Supreme Court of India
RAJA SOMASEKHAR CHIKKA AND ANR.versusM. PADURAVATAMMA AND ORS. ETC.
- Citation
- 1999 INSC 198
- Decided
- 22 April 1999
- Disposal
- Dismissed
- Bench
- B N KIRPAL
Holding
Section 3’s vesting of the estate in the Government is qualified by the specific provisions of Section 18(2) and (4), so only properties not saved by those provisions vest in the Government, while buildings covered by Section 18(4) remain with the pre‑notified owners and permissible alienations are upheld.
Summary
The appellants, sons of the last Zamindar of the impartible Punganur Estate, filed suits for partition alleging that alienations made by their father before the estate was taken over by the Government under the Madras Estate (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948 were not binding. The trial court upheld some alienations on the ground of legal necessity, while the High Court held that the entire estate, including buildings, vested in the Government under Section 3 of the Abolition Act, dismissing the appeals. The Supreme Court examined Sections 3 and 18 of the Abolition Act and held that the vesting in the Government is qualified by the specific exceptions in Section 18(2) and (4); thus buildings covered by Section 18(4) remain with the owners immediately before the notified date, and alienations for legal necessity or charitable purposes are valid. Vacant sites without buildings fall outside the definition of "building" and vest in the Government. Consequently, the appellants' claims were rejected and the appeals dismissed.
Issues considered
- Whether Section 3 of the Madras Estate (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948 vests the entire impartible estate, including buildings, in the Government.
- Whether the proviso to Section 18(2) and Section 18(4) of the same Act create exceptions to the vesting provision of Section 3.
- Whether alienations made by the Zamindar before the notified date are valid under the Madras Impartible Estates Act, 1904 (legal necessity, charitable institution).
- Whether a vacant site without a structure falls within the definition of "building" under Section 18(5).
- Whether the plaintiffs have a right to challenge the alienations after the estate’s acquisition by the Government.
Subjects
Impartible estateLand alienationSection 3Section 18Building definitionRyotwari settlementPartition suitLegal necessityCharitable institution
Judgment
A RAJA SOMASEKHAR CHIKKA AND ANR.
v.
M. PADURAVATAMMA AND ORS. ETC.
APRIL 22, 1999
B [B.N. KIRPAL AND U.C. BANERJEE, JJ.]
Tenancy and Land Laws
Madras Estate (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948_:_
C Section 3, 18(1) (2) (3) (4) & (5)-lmpartible Estate-Vesting in
Government-Zamindar-Alienation of property-Legal heirs claim for
partition and allotment of shares-High Court's holding that by virtue of
Abolition Act, entire estate to vest in Government-Claim rejected-Validity
of-Held, the entire estate does not vest in the Government under S. 3-
D Exception to the vesting is clearly provided in. proviso to S. 18(2) and S.
18(4)-Madras Impartible Estates Act, 1904.
Words & Phrases:
E "Buildil}g" Meaning of in the context of Sec. 18(4) of the Madras
Estate (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948.
Erstwhile Zamindar of Punganur Estate, an impartible Estate, alienated
his properties to different persons. The said estate was taken over by the
Government under the Madras Estate (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari)
F Act, 1948. Appellants, sons of late Zamindar filed a suit for partition and
allotment of their shares i!I the properties alienated contending that the
alienations were valid only during the life time and not binding on them.
Respondent resisted the suit contending.that, after the Abolition Act, the
estate vests in the G.overnm~nt and appellants have no right therein. The
G Trial Court held that the:alienation in .respect of certain properties were
binding on appellants and the properties alienated by Zamindar not for legal
necessity were not binding on the i:\ppella'nts. On appeal, High Court held
that in view of the Abolition Act, the interest in estate totally vested in the
Government and appellants have no right therein. Hence these appeals.
H On behalf of the appellants it was contended that the properties in
810
R.S. CHIKKAv. PADURAVATAMMA 811
question were joint family properties and the alienations prior to the Abolition A
Act were invalid as being contrary to the Impartible Act, 1904; with the
promulgation of the Abolition Act these properties would vest in the original
owner and it would became partible; even though all the lands which formed
part of the impartible estate would vest in the Government under S. 3 of the
Act, the building covered by S. 18(4) continued to vest in the erstwhile B
owners and the same would not vest in the Government.
