Section 3 in The Bengal Revenue-Free Lands (Non-Badshahi Grants) Regulation, 1793
3. First. - All grants made or confirmed since Diwani declared invalid.
- All grants for holding land exempt from the payment of revenue, which may have been made since the 12th August, 1765, and previous to the 1st December, 1790, corresponding with the 18th Aghan, 1197, [West Bengal] [Words Substituted for the word 'Bengal' by the Indian Independence (Adaptation of Bengal and Punjab Acts) Order, 1948.] era, [the 10th Aghan, 1198, Fasli], the 18th Aghan, 1198, Wilayati, by any other authority than that of Government, and which may not have been confirmed by Government, or by any officer empowered to confirm them, are declared invalid.Second. - Courts how to proceed in case of doubt of authority of officer confirming grant. - If doubts shall be entertained by any Court as to the competency of the authority of any officer to confirm any such grant, the Court is to suspend its judgment, and report the circumstances of the case to the [State] [Word Substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] Government, to whom a power is reserved of determining finally whether the officer possessed competent authority to confirm the grants or otherwise, and the Court, upon receiving the determination of the [State] [Word Substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] Government shall decide accordingly.Third. - Exception in favour of grants made by chiefs of Provincial Councils. - The rule contained in clause first is not to be considered to extend to authorize the subjecting to the payment of revenue land held exempt from the payment of it under grants made previous to the commencement of the [West Bengal] [Words Substituted for the word 'Bengal' by the Indian Independence (Adaptation of Bengal and Punjab Acts) Order, 1948.] year 1178 or the [Fasli or] Wilayati year 1179] (according as the land may be situated in [West Bengal] [Words Substituted for the word 'Bengal' by the Indian Independence (Adaptation of Bengal and Punjab Acts) Order, 1948.], Bihar or Orissa) under the signature of the chiefs of the late provincial councils and the seals of those councils, agreeably to an authority vested in them by Government for granting land to be held exempt from the payment of revenue, the annual produce of which did not exceed one hundred rupees.Fourth. - And also certain grants made for religions of charitable purposes. - Nor to authorize the subjecting to the payment of revenue any land the grants for which, whether for the life of the grantee or otherwise, were made previous to the commencement of the [West Bengal] [Words substituted for the word 'Bengal' by the Indian Independence (Adaptation of Bengal and Punjab Acts) Order, 1948.] year 1178 or the [Fasli or] Wilayati year 1179 (according as the land may be situated in [West Bengal] [Words substituted for the word 'Bengal' by the Indian Independence (Adaptation of Bengal and Punjab Acts) Order, 1948.], Bihar or Orissa,) where the quantity of land granted shall not exceed ten bighas, and the produce of it is bona fide appropriated as an endowment on temples, or to the maintenance of Brahmans, or other religious or charitable purposes.The rule in this clause is declared to extend also to all grants of land whatever, not exceeding ten bighas, made previous to the Diwani, the produce of which may be now so appropriated.
