narrated above, it is clear that the   appel-
    lant was having Jagirdari rights over 41 villages under the Sanad
G   issued to him in January, 1785. As pointed out by this Court in
    State of Uttar Pradesh v. Kunwar Sri Trivikram Narain Singh
     [1962] 3 s.c.R. 213, the intention of the legislature as clearly
    disclosed by the Scheme of the Act was to extinguish estates and
    all deriVative rights in estates and to extinguish the interest
    of intermediaries between the State and the tiller of the soil.
H   All grants and confirmation of title in respect of a right or
    privilege over land in an estate or its revenue, will stand
    automatically determined under the provisions of the Act •


          •
              s.c.NANDY v. STATE [BALAKRISHNA ERADI, J.]     119



      The High Court has rightly negatived the contention of the
appellant that the right conferred on him by the Sanad was in       A
the nature of a right to pension amounting to a sum of Rs•
10,000. We have gone through the terms of the Sanad, which is
available at page l3 of the paper book. It clearly shows that
what was granted to the appellant and his predecessors was a
jagir right in respect' of the lands comprised in 41 villages       B
entitling the grantee to collect and realise the land revenue
due from the zamindars aggregating to Rs. 10,000 with possible
future increases and utilise the same for 'defraying the expense
of the worship of the Thakoor'. The Sanad expressly states that
the grantee shall take and use the produce of the original lands    C
and increase thereof without being liable to pay any Dewani con-
tributions and Government demands. The appellant and his prede-
cessors were entitled to take possession and hold control over
the lands. The application made by the appellant, his prede-
cessor, Dewan Krishna Kant Nandy for the grant of the Sanad is at
page 15 of the paper book, That clearly shows that the request      D
was for confirmation of the grant of 41 mouzas of land and for
the issue of a Sanad 'evidencing such confirmation. Under the
grant, the appellant and his predecessors acquired interest in
the land and this interest in the hands of the appellant clearly
constitutes an Estate as defined in clause (8) of section 3 of
the Act read alo1J8 with clause (26) of the same section.           E

      Section 4 of the Act provides that as from a date to be
specified, all estates situate in ·uttar Pradesh shall vest in
the State free from all encumbrances. Section 6 lays down the
consequences of the vesting of an estate in the State.      Under
clause (a) thereof, all ·rights, title and interest of all the
intermediaries in every estate automatically cease and become       F
vested in the State of Uttar Pradesh free from all encumbrances.
Clause (b) of the said section, which deals with grants and con-
firmations of title is in the following terms :-

           "All grants and confirmation of title of or to land in
           any estate so acquired, or of or to , any right or       G
           privilege in respect of such land or its land revenue
           shall, whether liable to resumption or not, deter-
           mine".              ·

There cannot be any doubt that as a result of the combined opera-
tion of sections 4 and 6 of the Act, the Jagirdari rights, which
the appellant originally possessed over the 41 villages as on the   H
date of the coming.into force of the Act automatically cease and
     120               SUPREME COURT REPORTS        [1985] SUPP.2 s.c.R.

A
     became vested in the State of Uttar Pradesh free from all encw:n-
     brances with effect from the specified date. Such being the
     position, the High Court was perfectly right in holding that the
     appellant was not entitled to any of the reliefs in the Writ
     Petition.
ll
           This appeal accordingly fails and is dismissed but in the
     circumstances without any order as to costs.

          SAi!YASAGHI MIJKHARJI, J.  The facts of this case and the
     position in' law have been discussed by my learned brother. The
     only doubt that I have entertained about this matter is whether
c    the Sanad or the grant dated 10th of January, l 7ti5 created any
     interest in .the don~e, Dewan Krishna Kanta Nandy, the predecessor
     in interest of the present appellant as contemplated under
     Section 3 and Section 6 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land
     Reforms Act, 1950 (U.P. Act No. 1 of 1951). The document is at
     page 13 of the Paper Book in this Court and the material portion
D
     of which is as follows:-

                "To the present and future Mutsuddies of the affairs
                of      Government and Zamindars and Chowdharies and
                Kanongoes and Mokudduns and Tenants and Cultivators of
                pergunnah Gazipore purchased by Government situate in
                Dooha Allahabad be it known that Jageer Mouzas to the
E
                8.mount of Ten thousand Rupees are at present settled
                upon Dewan Krishna Kant Nandy by way of an Altumga
                Donation to enable him to defray the expense of the
                worship of the Thakoor from the commencement of the
                Autumn season in Aodiyal 1189 one thousand one hundred
                and eighty nine Fasly according to the Zamin so that
F
                he may take possession thereof and hold control over
                same and he and his descendents apply the produce
                thereof and defray the necessary expanses of the Wor-
                ship of the Thakoor. It behove th that you consider
                 that aforesaid Original Mouzas and increase thereof to
                be free and exempt from being liable to charge and
G
                alteration as well ~s from all the Dewanny contri~u­
                 tions and Government demands and not deviate from his
                advise for the welfare of the tenants and inhabitants
                 a:xi.d the cultivation of the land nor require a new
                 Sanad every year the conduct that the abovenamed ls
                 to observe is this that he shall take and use the
H
                 produce of the original lands and increase thereof he
                 and his descendants without participation or parter
                 S.C. NANDY v. STATE (SABYASACHI MUKHARJI, J.]       121


                  and pray for the welfare of Government and continue       A
....              the tenants and inhabitants pleased and thankful by
/
                  adopting salutary·measures and exert himself stre-
                  nuously for the increase of cultivation and augmenta-
                  tion of duties and exercise.no apprehension or injus-
                  tice towards the inhabitants of that place· by any
                  means and take care of the public roads that passen-      B
                  gers may pass and repass in full confidence and suffer
                  no body to commit any prohibited act or drWlkenness
                  and ref rain from levyir.g any of the Branches of
                  Revenue that have been discontinued."

             ls it entrustment of certain duties of worship of Thakoor      C
        and for this purpose providing for some expenses which will be
        met from the land indicated in the document or is it a grant of
        the interest in the land coupled with the obligation to perform
        the duty of worship to the Deity? Having regard to the expres-
        sions used in the document to which my learned brother has
        referred and having regard to the fact that incidental powers of    D
        managing etc. as contained in the said document as set out here-
        inbefore, the view taken by my learned brother seems.to be appro-
        priate though two facts have caused me certain anxiety namely
        that there is no provision for any· compensation for vesting of
        this right of property which belonged to the donee. I say this
        for this reason that though the Act has not been challenged on      E
        this' ground as being ultra_ vires and though it is not necessary
        to provide for compensation in all cases after the amendment of
        the Constitution, this is, in my opinion, a factor which normally
        should be taken into consideration because taking away of right
        without some provision for compensation is normally not favoured
    •   unless on~ is so compelled by the language of the provision. The
        other factor which has caused me some hesitation is that for thi&   F
        obligation of worship, no provision has been made i.e. whether
        the worship would no longer be continued or whether the State
        would carry on the worship. In our social background, this is
        also a factor which normally deters one from interpreting a docu-
 '      ment in a manner which has abolished worship of deity. But in
        spite of these doubts, in view of· the language used in the docu-
        ment itself, I respectfully, though with certain amount of          G
        hesitation, agree with the view taken by my learned brother.




        A.P.J.                                         Appeal dismissed.