Section 2 in The Bengal Revenue-Free Lands (Non-Badshahi Grants) Regulation, 1793
2. Validity of grants of alienated land made before and after 12th August, 1765. First.
- All grants for holding land exempt from the payment of revenue made previous to the 12th August, 1765, the date of the Company's accession to the Diwani, by whatever authority, and whether by a writing or without a writing, shall be deemed valid, provided the grantee actually and bona fide obtained possession of the land so granted previous to the date abovementioned, and the land shall not have been subsequently rendered subject to the payment of revenue by the officers or the orders of Government.If it shall be proved, to the satisfaction of the Court, that the grantee did not obtain possession of the land so granted previous to the 12th August, 1765, or that he did obtain possession of it prior to that date but that, it has been since subjected to the payment of revenue by the officers or the orders of Government, the grant shall not be deemed valid.Second. - Reference of doubtful claims to State Government. - In the event, however, of a claim being preferred by any person to hold land exempt from the payment of revenue, under a grant made previous to the date of the Company's accession to the Diwani, and of it being proved, to the satisfaction of the Court in which the suit may be instituted in the first instance, or to which it may be appealed, that the grantee held the land exempt from the payment of revenue previous to that date, but that it was subjected to the payment of revenue posterior thereto by an officer of Government, and the Court shall entertain doubts as to the competency of such officer, under the powers vested in him, to subject the lands to the payment of revenue, the Court shall suspend its judgment and report the circumstances 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 whether such officer was or was not competent to subject the land to the payment of revenue; and, upon receiving the determination of the [State] [Word Substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] Government, the Court is to decide accordingly.No such claim, however, to hold exempt from the payment of revenue land that may have been subjected to the payment of revenue for the twelve years preceding the date on which the claim may be instituted shall be heard by any Zila or City Court unless the claimant can show good and sufficient cause for not having preferred the claim to a competent jurisdiction within the twelve years [* * * *] [Words and figures 'and proceeded in it, as required by section 14, Regulation 3, 1793' repealed by Act XVI of 1874, are omitted.].Third. - No persons, not being original grantees, entitled to hold lands free of revenue. - But no part of the two preceding clauses is to be construed to empower the Courts to adjudge any person, not being the original grantee, entitled to hold exempt from the payment of revenue land now subject to the payment of revenue, under a grant made previous to the Company's accession to the Diwani, the writing for which may expressly specify it to have been given for the life of the grantee only; or supposing no such specification to have been made in the writing, or the writing not to be forthcoming or no writing to have been executed, where the grant, from the nature and denomination of it, shall be proved to be a life-tenure only according to the ancient usages of the country.Fourth. - Nor also heirs of present possessors. - Nor to entitle the heirs of any person now holding land exempt from the payment of public revenue under a grant made previous to the Diwani, to succeed to and hold such land exempt from the payment of revenue upon the demise of the present possessor, where the writing for such grant may expressly specify it to have been given, for the life of the grantee only; or supposing no such specification to have been made in the writing, or the writing not to he forthcoming, or no writing to have been executed, where, from the nature and denomination of the grant, it shall be proved to be a life-tenure only, according to the ancient usages of the country.Nor to entitle the heir to any such person to hold the lands exempt from the payment of revenue after his demise, supposing the writing for the grant not to specify whether it was to he considered hereditary or otherwise; unless it shall be proved, to the satisfaction of the Court, that the grant, from the nature and denomination of it, is hereditary according to the ancient usages of the country.But upon the demise of the present possessor of any such grant, which may be adjudged not hereditary under this clause, if it shall appear that one or more successions, in virtue of whatever right, shall have taken place before the date of the Diwani, the lands shall not be subjected to the payment of revenue under the decree without the sanction of the [State] [Word Substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] Government, to whom a copy of the proceedings and decree of the court is to be transmitted, and to whom is reserved a power of declaring the lands subject to the payment of revenue or not, as may appear to [it] [Word Substituted for the word 'him' by Act 1 of 1903.] proper.Fifth. - Present possessors prohibited from transferring or mortgaging grants. - The present possessors of lands now exempt from the payment of revenue, under such life-grants made previous to the Diwani, and declared by the preceding clause not to be hereditary, are prohibited from soiling or otherwise transferring them, or mortgaging the revenue of them for a longer period than their own lives, and all such transfers and mortgages are declared illegal and void.It is to be understood, however, that if any such life-grants shall have been confirmed as hereditary tenures by Government, or by the officers of Government empowered so to confirm them, they are not to be liable to the payment of revenue on the death of the present possessors, and are to be excepted from the other rules contained in this and the preceding clause.If doubts shall arise in any Court as to the competency of the authority of any officer of Government to confirm any such life-grant as hereditary, the Court is to suspend its judgment and report the circumstances 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 such officer possessed competent authority to confirm the grant as hereditary, or not and the Court, upon receiving the determination of the [State] [Word Substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] Government is to decide accordingly.
