RAMKRISHNA MULLICK Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The short and important point involved in this Rule is whether the West Bengal Estates Acquisition (2nd Amendment) Act, 1973 is a valid piece of legislation. The amendment which is a subject matter of the litigation is as follows: - "The West Bengal Estates Acquisition (Second Amendment) Act, 1973". An act to amend the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act, 1953. Whereas it is expedient to amend the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act, 1953, for the purposes and in the manner hereinafter appearing; It is hereby enacted in the twenty-fourth Year of the Republic of India, by the Legislature of West Bengal, as follows: - 1. This Act may be called the West Bengal Estates Acquisition (Second Amendment) Act, 1973. 2. In the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act, 1953 (hereinafter referred to as said Act), for the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 7, the following proviso shall be substituted, namely: - "Provided that where the intermediary agrees in writing that the whole of the compensation money payable to him including the amount recovered by the State Government under the provisions of section 9, if any, may be adjusted against the arrears recoverable from the intermediary under this sub-section no other mode of recovery shall be adopted for the recovery of any such arrears, except the balance, if any, remaining due after such adjustment, and suits and proceedings, if any, pending for the recovery of any such arrears shall remain stayed until such adjustment has been made." 3. In sub-section (4) of Section 44 of the said Act, the words, "until it is proved by evidence to be incorrect" shall be omitted, 4. Section 46 of said Act shall be omitted. 5. After section 57A of said Act the following section shall be inserted, namely: - 57B(1). Where an order has been made under sub-section (1) of section 39 directing the preparation or revision of a record-of-rights, no Civil Court shall entertain any suit or application for the determination of rent or determination of the status of any tenant or the incidents of any tenancy to which the record-of-rights relates, and if any suit or application, in which any of the aforesaid matters is in issue, is pending before a Civil Court on the date of such order, it shall be stayed, and it shall, on the expiry of the period prescribed for an appeal under sub-section (3) of section 44 or when an appeal has been field under that sub-section, as the case may be, on the disposal of such appeal, abate so far as it relates to any of the aforesaid matters. (2) No Civil Court shall entertain any suit of application concerning any land or any estate, or any right in such estate, if it relates to - (a) alteration of any entry in the record-of-rights finally published, revised, made corrected or modified under any of the provisions of Chapter V, (b) a dispute involving determination of the question, either expressly or by implication, whether a raiyat or an intermediary is or is not entitled to retain under the provisions of this Act such land or estate or right in such estate, as the case may be, or (c) any matter which under any of the provisions of this Act is to be, or has already been enquired into, decided, dealt with or determined by the State Government or any authority specified therein, and any such suit or application which is pending before a Civil Court immediately before the commencement of the West Bengal Estates Acquisition (Second Amendment) Act, 1973, shall abate so far as it relates to all or any of the matters referred to in clause (a), clause (b) or clause (c). (3) Any dispute referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (2) may be decided by a Revenue Officer not below the rank of an Assistant Settlement Officer, specially empowered by the State Government in this behalf, who shall dispose of the same in such manner as may be prescribed. Provided that in deciding a dispute under this sub-section the Revenue Officer shall not reopen any matter which has already been enquired into, investigated, determined or decided by the State Government or any authority under any of the provisions of this Act. (4) Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Revenue Officer made under sub-section (3) may appeal to the prescribed authority not below the rank of a Settlement Officer, within such time, in such manner and subject to payment of such fees as may be prescribed. (5) A decision made by the Appellate Authority under sub-section (4) shall be final. Explanation: - In this section - (i) suit includes an appeal. and (ii) an authority includes an authority to hear an appeal. This Act was passed by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on the 9th May, 1973. Apurba Lal Majumdar, Speaker West Bengal Legislative Assembly". Dated the 10th May, 1973

(2.) The amendment came into force on 12th July, 1973. On 24th July, 1973 draft rules were framed. It was stated that the draft rules will be taken into consideration on or after the 16th August, 1973. At the date of hearing, however, on 28th August, 1973 the final draft was not brought to my notice when the bill was introduced in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, objects and reasons for the Act stated to be as follows: -

(3.) Mr. Arun Kumar Dutta on behalf of the petitioners argued that Section 57B (1) is nothing but the re-enactment of the provisions of Section 46 of the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act. Under Section 57 (B) (1) of the Act, the Civil Court's jurisdiction in so far as the determination of rent or determination of the status of any tenant or the incidents of any tenancy in the record of rights is concerned, has been taken away. Mr. Dutta, therefore, argued that though specifically in jurisdiction has been taken away, still the Civil Court has jurisdiction to determine whether the issues in the suit relates to those matters and the suit cannot automatically abate.