GOLAM ROBBANI Vs. TAZEHER GAZI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) EVEN the homely horticultural products, Bengal "jhinga" and banana are the high Constitutional and statutory issues on this application. For the Constitution of India nothing is too high or, too low for its sword or the shield ! Under the high Article of 227 of the Constitution of India this High Court at Calcutta is expected on this application to decide and determine the point whether Jhinga and banana (wrongly described as plantain) come within the provisions of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act. Strangely enough, the learned Munsif has come to the conclusion that Jhinga and banana cannot come within the provisions of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act because they cannot be "thrashed". The reason why "thrashing" had such an important impact on the Judge's mind was that it was used as an expression in section 16 (3) of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act where it is said that "the bargadar shall store or thresh the produce" etc. I confess, I am unable to understand that reasoning or logic. That provision does not mean that nothing can be said to be cultivated which cannot be thrashed. In agriculture the produce which can be stored can also come within that provision. Surely, Jhinga or banana can be stored. However contemptible Jhinga or banana may be either as articles of vegetable or fruit and however the former may be disliked by the consumers I find that they are also the produce of cultivation, that is, agriculture within the meaning of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act. Under section 2 (7) of that Act land means agricultural land. The word "cultivation" has been used in different sections of the Land Reforms Act but fortunately not denned with any legal precision and equally fortunately the Act does not pretend to define what a "jhinga" or "banana" is.

(2.) THE little that I know of horticulture or agriculture leaves no room in my mind that if one produces jhinga or banana on land he does some kind of cultivation both in the ordinary acceptation of the term as well as under the legal connotation of the word cultivation and agriculture under that act section 16 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act deals with the share of the produce payable by the bargadar and begins with the word The produce of any land, cultivated by a bargadar shall be divided as between the baragdar and the person whose land he cultivates- etc. I am, therefore, quite happy to come to the conclusion that jhinga and banana are laudable object of cultivation entitled to receive the high protection of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act and, therefore, the bargadar cultivating them have necessarily that protection. I, therefore, use the Constitution of India to extend that protection.

(3.) FOR these reasons I set aside the order of the learned Munsif and make the Rules absolute. I make no order as to costs.