GOPAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this writ petition, the petitioner has challenged the constitutional validity of Sub-section (6) of Section 19 of the Rajasthan Imposition of Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act, 1973 ('the Act of 1973') wherein it is provided that the amount of acquisition, payable to a person for surplus land vesting in the State Government, shall carry simple interest at two and a half per cent per annum from the date of surrender of surplus land or of ejectment therefrom.

(2.) Having regard to the subject matter of this writ petition, it appears appropriate to put a glance, at the outset, over the relevant background aspects concerning the subject enactment. The Act of 1973 was promulgated on 28.03.1973 as a consolidating and amending law for imposition of ceiling on agricultural holdings, disposal of surplus land, and the matters ancillary thereto. Its forerunner had been Chapter III-B of the Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955 ('the Act of 1955') that was ultimately repealed. In this enactment, provisions have been made, inter alia, for fixation of ceiling on land holdings, computation of ceiling area, furnishing of returns, vesting of surplus land, and the amount of acquisition. Section 19 of the Act of 1973 deals with the aspects relating to determination of amount of acquisition whereby the State Government has been made liable to pay the amount of acquisition for all lands vesting in it, to the person upon whom the final statement was served. Every such person is entitled to submit, within the prescribed time, a detailed statement of claim for the amount of acquisition in the prescribed form; and upon receipt of such statement of claim, the Authorised Officer is to determine the amount of acquisition payable in accordance with the prescribed scales. Leaving aside the other aspects, being not relevant for the present purpose, the questioned provision of Sub-section (6) of Section 19, whereby it is provided that the amount of acquisition shall carry simple interest at two and a half per cent per annum from the date of surrender of surplus land or of ejectment, could be noticed as under:-

(3.) Since the core issue in this writ petition pertains to the constitutional validity of the aforesaid provision contained in Subsection (6) of Section 19 of the Act of 1973, it is not necessary to make a detailed reference to the facts of the case, which are more or less indisputable; and only a brief reference to the relevant background aspects leading to this petition would suffice. The petitioner's father, late Shri Devi Singh, was holding certain parcels of agricultural land in Tehsil Ahore and Tehsil Pali. The respondent State initiated the ceiling proceedings under Chapter III-B of the Act of 1955 against the father of the petitioner whereunder, the surplus agricultural land available with him was ordered to be acquired by an order dated 03.01.1976, as passed by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Jalore ('the SDO'); and possession of the surplus land was surrendered on 01.02.1976, 03.02.1976 and 14.07.1976. Thereafter, by an order passed by the SDO on 12.01.1984, the compensation for the land so acquired was determined at Rs. 74,464.20; and it was ordered that this amount shall be payable in ten equated installments and interest at the rate of two and half per cent as per section 19(6) ibid., shall be payable from the date of last surrender i.e., 14.07.1976.