Ejectment Of Tenure Holder Under The Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006

Vidit Singh

Anadi Tiwari

Introduction

The Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006 regulates the process of eviction of land owners in the state, ensuring that it is carried out in accordance with prescribed procedures. The Code sets out specific procedures and grounds for expulsion, ensuring a fair and transparent process. Separately, 5 dollar deposit casinos are affordable platforms for land owners interested in getting rich quick, allowing them to enjoy online gambling with a minimal initial deposit. These online casinos allow players to make a minimum deposit of $5, giving them access to a variety of games and betting options. Although the deposit amount is relatively small, it still allows plot owners to experience the thrill of real money gambling and potentially win significant rewards.

Undeniably, for a state that has always craved for development and had stood at the toe-end in the list of the developing states, attraction of investments and facilitation of financial transactions becomes a sine qua non. To ascertain this groundwork dream into reality for the State of Uttar Pradesh, a simplified revenue regime and investment facilitation policy was much warranted that ultimately results in fostering the overall development of the state. Importantly, with greater revenue generation, the Government gets more to spend on programmes of welfare, health, infrastructure, education etc. that leads any state towards overall development and prosperity.[1]

Came into force on 11 February 2016, the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006, that had brought certain ravishing changes to the entire revenue regime by repealing a total of 32 enactments including the United Provinces Land Revenue Act, 1901 and Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950.

Now acting as a uniform code in the land law of Uttar Pradesh, the 2006 Revenue Code consolidates and amends the land-tenures and land revenue relating laws in Uttar Pradesh and speeds up the disposal of the revenue cases by creating a Revenue Court[2] for disposal of cases relating to matters provided under this code.

Importantly, this Code also comes with provision that was fiercely opposed upon by political parties in State prior to 2016 and at the time of existence of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950, allowing Scheduled Caste Bhumidhars to transfer their land to Bhumidhars not belonging to scheduled caste.[3] Looking at the condition of the individuals of the Scheduled Caste, the prior laws before the 2016 Revenue Code tried to restrict the transfer of their land so as to protect them from being forced to sell their land to upper caste persons.[4]

Provisions for Ejectment under the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006

The Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006 other than providing the procedure of ejectment of tenure holders, nowhere defines the very term ‘ejectment’. Therefore, taking reference of definition provided in the Black’s Law Dictionary, the term ‘ejectment’ can be defined as a “mixed action which lay for the recovery of possession of land, and for the damages for the unlawful detention of its possession.”

Prior to the enactment of the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006, the repealed Uttar Pradesh Zamindari and Land Reforms Act, 1950 provided for ejectment of a tenure holder under Section 199 to Section 212-C, which includes ejectment of Bhumidhar with Transferrable Rights, Bhumidhar with Non-Transferrable Rights and Asami.

Under the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006, ejectment of different classes of tenure holders are provided under provisions ranging from Section 130 to Section 137 of the Code. Additionally, Section 149 and Section 150 are also to be included alongside the above-stated provisions that provide for ejectment of a class of tenure holders.

Prior to discussing the real genre behind the concept of ejectment under this 2006 Revenue Code, the author in the next section of this assignment shall give a brief outline on the ‘classes of tenure holders’ that are ejected following the provisions stated above.

Classes of Tenure Holders

Importantly, Chapter IX, from Section 74 of the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006 enshrines within it the classes of Tenure Holders.

Section 74 of the 2006 Code particularly provides for that there will be 4 classes of tenure holders, that are:

1. Bhumidhar with Transferable Rights: Under Section 75 of the 2006 Revenue Code, the class of Bhumidhar with Transferable Rights is defined, so as to who can be belong to this class of tenure holders. The Code provides that any person who fulfill any of the provided conditions below, shall qualify to be regarded as Bhumidhar with Transferable Rights under this Code and shall also have all the rights and liabilities that are being bestowed to a ‘bhumidhar’ under this 2006 Revenue Code. The Conditions that this provision provides is that any person:

  1. who was a Bhumidhar with transferable rights before the commencement of this Revenue Code 2006,[5]
  2. who in any manner on or after February 11, 2016 acquires the rights of Bhumidhar with transferable rights under or in accordance with the provisions of this code or under any law for the time being in force.