Dismissing the appeals, the Court
HELD : 1.1. The High Court was not justified in holding that the entire
estate including the buildings vested in the Government by virtue of S. 3 of C
the Madras Estate (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948, and
the erstwhile Zamindar could not alienate any property after the estate had
been notified and the appellants had no right to challenge the alienations so
made on this ground alone. (820-H]
1.2. A Zamindari estate may include and consist of various types of D
buildings within and outside the limit of estate. The object of the act being
to provide for acquisition of the rights of the land holder and introduction
of the Ryotwari Settlement in such estates, i.e., to bring the Zamindari
system to an end and distribute the land in the manner indicated in the Act,
the buildings of the estate were dealt with in a different manner. When in
the opening part of S. 3, the words used are "save as otherwise expressly E
provided/in this Act", the exception to the vesting of the entire estate under
S. 3 in the Government is clearly contained in proviso to S. 18(2) and in S.
18(4). [820-F-GJ
Rajah Velugoti Kumara Krishan Yachendra v. Rajah Velugoti Sarvagna
Kumara Krishna Yachendra Varu ~ Ors., (1970] 3 SCR 88, relied on. F
1.3. It is clear from the language of the said provisions vi;.. S. 18(2)
& (4) that proviso to sub-section (2) and sub-section (4) of S. 18 contemplates
cases where the building are to vest in the persons who owned the same
immediately before the notified date. On the other hand, sub-sections (1) and G
(2) of S. 18 specify those buildings which are to vest in the Government. If
S. 3 had provided for all the properties of the estate to vest in the Government
then there would have been no necessity of enacting S. 18 and sub-sections
(\) and (1) in particular. The legislative intent, clearly seems to be that
buildings in the estate and other buildings belonging to it were treated in
a manner differently than the rest of the estate. It is for this reason that H
812 SUPREME COURT REPORTS- [1999] 2 S.C.R.
A specific provisions regarding buildings was made in S. 18. (820-C-E)
2.1. Item No. 1 is a property which was sold by the Zamindar prior to
-
the notified date for legal necessity. Under S. 4 of the Act, the property which
was a part of the impartible estate could be sold by the Zamindar for legal
necessity. Thus, the finding of fact arrived at by the courts below that the
B sale was for the purpose of discharging mortgage debt and, therefore, was
valid, calls for no interference. (821-F-G)
2.2. Item No. 4 is "a vacant site and urban terrace house". The late
Zamindar had executed two sale deeds in respect of this property for the
C purpose of establishing a temple of Sai Baba. The aHenations of this property,
, for the purpose of putting up a Sai Baba Temple was clearly covered by S.
4(2) (a) of the Impartible Act, 1904 and the alienation is also upheld on this
ground. (821-H; 822-A-B)
2.3. Items 5 and 8 are 'two small sites' without any building. These
D plots would not fall within the meaning of the word 'building' and would be
outside the scope ofS. 18(4) of the Abolition Act. These sites would, therefore,
vest in the Government under S. 3 of the said Act and the appellants would
have no right to ·file any suit in respect thereof. [822-E)
2.4. In respect of Items 9 and 31, the High Court was justified in
E holding that the relief sought for in the suit was within the jurisdiction of
the tribunal under the Abolition Act and calls for no interference. [822-F)
2.5. Item No. 12 a vacant parcel of land was alienated by the Zamindar
and his wife, in her capacity as guardian of the appellants, who were minors
at that time, and as the appellants were parties to the alienation they could
F. not challenge the same. This apart, this item being only a vacant parcel of
land, was not saved from vesting under S. 18(4) of the Abolition .Act and,
therefore, the appellants could not file any suit in respect thereof.
[822-H; 823-A)
G CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1703-10 of
1984.
From the Judgment and Order dated 21.8.80 of the Andhra Pradesh High · -
Court in A.S. No. 822, 839, 1095, 1206, 1199/1975, 829-31of1976.
H Sitaramiah, S.S. Javeli, Ranjit Kumar, Chander Bhushan Prasad and Ms.
