170. Recovery of arrears of rent under the certificate procedure in certain cases.
(1)Any landlord, whose land is situated in an area for which a record-of-rights has been prepared and finally published, may apply to the Local Government through the Deputy Commissioner, for the application of the procedure provided by the Bengal Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913, to the recovery of the arrears of rent which he alleges are, or may accrue, due to him for lands in such area.(2)The Local Government may, after considering the manner in which the landlord maintains his accord, reject any such application, or may allow its subject, to such terms and conditions as it may see fit to impose, and may at any time add to or vary any terms or conditions so imposed, or withdraw its allowance of the application, without, in any of these cases, assigning any reason for its action.(3)When any such application has been allowed, the landlord may make a requisition in writing, in the form prescribed, to such Revenue Officer as the Local Government may appoint, for the purpose of this section, to perform the functions of a Certificate Officer under the Bengal Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913 for the recovery of any arrears of rent he alleges are due to him from any tenant.(4)Every such requisition shall be signed and verified by the landlord making it, in the manner provided by Rule 1, Schedule II of the said Act as amended for the time being rules made under Section 39 thereof, and shall be chargeable with a fee of the amount which would be payable under the Court-fees Act, 1870, in respect of a plaint for the recovery of a sum of money equal to that stated in the requisition as being due.(5)On receipt of such requisition, the said Revenue Officer may, in accordance with such rules as may be prescribed and if he is satisfied that the arrear is due, sign a certificate in the prescribed manner for stating that the arrear is due, and shall include in the certificate the fee paid under sub-Section (4) and shall cause the certificate to be filed in his office :Provided that-(a)no certificate shall be signed for the recovery of the arrears of rent of a tenancy regarding which a suit has been instituted in a Civil Court for the alteration of the rent payable by the tenant or the determination of his status as a tenant, in respect of the period during which it is alleged in the requisition made under sub-Section (3) that the arrears of rent sought to be recovered have accrued ; and(b)if, after the signing of a certificate, it is found that such a suit was instituted in a Civil Court before the certificate was signed such certificate shall be cancelled.(6)The person in whose favour any certificate is signed under sub-Section (5) shall be deemed to be the certificate holder for the amount mentioned in the certificate, and the person against whom the certificate is signed shall be deemed to be the certificate-debtor for the sad amount, and the proceedings taken by the Certificate Officer for the recovery of such amount shall be taken at the instance of the first mentioned person, and/or his cost and on his responsibility, and not otherwise.(7)The Bengal Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913, with such restrictions and modifications, if any, as may be prescribed, shall apply to the execution, and to all proceedings arising out of the execution of certificates filed under sub-Section (5).(8)No landlord shall, during the pendency of any proceedings under this section, institute a suit in a Civil Court for the recovery of any arrears of rent in respect of which he has made a requisition under sub-Section (3); and, subject to the provisions of Section 34 of the Bengal Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913, no tenant shall, after the signing of any certificate against him under sub-Section (5) of this section, institute at suit in or apply to a Civil Court for the alteration of the rent payable by him or the determination of his status as a tenant, in respect of the period during which the arrears of rent, for which such certificate was signed, have accrued.(9)The word 'landlord' in this section includes an entire body of landlords, and also one or more co-sharer landlords who collects or collect his or their share or shares of the rent separately ; and where a Revenue Officer signs a certificate on the requisition of one or more such co-sharer landlords, he shall at the same time issue to each of the remaining co-sharer landlords a copy of such certificate.
