# VIDYA VATI v. THE STATE OF PUNJAB & ORS

- **Citation:** [1968] 1 S.C.R. 646
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1967-09-26
- **Case number:** Civil Appeal No. 49 of 1965
- **Bench:** J. C. Shah, S. M. SllC:RI, J. M. Shelat
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/vidya-vati-v-the-state-of-punjab-ors-4154
- **Pages:** 6

## Headnote

B
The Pepsu Tenancy and Agricultural. Lands Act 13 of 1955, .,,
3:!-A(l) and 32-K-Whether ban on holding !<ind in excesa of per-
. missible limits operates only on excess on date of commencement of
. Act 15 of 1956 or also in future-Person not in Possession of land on
date of commencement unable to give undertaking to plant an orchard
within two years-Therefore unable to claim exemption. for 10 acres 0
for an orchard-Whether has a remedy.
The appellant was the owner of 56 standard acres of agricultural
land in Punjab from which she was ousted in 1954 by certain persons
who had no title to the land and was restored to possession in 1960
after a suit filed by her was decreed in her favour. The Pepsu Tenancy
and Agricultural Lands Act 13 of 1955 was brought into force in
March, 1955. Under s. 5 of that Act any land· owner owning land ex•
ceeding 3'.l standard acres was entitled to select for personal cultiva- D
tion a maximum area of land within the permissible limit and to inform the collector of his selection. Since the appellant's land was in
the occupation of the trespassers at the time, she did not make any
selection under s. 5. The Act was amended with effect from October
30, 1956 by the East Punjab Act 15 of 1956 which introduced Chapter
IV-A and the new s. 32-A(l) provided that no person shall be entitled
to hold land under his personal cultivation which exceeds in theo 1
aggregate the permissible limit.
The appellant submitted a return In the prescribed form in res_pect of her land and the collector, after considering her objections,
declared that she held 21 standard acres in excess of the ceiling prescribed by the Act. This order was confirmed in appeal by the Commissioner and a writ petition to quash the order was rejected by the
High Court.
l'n appeal to this Court it was contended on behalf of the appel- 1
!ant (i) that s. 32-A(l) operates only at the point of time when the
Act. comes into force i.e. October 30, 1956; the ceiling could be enforced only if a person owned or held land in excess of the permissible limit on that day or if he acquired or possessed it after the
commencement of Act 15 of 1956 by transfer, exchange, inheritance
or any of the other ways expressly covered by ss. 32-L and 32-M; and
(ii) the appellant should in any event have been permitted to reserve e
10 acres out of her holding under s. 32-K for an orchard.
HELD: Dismissing the appeal.
(i) The ban imposed by section 32-A(!) operates whenever a person is found to own or hold land in personal cultivation exceeding
the permissible limit. [650G]
Although ss. 3:!-L and 32-M deal expressly With certain classes ot R
acquisitions after the date of commencement of the Act ·on that account no restriction can be imposed upon the connotation of the expression "no person. shall be entitled to own or held" occurring In
s. 32-A, that it is limited in its operation to the point of commence..
ment of the Act. [64913-D]
VIDYA VA'fl V
PUNJAB (S/UJh, J.)
647
A
Such an interpretation is also contrary to the scheme of the Act.
Under the scheme of Chapters II, Ill and IV as they originally stood
the tenants were given the right to purchase the lands not selected
by the landowner for personal cultivation, but the landowner was
otherwise subject to no further restrictions; by Ch. IV-A it was intended to place a ceiling upon the owning or holding of land for personal cultivation by a landowner or a tenant in excess of the penniS-1
sible limit and to provide that the excess land be appropriated to the
B State. [650B, C]
(ii) In order to qualify for the exemption for land up to 10 acres
under s. 32-K for planting an orchard, the landowner has to give an
undertaking that he will bring the land within two years from the
commencement of the Amending Act under an orchard•, has to plant
the orchard within that period, and to maintain it as such till the
d'ate of the grant of exemption. A person like the appellant who i~
O not in possession of the land at the date when the

## Text

646
VIDYA VATI
A
v.