R.S. CHIKKA v. PADURAVATAMMA [KIRPAL, J.] 813
Anu Mohla for the Appellants. A
K. Ram Kumar, Ms. Sudha Gupta, B. Kanta Rao and A. Subba Rao for
the Respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
B
KIRP AL, J. Punganur Estate in Chittoor District in Andhra Pradesah
was an impartible estate of which Raja Veera Basava Chikkar Royal Varu was
the last Zamindar. The question involved in these appeals by special leave
relates to the alienations made by the said Raja of some of the properties
which formed part of the said estate.
c
It is an admitted case that the estate was governed by the provisions
of the Impartible Act 1904. Under Section 4 of the said Act the Zamindar had
no right to alienate impartible property beyond his life time. The estate was
governed by the rule of primogeniture and an alienation under the 1904 Act
could, inter alia, be done for the benefit of the family.
D
In 1908 the Madras Estates Land Act was passed defining the
substitution, rights and liabilities of land-holders of ryoti and made declarations
of the existence of the occupancy rights of the ryoti. The lands were divided
into two classes; [ l] ryoti land and ; [2] private land. It is not necessary to
consider this Act in great detail because it is not in dispute that the Raja E
continued to be the Zamindar of the Punganur estate. In 1948 the Madras
Estate (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act (hereinafter referred to
as the 'Abolition Act')was enacted. The said Act was made applicable to the
Andhra area and the erstwhile State of Madras so as to provide for the repeal
of the Permanent Settlement, the acquisition of the rights of landholders in
permanently settled and certain other estates in the Province of Madras, and F
the introduction of the ryotwari settlement in such estates.
The Punganur Estate was notified under the Abolition Act and taken
over by the Government on 7th Septembe;·, 1950. During his life time the Raja,
who died in the year 1965, had alienated various properties to different G
persons. Some of the alienations were prior to 7th September, 1950, while the
others were after the Abolition Act had become applicable to the said estate.
After the Raja's death his two sons filed two separate suits, OS No. 33 of 1969
and OS No.86 of 197 l in the Subordinate Court, Madanapalle for partition and
separate possession of their share after declaring the alienations made by the
Raja in favour of the defendants as not being binding on them and for mesne H
814 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1999) 2 S.C.R.
' A profits. Their case was that Punganur estate was an impartible estate aqd
alienations made by the last Zamindar prior to 7th September, 1950 were not
for legal necessities or for the benefit of the estate and the alienations were
valid only during the Zamindar's life time. After his death in 1965 it was
claimed that the succession opened and the alienations were not binding on
B the plaintiffs who, it was submitted, had become tenants of the joint family
by virtue of the Abolition Act 1948 and, therefore, they could file a suit for
partition and claim their share.
The defendants in their written statement resisted the suit by contending
that after its abolition the estate had vested in the Government and the
C plaintiffs had ceased to have any rights therein and, therefore, he could not
question the alienations affected by their father. Some of the defendants
submitted that the alienations were for legal necessity or for the benefit of
the estate and consequently they were binding upon the plaintiffs. An objection
was also raised that since under the Abolition Act the estate vested in the
Government the plaintiffs could not claim the properties in the estate to be
D their own and file the suit for partition. The plaint contained a schedule in
which various properties in respect of which partition was sought were
enumerated. In respect of some of the items of property the plaintiffs and the
defendants entered into a compromise while in respect of some other items
the suits were decreed in the absence of any contest by the defendants who
E were interested in those items. In the present appeals we are concerned only
with items (1), (4), (5), (8), (9), (12) and (31).
In respect of properties/items I, 2 and 12 the trial court held the alienations
to be binding on the plaintiffs. Item no. I was a property in respect of which
by a deed dated 6th April 1946 the Zamindar transferred the property to one
F T. Rangaswamy Chetty under an unusfructuary mortgage. This property was
then sold to defendant no. 5 on 16th December, 1949 for discharging the
mortgage debt. Defendant no. 5 sold the same to defendant no. 6 the said
property on 5th September, 1952. The alienatic;m by the Zamindar was upheld
by the trial court on the basis that it had taken place on account of legal
G necessity.
Item no. 2 relates to sale of building by sale deed dated 26th April, 1951.
The trial court held that a pronote had been executed by the Zamindar and
a decree was passed against him in order to pay the decretal amount. The
property was sold on 26th April, 1951 and the decretal amount of Rs. 1250
H was paid. It was, therefore, held that the sale was binding on the estate.
