Section 4 in The West Bengal Restoration of Alienated Land Act, 1973
4. Procedure for effecting restoration of lands alienated under certain circumstances.
(1)Where before the commencement of this Act, [or between the date of such commencement and the date of the commencement of the West Bengal Restoration of Alienated Land (Amendment) Act, 1980] [Words 'or within four years from the date of such commencement' first inserted by W.B. Act 24 of 1978, then the words within third brackets Substituted for the words 'or within four years from the date of such commencement' by W.B. Act 56 of 1980.] a person being the transferor holding not more than 2 hectares of land in the aggregate [on the date of transfer] [Words inserted by W.B. Act 56 of 1980.] transferred the whole or any part of his land by sale to any person being the transferee, then, if -(a)such transfer was made after the expiry of the year 1967 being [* * * *] [Words 'in distress or' omitted by W.B. Act 56 of 1980.] in need of money for the maintenance of himself and his family or for meeting the cost of his cultivation, or(b)such transfer was made after the expiry of the year 1967 with an agreement, written or oral, for reconveyance of the land transferred, to the transferor,the transferor may, [within ten years from the date of commencement of this Act] [Words 'within four years from the date of commencement of this Act' first Substituted for the words 'within two years from the date of commencement of this Act' by W.B. Act 15 of 1975, then the words within third brackets Substituted for the words 'within five years from the date of such transfer or within two years from the date of commencement of this Act, whichever period expires later,' by W.B. Act 56 of 1980.] make an application in the prescribed manner to the Special Officer having jurisdiction in the area in which the land transferred is situate for restoration of such land to him.(2)On receipt of such application, the Special Officer shall cause a notice thereof to be served in the prescribed manner on the transferee.(3)On the date fixed in the notice for hearing such application or on any subsequent date to which the hearing may be adjourned by the Special Officer, the Special Officer shall receive such evidence as may be adduced by the transferor and the transferee.(4)If after considering such evidence and hearing the parties the Special Officer is satisfied that such transfer was made by the transferor within the time, and for the purpose, referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (1), or, as the case may be, within the time, and under the conditions, referred to in clause (b) of that sub-section, the Special Officer shall make an order in writing restoring the land transferred to the transferor and directing the transfer or to pay, in such number of equal instalments not exceeding ten and by such dates as may be specified in the order, the amount of the consideration which was actually paid by the transferee to the transferor for such transfer, together with interest on such amount at the rate of four per centum per annum from the date of his receipt of such consideration and the amount of any compensation for improvements effected to such land, allowed by the Special Officer and determined by him in the manner prescribed, less the amount determined in the manner prescribed of the net income from such land of the person in possession of such land as a result of such transfer:Provided that the first of the instalments provided in the order made under this sub-section shall be payable within three months of the date of the order:Provided further that all the heirs of a deceased transferor or a deceased transferee shall be made parties in every proceeding under this Act:[Provided also that if the transferred land is partitioned by the transferee or his heirs, the Special Officer shall make an order in writing restoring the whole or any part of the land, as he may deem fit, to the transferor or his heirs, and where there are several heirs of a deceased transferor and some of them are not willing for restoration of the transferred land the Special Officer shall make such order restoring the whole of such land in favour of the heirs who are willing for such restoration.] [Proviso inserted by W.B. Act 56 of 1980.]Explanation. - Subject to the other provisions of this section, -(i)[ the word "transferor" referred to in this Act means the first transfer or, where the first transferor is unwilling to get the transferred land restored, any subsequent transferor between the expiry of the year, 1967 and the date of commencement of the West Bengal Restoration of Alienated Land (Amendment) Act, 1980 and includes the heirs of such first or subsequent transferor;] [[Clause (i) Substituted by W.B. Act 56 of 1980, which was earlier as under:'(i) the words 'transferor' referred to in this Act means the first transferor between the expiry of the year 1967 and the expiry of four years from the date of commencement of this Act and includes the heirs of such first transferor;'.]](ii)the word "transferee" shall mean where the land is in the possession of any person other than the first transferee by virtue of a subsequent transfer [such subsequent transferee and shall include the heirs of such transferee; and] [Words Substituted for the words 'such subsequent transferee; and' by W.B. Act 56 of 1980.](iii)the expression "consideration which was actually paid by the transferee to the transferor" shall mean where there was more than one transfer, the amount which was paid by the first transferee to the first transferor.