THE STATE OF PUNJAB & ORS.
September 26, 1967
(J. C. SHAH, S. M. SllC:RI AND J. M. SHELAT, JJ.J
B
The Pepsu Tenancy and Agricultural. Lands Act 13 of 1955, .,,
3:!-A(l) and 32-K-Whether ban on holding !<ind in excesa of per-
. missible limits operates only on excess on date of commencement of
. Act 15 of 1956 or also in future-Person not in Possession of land on
date of commencement unable to give undertaking to plant an orchard
within two years-Therefore unable to claim exemption. for 10 acres 0
for an orchard-Whether has a remedy.
The appellant was the owner of 56 standard acres of agricultural
land in Punjab from which she was ousted in 1954 by certain persons
who had no title to the land and was restored to possession in 1960
after a suit filed by her was decreed in her favour. The Pepsu Tenancy
and Agricultural Lands Act 13 of 1955 was brought into force in
March, 1955. Under s. 5 of that Act any land· owner owning land ex•
ceeding 3'.l standard acres was entitled to select for personal cultiva- D
tion a maximum area of land within the permissible limit and to inform the collector of his selection. Since the appellant's land was in
the occupation of the trespassers at the time, she did not make any
selection under s. 5. The Act was amended with effect from October
30, 1956 by the East Punjab Act 15 of 1956 which introduced Chapter
IV-A and the new s. 32-A(l) provided that no person shall be entitled
to hold land under his personal cultivation which exceeds in theo 1
aggregate the permissible limit.
The appellant submitted a return In the prescribed form in res_pect of her land and the collector, after considering her objections,
declared that she held 21 standard acres in excess of the ceiling prescribed by the Act. This order was confirmed in appeal by the Commissioner and a writ petition to quash the order was rejected by the
High Court.
l'n appeal to this Court it was contended on behalf of the appel- 1
!ant (i) that s. 32-A(l) operates only at the point of time when the
Act. comes into force i.e. October 30, 1956; the ceiling could be enforced only if a person owned or held land in excess of the permissible limit on that day or if he acquired or possessed it after the
commencement of Act 15 of 1956 by transfer, exchange, inheritance
or any of the other ways expressly covered by ss. 32-L and 32-M; and
(ii) the appellant should in any event have been permitted to reserve e
10 acres out of her holding under s. 32-K for an orchard.
HELD: Dismissing the appeal.
(i) The ban imposed by section 32-A(!) operates whenever a person is found to own or hold land in personal cultivation exceeding
the permissible limit. [650G]
Although ss. 3:!-L and 32-M deal expressly With certain classes ot R
acquisitions after the date of commencement of the Act ·on that account no restriction can be imposed upon the connotation of the expression "no person. shall be entitled to own or held" occurring In
s. 32-A, that it is limited in its operation to the point of commence..
ment of the Act. [64913-D]
VIDYA VA'fl V
PUNJAB (S/UJh, J.)
647
A
Such an interpretation is also contrary to the scheme of the Act.
Under the scheme of Chapters II, Ill and IV as they originally stood
the tenants were given the right to purchase the lands not selected
by the landowner for personal cultivation, but the landowner was
otherwise subject to no further restrictions; by Ch. IV-A it was intended to place a ceiling upon the owning or holding of land for personal cultivation by a landowner or a tenant in excess of the penniS-1
sible limit and to provide that the excess land be appropriated to the
B State. [650B, C]
(ii) In order to qualify for the exemption for land up to 10 acres
under s. 32-K for planting an orchard, the landowner has to give an
undertaking that he will bring the land within two years from the
commencement of the Amending Act under an orchard•, has to plant
the orchard within that period, and to maintain it as such till the
d'ate of the grant of exemption. A person like the appellant who i~
O not in possession of the land at the date when the Amending Act ill
brought into force may not be in a position to give and fulfill the;
undertaking. The legislature has not made any provision for extending the time in respect of special cases like the present or for extending the time for planting an orchard; it is for the legislature to
'rectify this lacuna and not for the Court to give a strained meaning
to the words used by the legislature which they do not bear. [651C-F]
'()
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION:
Civil Appeal No. 49 of
1965.