- R.S. CHIKKAv. PADURAVATAMMA [KIRPAL, J.]
Items 5 and 8 were vacant pieces of land which were given under an A.
oral gift by the Zamindar to one of his servants on 22nd August, 1946. In
815
respect of these gifts a settlement deed was executed on 29th February, 1952.
Item no. 8 was a subject matter of further sale on 6th October, 1958. The trial
court held that there was nothing to show that the said alienations were for
legal necessity ar.d the Zamindar had no right to gift the property, therefore, B
these alienations were held to be not binding on the plaintiffs.
Item no. 9 was a piece of land which was sold on 7th October, 1952 to
the village Munsiff. The land was situated in the Enam village but the trial
court held that the alienation of this was not binding on the plaintiffs. Item
no. 4 was a vacant site which was sold by the Zamindar on 15th September, C
1952 and the trial court held that the said sale was also not binding on the
plaintiffs. Item no. 12 was a building site the sale deed of which was executed
by the Zamindar and the plaintiffs' mother, for herself and as mother and
guardian of the minor plaintiffs. This sale deed was executed on 25th February,
1959 but the trial court did not give any relief to the plaintifls because there
was no prayer in the plaint for the setting aside of the sale deed. D
The plaintiffs as well as the defendants who were aggrieved by the
decision of the trial court filed appeals in the. High Court. By the impugned
judgment the High Court dismissed the appeals of the plaintiffs while the
appeals filed by the defendants were allowed. The High Court held, agreeing
with the trial court, that the suit properties were part of the impartible estate. E
It, however, held that with coming into force of the Abolition Act; (I) the
landholders could claim the rights only under the said Act and the plaintiffs
had no right therein; (2) the totality of the interest vested in the Government
and no one else could alienate; (3) the building and the estate first vest in
the Government and thereafter may vest in the person who owned them. F
The High Court also laid emphasis on the fact that on 17th April, 1955
there was a partition between the Zamindar and his two sons, namely, plaintiffs,
by registered document. This deed showed all the ancestral and joint family
properties which were existing and were divided on that day. None of the suit
properties were included in this document. The High Court, therefore, concluded G
that the plaintiffs and their father did not consider the suit properties to be
joint family properties.
The main contention of the learned counsel for the appellants was that
the alienations prior to 7th September, 1950 were invalid as being contrary to
the 1904 Act. The properties in question were joint family properties and the H
816 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1999] 2 S.C.R.
A Zamindar could not alienate the same. Developing this argument, he submitted
that with the promulgation of the Abolition Act 1948 these properties would
vest in the original owner and after i 956 Act it would become partible. With
regard to the effect of the Abolition Act 1948 the learned counsel submitted
that even though all the lands which formed part of the impartible estate
would vest in the government under Section 3 of the Act but buildings
B covered by Section 18 (4) continued to vest in the erstwhile owners and the
same would not vest in the government.
The question which, therefore, arises for consideration is that with the
promulgation of the Abolition Act which is the property which vests in the
C Government. The two provisions which are relevant in this connection are
Sections 3 and 18 which are as follow:
Section 3: With effect on and from the notified date and save as
otherwise expressly provided in this Act -
(a) the Madras Permanent Settlement Regulation, 1802, the Estates
D Land Act, and all other enactments applicable to the estate as
such except the Madras Estates Land· (Reduction of Rent) Act,
1947, s)lall be deemed to have been repealed, in their application
to the estate;
(b) the entire estate (including all communal lands and porambokes;
E other non-ryoti lands; waste lands; pasture lands; Janka lands;
forests; mines and minerals; quarries; rivers and streams; tanks
and irrigation works; fisheries; and ferries), shall stand transferred
to the Government and vest in them, free of all encumbrances;
and the Madras Revenue Recovery Act, 1864, the Madras
Irrigation Cess Act, 1865 and all other enactments applicable to
F
ryotwari areas shall apply to the estate;
(c) all rights and interests created in or over the estate before the
notified date by the principal or any other landholder, shall as
against the Government cease and determine;
G (d) the Government may, after removing any obstruction that may
be offered, forthwith take possession of the estate, and all
accounts, registers, pattas, muchilikas, maps, plans and other
documents relating to the estate which the Government may
require for the administration thereof:
H Provided that the Government shall not dispossess any person of any
"\'
-- R.S. CHIKKA v. PADURAVATAMMA [KIRPAL, J.]
