KRISHNAN NAIR & ANOTHER Vs. ABDU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN these cases the validity of section 11A of the Kerala Agriculturists Debt Relief Act, 31 of 3958, which provides for the premature termination of melpattoms granted by an agriculturist before the commencement of the Act for periods of two years or more on application made by the grantor, is challenged by the grantees, melpattomdars as they are called. The original petitions are such applications withdrawn to this court under Article 228 of the Constitution while the revision petitions and the appeal are from orders made by subordinate courts on such applications. The cases have been referred to a Full Bench because of the general importance of the questions involved. Section 11A runs as follows:

(2.) THE deeds in which the transactions in question are embodied call themselves melpattom deeds and the transaction, a melpattom. A melpattom (literally, a lease of what is above the surface) is a lease of trees with no interest in the land, ordinarily enuring for one year -see Sundara Iyer's, Malabar and Aliyasanthana Law, pages 290 and 453 and C. Ramachandra Aiyar's, A Manual of Malabar Law, page 42. The principal argument advanced on behalf of the melpattomdars is, however, that the transactions we are considering, though called melpattoms, are really sales of goods, namely, coconuts, in one case arecanuts, as well, existing and future. The contention is that the transactions do not come within the definition of melpattom in section 2 (ff) which postulates a debtor -creditor relationship between the grantor and the grantee. If, however, they do, then section 11 A is beyond the legislative competence of the State and is also bad for offending Articles 14, 19, 301 and 304 of the Constitution.

(3.) THE deed in the second appeal may be taken as illustrative of the deeds in the remaining cases. (The deed in C.R.P. No. 1001 of 1961 is not in the record. It appears to have been put in evidence in a prior case under section 9 (3) of the Act. But the order of the lower court shows that it was an ordinary melpattam deed in respect of coconut trees for a period of eight years at a rent of Rs. 100/ - per year paid in advance):