SAVITRI DEVI Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this petition under Article 226 of the Consti tution, the petitioner assails the decisions of the Prescribed Authority and that of the Addl. District Judge, Bareilly in appeal refusing to exempt the area of plot nos. 1126 and 1127 situate in village Agras Tahsil and District Bareilly over which, according to the petitioner tenure holder, were situate some buildings including a residential house. According to the petitioner, she was entitled to claim exemption in respect of these plots in the matter of their inclusion in her surplus area under the provisions of the U. P. Imposition of Ceiling of Land Holdings Act, 1960. The order passed by the 4th Addl. District Judge, Bareilly in appeal filed by the petitioner is annexure 4 to the writ petition point no. 1 posed for decision by the learned Judge was as to "whether plot numbers 1126 and 1127 are to be exempted as building.'' While dealing with the submission as regards this point, the learned Judge found that in these plots apart from a tube well and some pucca building for the tube well, there existed "some pucca building for the purposes of residence of servants working on the farm'- . According to him a building could be exempted under the Act if it is a residential build ing of the tenure holder. Farm house which was appertenant to the tubewell and was occupied by the servants was, according to the learned Judge, an im provement for the purposes of agriculture. Land occupied by such a building could not, in the opinion of the learned Judge, be exempted under the Act. The order of the learned Judge, in my opinion suffers from a manifest error. Section 6 of the Act provides that the land falling in any of the categories mentioned in sub-section (1) shall not be taken into consideration for the purposes of determining the ceiling area applicable to and the surplus land of the tenure holder and clause (b) of the said sub-section contains the description as under : "(b) Land occupied by a residential house........." IN terms, therefore, section 6 provides that any land which is occupied by a residential house, shall not be taken into consideration for the purposes of determining the ceiling area applicable to and the surplus land of the tenure holder. The provision does not contemplate that before land occupied by a residential house can be exempted under Section 6 (1) of the Act, it must be a residential house of a tenure holder himself. On the finding recorded by the learned Judge himself, it is clear that some area of the plots in question is occupied by pucca building for the purpose of the residence of servant working in the farm. That part of the disputed plot which is occupied by the aforesaid building would clearly fall in the category of land contemplated by clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 6 of the Act. Learned Standing counsel appearing for the State contended that the provision only grant exemption in respect of such land which was in the actual occupation, for purposes of his residence by the tenure holder himself. I am unable to accept this submission. The language of section 6 (1) (b) of the Act is clear and admits of no doubt that such land which is occupied by a residential building is exempt from the operation of the Act for the purposes of determining the ceiling area applicable to and the surplus land of a tenure holder. It does not provide that the building should before the residence of the tenure holder. IN view of the above discussion it is clear that the decision of the Prescribed Authority as well as of the Addl. District Judge in appeal in so far as they relate to that part of plot nos. 1126 and 1127 as are occupied by residential building, must be set aside. IN the result, the petition succeeds and is allowed. The orders of the Prescribed Authority as well as the Addl. District Judge, Bareilly in appeal in so far as they relate to plot nos. 1126 and 1127 are quashed. The matter is remanded to the appellate authority for decision afresh IN accordance with law. The parties shall, however, bear their own costs.