land in the estate in respect of which they consider that he is
817
A
prima facie entitled to a ryotwari patta
(i) if such person is a ryot, pending the decision of the Settlement
Officer as to whether he is actually entitled to such patta;
(ii) if_ such person is a landholder, pending the decision of the
Settlement Officer and the Tribunal on appeal, if any, to it, as to B
whether he is actually entitled to such patta;
(e) the principal or any other landholder and any other person
whose rights stand transferred under clause (b) or cease and
determine under clause (c), shall be entitled only to compensation
from the Government as provided in this Act; C
(f) the relationship of landholder and ryot shall, as between them,
be extinguished;
(g) ryots in the estate and persons holding under them shall, as
against the Government, be entitled only to such rights and D
privileges as are recognised or conferred on them by or under
this Act, and any other rights and privileges which may have
accrued to them in the estate before the notified date against the
principal or any other landholder thereof shall cease and
determine and shall not be enforceable against the Government
or such landholder. E
Section 18: (I) Every building situated within the limits of an estate,
which immediately before the notified date, belonged to any landholder
thereof and was then being used by him as an office in connection
with its administration and for no other purpose, shall vest in the
Government, free of all encumbrances, with effect on and from the F
notified date.
(2) Every building so situated which, immediately before the notified
date, belonged to any such landholder and the whole or principal
part whereof was then in the occupation of any religious,
educational or charitable institution, shall also vest in the G
Government, free of all encumbrances, with effect on and from
the notified date:
Provided that when such institution ceases to exist, the building
shall revert to such landholder, or if he is dead, to his heirs or
legal representatives. H
A
818
(3)
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
Where any building so situated-
[1999) 2 S.C.R.
---
r
''-
(a) Which belonged to any such landholder on the 1st day of July,
1947;and
(b)(i)which on that date was being used by him as an office in
connection with the administration of the estate, and for no
B other purpose, or
'
(ii) the whole or principal part whereof was on that date in the
occupation of any religious, educational or charitable institution
has after the lst day of July, 1947 and before the notified date,
been sold or made a gift of, by the landholder, or ceased to be
c used by him as an office as aforesaid, or ceased to be in the
occupation of such institution, the value of the building shall be
assessed by the Tribunal in such manner as may be prescribed;
and the Tribunal shall pay to the government such value from
out of the compensation deposited in its office under Section 41,
sub-section (I).
D
(4) Every building other than a building referred to in sub-sections
(I), (2) and (3) shall, with effect on and from the notified date,
· vest in the person who owned it immediately before that date,
but the Government shall be entitled-
E (i) in every case, to levy the appropriate assessment thereon;
and
(ii) in the case of a building which vests in a person other than
F
a landholder, also to the payments which such person was
liable immediately before the notified date to make to any
landholder in respect thereof, whether periodically or not
and whether by way of rent or otherwise, in so far as such
-
payments, may accrue due on or after the notified date.
(5) In this section, "building" includes the site on which it stands
and any adjacent premises occupied as an appurtenance thereto.
G
(6) If any question arises whether any building or land falls or does
not fall within the scope of sub-section (l), (2), (3), (4) or (5), it
shall be referred to the Government whose decision shall be
final, and not be liable to be questioned in any court of law.
H (7) Any person holding a mortgage or charge on any building
R.S. CHIK~A v. PADURAVATAMMA [KIRPAL, J.] 819
...... referred to in sub-section (I) or sub-section (2) shall, for the A
purpose of section 42, be a secured creditor and be entitled to
priority over any person holding a mortgage or charge
subsequently created by the landholder over any part of the
estate.
~
The consequence of the notification of the Estate is dealt with by Section 3 B
of the Abolition Act. It provides that with effect from the notified date, the
entire estate stands transferred to the Government and vests in it free of all
encumbrances. But the words "save as otherwise expressly provided in this
Act" in the opening part of Section show that the Act could specifically
~
provide for some property of the Estate not being transferred to and vesting c
in the Government. In other words as per Section 3, the entire estate stands
transferred to and vests in the Government save those properties in respect
of which the Act specifically provides for others.