2. Bhumidhar with Non-Transferable Rights: Under Section 76 of the 2006 Revenue Code, the class of Bhumidhar with Non-Transferable Rights is defined, so as to who can be belong to this class of tenure holders. The Code provides that any person who fulfill any of the provided conditions below, shall qualify to be regarded as Bhumidhar with non-Transferable Rights under this Code and shall also have all the rights and liabilities that are being bestowed to a ‘bhumidhar’ under this 2006 Revenue Code. The Conditions that this provision provides is that any person:

  1. who was a Bhumidhar with non-transferable rights before the commencement of this Revenue Code 2006;[6]
  2. who is admitted as a Bhumidhar with non-transferrable rights on or after February 11, 2016 by the Bhumi-Prabandhak Samiti[7] to any land in accordance to the provisions of this code;
  3. who is allotted any land on or after February 11, 2016 under the provisions of Uttar Pradesh Bhoodan Yajna Act 1952;
  4. who is allotted any land on or after February 11, 2016 under the provisions of Uttar Pradesh Imposition of Ceilings on Holdings Act 1960;
  5. who is an Asami before February 11, 2016, in possession of land not covered under common usage land under Section 77 of the 2006 Code and had been recorded as such in class of the Khatauni, provided that, if the above land accrued by him and any other land held by him in Uttar Pradesh exceeds the ceiling limited provided under Uttar Pradesh Imposition of Ceilings on Holdings Act 1960, then the rights of Bhumidhar with non-transferable rights shall accrue in favor of this person;
  6. who in any manner on or after February 11, 2016 acquires the rights of Bhumidhar with transferable rights under or in accordance with the provisions of this code or under any law for the time being in force.

3. Asami: Under Section 78 of the 2006 Revenue Code, the class of Asami is defined, so as to who can be belong to this class of tenure holders. The Code provides that any person who fulfill any of the provided conditions below, shall qualify to be regarded as Asami under this Code and shall also have all the rights and liabilities that are being bestowed to a ‘bhumidhar’ under this 2006 Revenue Code. The Conditions that this provision provides is that any person:

  1. subject to clause (e) of Part II of this assignment under the head of Bhumidhar with Non-Transferable Rights, who was an Asami immediately before the commencement of this Revenue Code 2006;[8]
  2. who is admitted as a Asami on or after February 11, 2016 by the Bhumi-Prabandhak Samiti[9] to any land in accordance to the provisions of this code;
  3. who was admitted as a lessee on or after February 11, 2016, by a Bhumidhar of any land under or in accordance with the provisions of this code;
  4. who in any manner acquires the rights of Asami under or in accordance with the provisions of this code or under any law for the time being in force.

4. Government Lessee: Under Section 147 of the 2006 Revenue Code, the class of Government Lessee is defined, so as to who can be belong to this class of tenure holders. The provision provides that: “Every person, who holds land on lease from the State Government, whether such lease was granted before or after the date of commencement of this Code, shall be called Government Lessee with respect to such land.” Importantly, the power of Government Lessee to hold land shall be in accordance with the terms of the lease agreement.

Outlining provisions with regard to Ejectment of Tenure Holders

After we have examined the 4 provided classes of tenure holders under the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006, the author shall now discuss the keynote of this present work. As previously stated, Section 130 to Section 137, Section 149 and Section 150 specifically provides the process of ejectment of the tenure holders under the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006.

Importantly, it is to be adhered in mind that the provisions of ejectment of tenure holders are not limited only to the above-stated provisions of the code. It is to be noted that certain corresponding provisions under this 2006 Revenue Code exists that additionally provides for ejectment of the classes of tenure holders. The author shall discuss all the provisions with regard to specific classes of tenure holders as herein below:

  1. Bhumidhar with Transferable Rights: Under Section 130 of the 2006 Revenue Code, the ejectment of Bhumidhar with Transferable Rights is specifically provided. This provision particularly states that a Bhumidhar with Transferable Rights can only be ejected as provided by this 2006 Revenue Code. Apart from this specific provision of Section 130, even certain corresponding provisions under this code provide for the ejectment of the Bhumidhar with transferable rights.