.Ill
Appeal by special leave from the order dated January 14,
1964 of. the Punjab High Court in Letters Patent No. 11 of 1964.
S. V Gupte, Solicitor-General and Naunit Lal, for the appellant.
Hardev Singh, S. P. Nayar for R. N. Sachthey, for the respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Shah, J. The appellant Vidya Vati who is the owner of
r 56.101 standard acres of agricultural land in the village BishanpUra, tahsil Jind, District Sangrur, in the State of Punjab, was
ousted from the land sometime in 1954 by certain persons wl).o
had no title to the land. A civil suit filed by her for a declaration of title and ·for possession of the land from the trespassers
was decreed and she was restored to possession of the land on
0 October 15, 1960.
The Pepsu Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act 13 of 1955
was brought into force during the pendency of the civil suit with
effect from March 4, 1955. Under s. 5 of the Pepsu Act 13 of
1955 every landowner owning land exceeding
thirty standard
a~eii was entitled to select for personal cultivation from the land
B held by hiip in the State as a landowner any parcel or parcels of
land nl)t exceeding in aggregate area the permissible .limit and
reserve such land for personal cultivation by intimating his selection in the prescribed form and manner to the Collector. Since
the land was in the occupation of ·the trespassers, the appellant
648
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
{1968] l s.o.n.
did not make any selection of land for personal cultivation. The A
Act was amended with effect from October 30, 1956 by the Pepsu
Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Second Amendment) Act 15 of
1956 and thereby, amongst other provisions, Ch. IV-A was added.
The provisions contained in that Chapter were designed to impose
a ceiling on the holding of owners and tenants of agricultural
land held for personal cultivation within the State and for impos- B
ing restrictions on acquisition of land and
disposal of surplus
area.
In respect 0£ the land owned by her the appellant submitted a return in Form VII-A prescribed under the Rules framed
under the Act.
The Collector of the District after considering
the objections of the appellant, declared that she held 21.l"i
standard acres in excess of the ceiling prescribed by the Act. The
order of the Collector was confirmed in appeal to the CommiS.. C
sioner, Patiala Division. A petition
moved by the appellant
under Arts. 226 & 227 of the Constitution for the issue of a writ
quashing that order was rejected by Gurdev Singh, J., and an
appeal against the order was summarily dismissed by a Division
Bench of the High Court. The appellant appeals to this Court
with special leave.
D
Counsel for the appellant contends that the provisions of Ch.
IV-A have no applica~ion to the case of the appellant, since she
was not in "cultivatory possession" of the land on the appointed
date i.e. October 30, 1956; that the appellant has not acquired the
land by transfer, exchange, lease, agreement or settlement, or by
inheritance, beque;t or gift from a person to whom she is an heir, E
and on that account ss. 32-L & 32-M of the Act have no application to her case; and· that in any event the appellant should have
been permitted to reserve out of her holding ten acres of land for
an orchard under s. 32-K of the Act.
Before considering the merit of these contentions it is neces- F
sary to notice the relevant
provisions in Ch. IV-A of the Act
which imposed a ceiling on holding of agricultural land under
personal cultivation. Section 32-A(I) of the Act provides:
"Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any
law custom, usage or agreement, no person shall be entitled
to own or hold as landowner or tenant land under his preG
sonal cultivation within the Stale which exceeds in the
aggregate the permissible limit."
Counsel for the appellant contends
that s. 32-A([) operates
only. al the point of time when the Act comes into force i.e.