(4a)[ An application made under sub-section (1) shall be filed before the Block Development Officer having jurisdiction over the area in which the transferred land is situated, who may either refer the same to any other Special Officer within the Block or dispose of it himself.] [Sub-sections (4a) and (4b) inserted by W.B. Act 56 of 1980.](4b)[ The Block Development Officer may, on his own motion or on an application made by a transferor or a transferee, for reasons to be recorded in writing, transfer any application made under sub-section (1) from one Special Officer other than himself to another Special Officer or withdraw such application for disposal by himself.] [Sub-sections (4a) and (4b) inserted by W.B. Act 56 of 1980.](5)Notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, any evidence adduced by a transferor varying, adding to, or subtracting from the terms of the sale deed to prove the necessity or purpose for which the transfer was made or the amount of consideration actually paid by the transferee to the transferor, shall be admitted:[Provided that if an application made under sub-section (1) has been rejected by the Special Officer only in consideration of the written recital of the purpose of transfer recorded in the sale deed overlooking the evidence adduced by the transferor, the transferor may, within a period of one year from the date of commencement of the West Bengal Restoration of Alienated Land (Amendment) Act, 1980, apply afresh and thereupon the Special Officer shall proceed with the hearing of such application, consider such evidence as may be adduced by the transferor and the transferee and make such order thereon as he may deem fit.] [Proviso inserted by W.B. Act 56 of 1980.](6)When the Special Officer makes an order for payment under sub-section (4), he shall direct that -(a)where such land has been sold, before or after such order is made, in execution of a decree or of a certificate under the Bengal Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913, against the transferee, the whole of the amount payable under the said order, or such part of it as may then remain due, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in such order, become due and payable at once and on such payment being made, such sale in execution of the decree or the certificate shall be set aside and the amount paid shall be applied towards satisfaction of the decree or the certificate, as the case may be;(b)in the case where such land has been alienated by the transferee before the date of such order by means of a bona fide lease for valuable consideration or a usufructuary mortgage, such payment shall be made to the transferee and the person in possession of such land as a result of such transfer in such proportion and in such manner as may be determined by the Special Officer and specified in the order; and(c)In other cases, such payment shall be made to the transferee:Provided that if such land is subject to a bona fide mortgage other than a usufructuary mortgage and such mortgage was executed after the transfer of such land referred to in sub-section (1), the Special Officer shall direct that such instalments shall first be paid to the mortgagee until the amount due under the mortgage as determined by the Special Officer is paid off and that thereafter any such instalments or part thereof still remaining due shall be paid in the manner provided in clause (a), clause (b) or clause (c) of this sub-section, as the case may be.(7)The amount ordered to be paid by instalments under sub-section (4) shall be a charge on the land in respect of which the order under that sub-section has been made.(8)Where any land, in respect of which an order under sub-section (4) is made, is after the date on which such order takes effect under sub-section (1) of section 5, sold in execution of a decree or of a certificate filed under the Bengal Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913, against the transferor to whom restoration had been made, or otherwise transferred by him, the whole of the amount payable under such order then remaining due shall, notwithstanding anything contained in such order, at once become due and payable, and the person to whom such amount is payable shall be entitled to recover it under section 6.(9)[ Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other law or in any agreement or in any judgment, decree or order of any Court, Tribunal or any other authority, there shall not be any amicable settlement or compromise in respect of any proceeding under this Act other than a settlement or compromise resulting in restoration of transferred land to a transferor and in all such cases the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder shall apply.] [Sub-Section (9) inserted by W.B. Act 56 of 1980.](10)[ If the transferee including the members of his family holds on the date of transfer not more than one acre of land including the transferred land and such land becomes the principal source of income of the transferee including the members of his family, the Special Officer shall not make any order under sub-section (4) unless the transferor including the members of his family holds not more than one acre of land including the transferred land on the date of transfer.] [[Sub-Section (10) first inserted by W.B. Act 56 of 1980, then again the same Substituted by W.B. Act 41 of 1980, w.e.f. 20.9.1981, which was earlier as under:'(10) If the transferee including the members of his family holds on the date of transfer not more than one acre of land including the transferred land and such land becomes the principal sources of income of the transferee including the members of his family, the Special officer shall not make any order under sub-section (4) unless the transferor including the members of his family holds not more than one acre of land on the date of the application made under sub-section (1).']]