At the prima facie, while analysing ejectment of Bhumidhar with transferable rights, we have to keep in mind certain provisions apart from Section 130, likewise:

  • According to the Uttar Pradesh Imposition of Ceilings on Holdings Act 1960, there is a ceiling limit of 5 acres in the case of holding of agricultural land holdings is provided; Notably, Section 89(2) of the 2006 Revenue Code also details out such restriction on transfer of land on the part of this category of Bhumidhar. It is to be understood that an individual Bhumidhar can hold on land not exceeding 12.5 acres, the exceeded part of land shall be vesting in the State Government.[10]
  • Section 104 of the 2006 Revenue Code provides that: “every lease or transfer of interest in any holding or part thereof made by a Bhumidhar or any Asami in contravention of the provisions of this Code shall be void.” It is to be noted that if a Bhumidhar with Transferable Rights is transferring land against the mandate of Section 89(2), then such transfer shall be void under Section 104.
  • Importantly, Section 105 of the 2006 Revenue Code provides for consequences of transfer of land that is being declared void under Section 104. Under clause (2), this provision provides that the land referred under Section 104 is now vested under State Government. Subsequently, the Collector exercising his authority over this land can direct any person (includes all classes of tenure holders and trespasser) occupying such land or property to eject therefrom that land.

Subsequently for instance, taking into light the above stated provisions for ejectment of the class of Bhumidhar with transferable rights, Section 130, Section 89(2), Section 104 and Section 105(2) of the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006 and the Uttar Pradesh Imposition of Ceilings on Holdings Act 1960 has to be read together to ultimately provide for the ejectment of Bhumidhar with Transferable Rights.

  1. Bhumidhar with Non-Transferable Rights: Like Bhumidhar with Transferable Rights, Section 130 of the 2006 Revenue Code provide for the ejectment of Bhumidhar with non-Transferable Rights. This provision particularly states that a Bhumidhar with non-Transferable Rights can only be ejected as provided by this 2006 Revenue Code. Apart from this specific provision of Section 130, even certain corresponding provisions under this code provide for the ejectment of the Bhumidhar with non-transferable rights.

At the prima facie, while analysing ejectment of Bhumidhar with non-transferable rights, we have to keep in mind certain provisions apart from Section 130, likewise:

  • Section 85(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006 specifically provides that if the Bhumidhar with non-transferable rights uses his holding in contravention to right to exclusive possession under Section 79(2)[11] of the 2006 Revenue Code, then this Bhumidhar with non-transferable rights shall be liable for ejectment.
  • According to the Uttar Pradesh Imposition of Ceilings on Holdings Act 1960, there is a ceiling limit of 5 acres in the case of holding of agricultural land holdings. As discussed previously, Section 89(2) of the 2006 Revenue Code provides particularly for restriction on transfer by any land by Bhumidhar, where such transfer results in acquisition of land more than 12.5 acres. For instance, if this kind of transfer is done by the Bhumidhar with non-transferrable rights then that will be in contravention with this 2006 Revenue Code and the same shall be void under Section 104 and would then be liable for ejectment under Section 105(2) of this 2006 Revenue Code, as have discussed previously.

Subsequently for instance, taking into light the above stated provisions for ejectment of the class of Bhumidhar with non-transferable rights. Section 130, Section 85(1), Section 89(2), Section 104 and Section 105(2) of the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006 has to be read together to ultimately provide for the ejectment of Bhumidhar with non-Transferable Rights.