Octoher 30, 1956, and not thereafter. If on that date, says coun·
sel, a person owns or holds within the State land under his personal B
cultivation as landowner or tenant in
excess of' the permissible
limit. the State is entitled to take away the surplus land, and that
if the holder or tenant after the commencement of Act 15 of 1956
acquires or possesses lanJ by transfer, exchange, lease, agreement
VIl>YA VAT! V PUNJAB (8/iah, J.)
A or settlement, or acquires it by inheritance, bequest or gift from
a person to whom he is an heir, and his total holding exceeds the
permissible limit, by express provisions contained in ss. 32-L and
32-M the ceiling on holding will be enforced, but where an owner
of land for whatever reasons brings under cultivation land of his
ownership, after the commencement of the Act, the provision imB posing a ceiling does not operate. The entire argument is raised
on an assumption that s. 32A(l) operates only at the date on which
the Act was brought into operation; that argument, in our judgment, is contary to the plain terms of s. 32-A(l). It is true that
ss. 32-L and 32-M expressly deal with certain classes of acquisitions after the date of the commencement of the Act, but on that
account no restriction may be imposed upon the connotation of
t
the expression "no person shall be entitled to own or hold"
occurring in s. 32-A. that it is limited in its operation to the point
of commencement and has no operation in the future. It may
be noticed that s. 32-L renders all subsequent acquisitions as a
result of which the holding of a person of land under his personal
cultivation exceeds thirty acres "null and void", ands. 32-M which
D deals substantially with involuntary acquisitions (such as acquisitions by inheritaRce or bequest) sets out the machinery for making declarations and the manner in ·which the land in personal
cultivation in excess of the ceiling
will be dealt with.
By an
appropriate drafting device, it may have been possible to dovetail these provisions into the other sections, but if in the interest
E of clarity certain specific cases are separately dealt with, an intention to restrict the operation of the general provision contained
in s. 32-A(l) cannot be implied.
The scheme of Act 13 of 1955 as originally enacted was that
by s. 5 every landowner owning land exceeding thirty standard
F acres was required to select for personal
cultivation from the
land held by him as a landowner any parcel or parcels of land
not exceeding in aggregate area the permissible limit and reserve
such land for personal cultivation. The selection could be made
in respect of Ian<) under personal occupation as well as in respect
of land in the occupation of tenants. After making the selection,
the landowner could . take appropriate steps to evict the tenants
G from that land. But in the land in the posession of the tenants
and not included in the land selected and reserved under s. 5
fo'. perso~al cul.tivation, the tenant of t~e land could acquire propnetary rights m the manner and sub1ect to the conditions provided under s. 22. This right was exercisable by the tenant in
respect of land which was not selected for personal cultivation
H by the owner and in respect of which he was not liable to be
evicted. The scheme of the Act, therefore, was that the landowner was entitled to select for personal cultivation from the land
held by him within the State any parcel or parcels of land not exceeding in the. aggregate the perm.issible limit. If the land so
650
SUPREME COURT llEPOR1'8
[1968) 1 s.o.a.
selected was in the possession of a tenant he could, subject to the A
restrictions contained in s. 7-A, evict the
tenant. The .lands
which were not selected for personal cultivation by the landowner
could be purchased by the tenant in the manner and subject to the
conditions provided in s. 22.
The Legislature thereafter modified the scheme of the Act and incorporated Ch. IV-A under
which no person could own or hold land either as landowner or B
as tenant in excess of the permissible limit.
The excess was to
be treated as surplus land and appropriated to the State. Whereas under the scheme of Chapters II, III and IV as they originally
stood the tenants were ~iven the right to purchase the lands not
selected by the landowner for personal cultivation, but the landowner was otherwise subject to no further restrictions; by Ch.
IV-A it was intended to place a ceiling upon tha owning or hold' C
ing of land for personal cultivation by a landowner or a tenant
in excess of the permissible limit.