Section 18 deals with the " buildings in Estate". Sub-section (1) applies
only to a building situated within the limits of an estate. This sub section_ D
' provides that such building which immediately before the notified date was
being used as an office in connection with its (estate) administration, and for
no other purpose, then the building shall vest free of all encumbrances with
the Government. As a result of this sub section, along with the estate, the
building situated within the limits of the estate, but which was being used for E
e
office purpose, was also to vest in the Government.
Like sub-section (I), sub-section (2) also deals with the buildings within
the limit of the estate but which were, immediately before the notified date,
being used only as a principal part for any religious, educational or charitable
institution. Such buildings were also to vest in the Government with effect F
from the notified date. The proviso to this sub-section stipulates that when
•• the religiou5, educational or charitable institution ceases to exist then the
building which was used for the said purpose shall revert to the land holder
or, if he is dead, to his heirs or legal representatives.
Sub-section (3) deals with a case where between l st July, 194 7 and the G
- notified date, the buildings which belonged to the land owners and were
being used for the purpose mentioned in the sub-sections land 2, had been
sold or gifted by the landholder or had ceased to be used as office or to be
in occupation of the institution. In such a situation out of the compensation
payable to the land holder, the tribunal was to pay to the Government a sum H
820 'SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1999) 2 S.C.R/
A equivalent to the value of the building whose use had been altered after 1st
July, 1947.
Sub-section (4), on which strong reliance has been pl~ced by the
appellant's counsel, provides that every building, other than the one referred
B to in sub-section.s 1,2 and ~ shall with effect from the notified date vest in
the person who owned it immediately before that date. It, inter alia, provides
that the Government shall be entitled to levy appropriate assessment on the
said building.
C
We find that proviso to sub-sections (2) and sub-section (4) of Section
18 contemplates cases where the buildings are to vest in the persons who
-
owned the same immediately before the notified date. This is clear from the
language of the said provisions. On the other hand, sub-sections (1) and (2)
of Section 18 specify those buildings which are to vest in the Government.
If Section 3 had provided for all the properties of the estate to vest in the
D Government then there would have been no necessity of enacting Section 18
and sub-sections (I) and (2) in particular. The legislative intent, to· our mind, .
clearly seems to be that buildings in the estate and other buildings belonging
to it were treated in a manner differently than the rest of the estate. It is for
this reason that specific provision .regarding buildings was made in Section
18.
E
A Zamindary estate may include and consist of various types of buildings
within and outside the limit of estate. The object of the Act being to provide
for acquisition of the rights of the land holder. and introduction of the
Ryotwari settlement in such estates, i.e., to bring the Zamindary system to an
p end and distribute the land as a manner indicated in the Act, the buildings
of the estate were dealt with in a different manner. When in the opening part
of Section 3, the words used are "save as otherwise expressly provided in
this Act", the exception to the vesting of the entire estate under Section 3 in
the Government is clearly contained in proviso to Section 18(2) and in Section
G 18(4).
The High Court, in our opinion, was not right in holding that the entire
estate including the buildings vested in the· Government by virtue of Section
3 of the Abolition Act and the erstwhile Zamindar could not alienate any
--
property after the estate had been notified and the plaintiffs had no right to
H challenge the alienations so made on this ground alone.
R.S. C,HIKKA v. PADURAVATAMMA [KIRPAL, J.] 821
--- This Court in Rajah Velugoti Kumara Krishan Yachendra v. Rajah A
Velugoti Sarvagna Kumara Krishna Yachendra Varu and Ors., [ 1970] 3 SCR
88 has held that in relation to the properties of the estate which had not
become vested in the Government by operation of Section 3(b) of the Abolition
Act, Madras Impartible Estates Act, 1904 continues to be in force and the
properties retain their impartible character. Therefore, in respect of the properties B
of the estate referred to in the proviso to Section 18(2) and Section 18(4 ),
would continue to be covered by the provisions of Impartible Estates Act,
1904 and the said properties would be unaffected by the enactment of the
Abolition Act.