  1. Asami: Under Section 131 of the 2006 Revenue Code, the ejectment of Asami is specifically provided. This provision particularly states that a Asami can be ejected only on a suit instituted by a land holder or Gram Panchayat and that too under certain keynote grounds, likewise:
  • Ejectment of Asami on the ground that the interest of Asami in land held by him has extinguished under the provisions of 2006 Revenue Code.
  • Time period of holding of the land has already expired or will expire before the end of the current agricultural year;
  • As provided under Section 85(2) of the 2006 Revenue Code, if the Asami is using his land in contravention to right to exclusive possession under Section 84[12] of the 2006 Revenue Code, ejectment of the Asami can happen.
  • As per Section 82(2)(c) of the 2006 Revenue Code, if the land is in possession of any person (other than Bhumidhar, but may include Asami) on the basis of a contract or lease, and for instance if the term of such lease or contract is inconsistent to the provisions of this 2006 Revenue Code, then such holding can be declared invalid.
  • That the said Asami was in arrears of rent for more than 1 year and that too has failed to paid the same even after 30 days from the reminder notice.
  • By virtue of Section 106 of the 2006 Revenue Code, if Asami has transferred the whole or part of land in contravention to Section 104 of the Code, then ejectment may occur.

Subsequently for instance, taking into light the above stated provisions for ejectment of the class of Asami. Section 131, Section 85(2), Section 82(2)(c), Section 106 of the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006 has to be read together to ultimately provide for the ejectment of an Asami.

  1. Government Lessee: Under Section 149 of the 2006 Revenue Code, the ejectment of Government Lessee is specifically provided. As already stated previously, Government Lessee as defined under Section 147 of the Code is that every person, who holds land on lease from the State Government, whether such lease was granted before or after the date of commencement (Referring to February 11, 2016) of this Code. The ejectment of Government Lessee may be done on the following grounds:
  • If the Government Lessee has failed to pay the rent or any sum due under any lease within 6 months from the date it become due;
  • Government Lessee has used the land against the grant under lease agreement;
  • Term of lease has either expired or the lease has been cancelled.
  • Similar to point (b), the Government Lessee has contravened to any terms or conditions of the lease.

Additionally, it is important to note that provisions of Uttar Pradesh Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act 1972 shall apply to the eviction/ejectment of the Government Lessee.[13]

Conclusion

Law is an instrument of social change and progress. Utility of any enactment testifies with the time. The Uttar Pradesh Zamindari and Land Reforms Act, 1950 was no doubt, a notable historic enactment of Uttar Pradesh Legislature which indeed abolished the Zamindari System in the Uttar Pradesh which involved Intermediaries between government and the cultivators; the land tenure was simplified, the ceiling on land accumulation was imposed and many other reforms were introduced to fulfil the needs of egalitarian society. But, as we have been seeing daily in our lives that the issues pertaining to land revenue in villages or even presently at our home are long-stretched and land difficult to understand by a common man.

The procedures and processes of the court that existed during the reign of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari and Land Reforms Act, 1950 are so difficult and complex that it defies the object of the enactment. As there were 39 enactments including the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act 1950 and Land Revenue Act,1901, therefore there was a need to codify all the above laws into one single code and thus in order to simplify and consolidate the Revenue Laws, there was a necessity of a new enactment which led to the taking of Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006.

[1] Editor, Uttar Pradesh ushers in reform in land and revenue laws (SCC OnLine, February 13, 2016)

Link: https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2016/02/13/uttar-pradesh-ushers-in-reform-in-land-and-revenue-laws/  accessed on August 26, 2022.

[2] Chapter III, Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 2006

[3] Section 98, Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 2006

[4] Refer Section 57, Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950.

[5] Commencement Date of the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006 is February 11, 2016.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Section 28-A of the Uttar Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act 1947 defines ‘Bhumi Prabandhak Samiti’ as the Gram Panchayat shall also be Bhumi Prabandhak Samiti and as such discharge the duties of up-keep, protection and supervision of all property belonging to or vested in or held by the Gram Panchayat under Section 117 of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950 or under any other provisions of that Act.

[8] Supra note. 2

[9] Supra note. 4

[10] Subject to Section 89(3), Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006.

[11] Right of a Bhumidhar with Non-Transferable Rights to not to be illegally dispossessed and use his land exclusive for any purpose connected with ‘agriculture’.

[12] Right of an Asami to not to be illegally dispossessed and use his land exclusive for any purpose connected with ‘agriculture’.

[13] Section 150 of the Uttar Pradesh Land Revenue Code 2006.