Viewed in the light of that scheme, also, it is impossible to
construe s. 32-A as being operative only at the point of time at
which the Amending Act incorporating Ch. IV-A was brought D
into force, for the words of the section contain no limitation, and
the scheme of the Act indicates no such implication. It is true
that under s. 32-B every person who owns or holds as landowner
or tenant land under his personal cultivation exceeding the permissible limit at the commencement of the Acf is required to
make a return in respect of his holding.
But that is enacted
with a view to provide machinery for effectuating the provisions E
imposing the ceiling on land held at the date of commencement: it does not even indirectly suggest that s. 32-A is limited
in its operation to the point of time at which the Act is brought
into force and is spent thereafter.
Failure on the part of the
Legislature to deal with cases in which at the date on which the
Act was brought into force, the owner or holder of land was not F
cultivating the land because he was not in cultivatory possession
thereof but was restored to his possession during the subsistence
of the Act. cannot also be used to limit the operation of s. 32-A(l)
only to the point of time at which the Act was brought into force.
In our judgment the ban imposed by s. 32-A operates whenever
he is found to own or hold land in personal cultivation exceeding G
the permissible limit.
Section 32-K provides for exemption of lands used or intended to be used for certain specified purposes to the extent indicated from the ceiling impbscd by s. 32-A(l). By cl. (vi) of
s. 32-K(l) it is provided that the provisions of s. 32-A shall not
apply where a landowner gives an undertaking in 'writing to the B
Collector that he shall, within a period of two years from the
commencement of the Pepsu Tenancy and Agricultural Lands
(Second Amendment) Act. 1956. plant an orchard in any area
of his land not exceeding ten- standard acres, such ·irea of land.
VIDYA VAT! ~. PUNJAB (Shali, J.)
61il
A Sub-section (2) of s. 32-K provides that where a landowner has,
by an undertaking given to the Collector, retained any area of
land with him for planting an orchard, and fails to plant the orchard within a period of two years refen-ed to in cl. (iv) ojJ sub-s.
(1), the land so retained by him shall on the expiry of tha.t period
vest in the State Government under s. 32-E. It is also provided
B by sub-s. (3) which was added by Punjab Act 27 of 1962 with
retrospective effect from October 30, 1956, that notwithstanding
anything contained in the Act, the exemption specified in cl. (vi)
of sub-s. (I) shall not be allowed unless the land planted within
the. period specified therein is found to be an orchard also at the
time of granting the exemption. In order to qualify for exempC tion from the ceiling to the extent of ten acres for the purpose
of planting an orchard', the landowner has to give an undertaking
that he will bring the land within two years from the commencement of the Amending Act under an orchard, and has to plant
the orchard within that period and to maintain it as an orchard
till the. date of the grant of exemption. A person who is not in
D possession of the land at the date when the Amending Act is
brought into force may not ordinarily be in a position to give an
undertaking under cl. (vi) of s. 32-K(!) to bring the land under
an orchard, since such a person may not be able to say whether
he will be able to obtain poss:ission of the land so as to carry out
the undertaking. The Legislature has failed to make a provision
E
enabling reservation to be made by persons belonging to the exceptional class to which the appellant belongs. But on that account the Court is not competent to refuse to give effect lo the
plain words of the Act. A lacuna undoubtedly exists in the Act,
but it is for the Legislature to rectify it and not for the Courts
to give a strained meaning to the words used by the Legislature
which they do not bear. The expression "within a period of
F
two years from the commencement of the Pepsu Tenancy and
Agricultural Lands (Second Amendment) Act, 1956" cannot be
read as "within two years from the date on which the holder or
tenant is restored to possession". The Legislature has not made
any provision for extending the time in respect of certain special
cases like the one before us, or extending the time for planting
G an orchard. The High. Court was, therefore, right in holding that
the appellant could not claim an additional area of ten acres of
land for planting an orchard.
The appeal therefore fails.
There will be no order as to
costs.
\
R.K.P.S.
Appeal dismissed.