Before dealing with the individual items in dispute in the present cases, C
it is necessary to determine as to what is the meaning of the word "building"
referred to in Section 18(4) of the Act. Sub-section (5) of Section 18 provides
that a building includes the site on which it stands and any adjacent premises
occupied as an appurtenance thereto. This sub-section seems to indicate that
a piece of land on which there is no construction, answering the description D
of the building would not be covered by Section 18(4 ). By the inclusive
definition of the building in Section 18(5), the site on which a building stands
and any adjacent premises occupied as an appurtenance thereto has been
included. A vacant site on which a building can be constructed is certainly
not covered by the definition of the word "building" contained in Section
18(5). It is with this background that we now proceed to consider, in the light E
of the interpretation of Sections 3 and l, the various items which are the
subject-matter of these appeals, i.e., items no. l, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12 and 31 which
were described in the schedule to the plaint.
Item No. l is a property which was sold by the Zamindar prior to the F
notified date. The trial court as well as the High Court has held that the sale
,_ was for legal necessity. It is not in dispute that according to Section 4 of the
1904 Act, the property which was a part of the impartible estate could be sold
by the Zamindar for legal necessity. The finding of fact arrived at by the
courts below that this sale was for the purpose of discharging mortgage debt G
and, therefore, was valid, calls for no interference.
As far as item no. 4 is concerned, the High Court has described this
property as "a vacant site and urban terrace house". There was an oral sale
in respect of this house on 1st.December, 1947 in favour of defendant no. 8.
This was followed by a registered sale deed dated 15th September, 1952. The H
822 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1999) 2 S.C.R.
A eigth defendant in tum sold this property to the ninth and fifth defendants
by registered sale deed dated 15th July, 1967. The trial Court as well as High
Court has held that the sale was not for legal necessity. The High Court did
not grant any relief to the appellant herein and had set aside the finding of
the subordinate judge with regard to this item on the ground that the entire
B estate had vested in the Government and it was only the Government which
could question the alienation by the erstwhile Zamindar. We, however, find
that in the plaint of the suit no. OS 86 of 1971 it is stated that the late
Zamindar had executed the two sale deeds in respect of this property for the
purpose of establishing a temple of Sai Baba. On the basis that this property
did not vest in the Q.ovemment, being covered by Section 18 (4) then the
C provisions of the 1904 Act would apply. While Section 4 (1) of the 1904 Act
plans restrictions on alienations of impartible estates, sub-section (2) of
Section 4 specifies permissible alienations. Clause (a) of Section 4 (2) authorises
the proprietor of an impartible estate "to grant sites for public charitable and
public religious institutions." The alienations of this property, as far as the
D Zamindar was concerned, for the purpose of putting up a Sai Baba Temple
was clearly covered by Section 4 (2) (a) of the 1904 Act and the alienation
is also upheld on this ground.
Items 5 and 8 are described by the High Court as being 'two small sites
in Punganur town'. There was, at the time when Abolition Act became
E applicable, no building on these sites. These plots would not fall within the
meaning of the word 'building' and would be outside the scope of Section
-
18 (4) of the Abolition Act. These sites would, therefore, vest in the
Government under Section 3 of the said Act and the plaintiffs would have no
F
right to file any suit in respect thereof. -
In respect of items 9 and 31 the High Court held that the relief sought
for in the-suit was within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal under the Abolition
Act. The High Court vacated the Trial Court's findings in regard to these
items and left it to the parties to agitate them before the settlement authorities
G under the Act:-'.lln our view this direction of the High Court appears to be
correct and calls for no interference.
The alienation of item no. 12 was not set aside because the High Court,
agreeing with the Trial Court, held that the alienation was by the Zamindar
and his wife, in her capacity as guardian of the plaintiffs, who were minors
H at that time, and as the plaintiffs were thus parties to the alienation they could
R.$. CHIKKA v. PADURAVAT AMMA [KIRPAL, J.] 823
pot challenge the same. This apart, this item was only a vacant parcel of land A
which was not saved from vesting under Section 18 (4) of the Abolition Act
and, therefore, the plaintiffs could not file any suit in re_spect thereof.
For the reasons above mentioned we find that no relief can be granted
to the appellants and the appeals are accordingly dismissed but with no order
as to costs. B
S.V.K.I. Appeals dismissed.
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