Section 10 in The Bengal Land-Revenue Settlement Regulation, 1822
10. First. - Power to determine which of several holders of differing interests having separate properties in same land shall be admitted to engage, and to prescribe distribution of profit resulting from limitation of jama.
- Of several parties possessing separate heritable and transferable properties in any parcel of land or in the produce or rent thereof, such properties consisting of interests of different kinds, it shall be competent to the [State Government] [Words 'Provincial Government' first substituted for the words 'Local Government' by the Government of India (Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937, then the word 'State' substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] to determine and direct which of such parties shall be admitted to engage for the payment of the Government revenue, due provision being made for securing the rights of the remaining parties.It is further hereby declared and enacted that it is and [shall be competent to the] [Words substituted for the words 'shall be competent to the Governor General in Council' by Bengal Act 5 of 1915.] [State Government] [Word substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] or such other authority to whom the power to confirm settlements may be delegated by the [State Government] [Word substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] by notification in the [Official Gazette] [Words substituted for the words 'Calcutta Gazette' by the Government of India (Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937.] in confirming the settlement of any mahal in perpetuity or for a term of years, to determine and prescribe the manner and proportion in which the net rent or profit arising out of the limitation of the Government demand shall be distributed among the different parties possessing an interest in the lands appertaining to such mahal or in the rent or produce of such lands or mahal.Second. - Mufassal settlements in cases where title of intermediate manager between Government and proprietors or hereditary occupants of soil are maintained. - In cases wherein any land appertaining to a mahal hitherto recognized as the taluk, zamindari or the like, of one or more sadar malguzars, may be owned or occupied by other persons holding under the sadar malguzar and possessing an heritable and transferable property therein or an hereditary right of occupancy subject to the payment of a fixed rent, or of a rent determinable by a fixed principle, if the title of the said sadar malguzar to engage for the revenue be upheld, and generally in cases wherein the tenure of an intermediate malguzar or manager between [the Government] [Words 'the Crown' substituted for the words 'the Government' by the Government of India (Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937, then the word 'Government' substituted for the word 'Crown' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] and the proprietors or hereditary occupants of the soil may be maintained, whether the Government revenue be collected from the zamindar, talukdar or other hereditary intermediate malguzar, or the mahal be farmed or held khas, it shall be competent to the Collector or other officer who may be employed in adjusting the jama to be assessed on such mahal, with the sanction of the Board previously obtained and subject to the orders and directions of that authority, to make a mufassal settlement with each of the proprietors or occupants aforesaid for the land possessed by him, and to grant such proprietors or occupants pattas defining the condition on which they are to hold their land, whether subordinate to the sadar malguzar or to the farmer or [officer of the Government] [Words 'officer of the Crown' substituted for the words 'officer of Government' by the Government of India (Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937, then the word 'Government' substituted for the word 'Crown' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] employed in the khas management; and in all such cases, if engagements for the Government revenue of the mahal be taken from the intermediate hereditary malguzar, the particulars of the mufassal settlement, when approved by the Board, shall be endorsed on the patta to be granted to the sadar malguzar, or shall be so incorporated with the engagement taken from him as to form part of the same.Third. - Settlement where several persons hold common property subject to common obligations. - In cases in which two or more persons may possess a joint property in any village, mahal or parcel of land, or in the rent or produce of any village, mahal, or land, or in any part of such village, mahal, land, rent or produce, the property of such persons consisting of interests of the same kind, whether of the same extent or otherwise, as well as in cases wherein such property in any mahal village, land, produce or rent may be separately possessed by parties subject by prescriptive usage to common obligations, whether existing or contingent, it shall be competent to the Collector or other officer exercising the powers of Collector, subject to the orders and direction of the Board and of the [State Government] [Words 'Provincial Government' first substituted for the words 'Local Government' by the Government of India (Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937, then the word 'State' substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.], either to make a joint settlement with the parties collectively or a majority of them, or with an agent appointed by them or a majority of them, or to select one or more of them to undertake the management of the mahal as sadar malguzars, due advertence being had to the wishes of all the co-parceners, and to the past custom of the village or villages comprised in the mahal.Fourth. - When joint settlement to be made parties how summoned. - When it shall be determined to make a joint settlement for any village, mahal or parcel of land with the parties possessing therein a joint property as aforesaid, the Collector for other officer making the settlement shall give notice of his intention, by a written proclamation to be stuck up in some public place within the village, mahal or land, and shall require all persons possessing therein a property as aforesaid to attend, either in person, or by representative duly authorized in the matter within a reasonable period, at a stated place and time, and to declare their agreement or non-agreement to the jama proposed to be assessed on the village or land.Fifth. - Persons wilfully failing to attend when summoned, to be bound by decision of majority present. - If any person or persons, when summoned as above, shall refuse, neglect or omit to attend, either in person or by representative, such person or persons shall be held to be bound by the decision of the majority of those who attend, in agreeing or disagreeing to the jama, and his or their interests and estate shall, unless otherwise specially allowed, be held responsible for the Government revenue, and be liable to sale in the event of any arrear accruing on account of the settlement.Sixth. - Treatment of parceners not joining in settlement. - If any person or persons shall attend and shall object to the jama proposed to be assessed, then, should a settlement be made with the other parties present, the objecting parties shall be left in the enjoyment of the same rights and interests as they would enjoy in the event of the mahal being farmed or held khas : and, in so far as regards the lands to which such rights and interests attach, the other parceners, if their engagements be extended thereto, shall be considered farmers of the Government revenue to hold the same under leases of such term as may be determined and agreed upon under the general rules applicable to lands for which the proprietors may refuse to engage.Seventh. - Rates of rent of cultivating proprietors of lands of which revenue collected khas or farmed. - When any mahal or portion of a mahal, held by a number of cultivating proprietors in pattidari or bhaiya chara tenure or the like, shall be let in farm or held khas, the rent demandable from the proprietors of such mahal or portion of mahal, on account of the land occupied and cultivated by themselves, shall be adjusted by the rates payable by raiyats or other resident cultivators not having an heritable and transferable property in the soil, for lands of a similar description in the same or in the adjoining villages, with a deduction of five per cent, on account of malikana, or such other rate, not being less than five per cent, as [the State Government] [Words 'the Provincial Government' first substituted for the words 'Government' by the Government of India (Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937, then the word 'State' substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] may determine.Eighth. - Liability for default of non-engaging parceners when settlement of mahal made with one or more of them as sadar malguzar. - When it shall be determined to make a settlement of a mahal of the above description with one or more of the parceners selected to manage, collect and account for the public revenue as sadar malguzar, then and in that case the interest of the non-engaging parceners shall not be held answerable for the default of the sadar malguzars, save and except in so far as may be specifically provided:Such parceners shall, until regularly separated, continue to hold their lands as subordinate proprietors, subject to the payment of rent or revenue to the sadar malguzar at the rates and in the mode heretofore in use, excepting in so far as that usage may be affected by the determination [of the State Government] [Words 'of the Provincial Government' substituted for the words 'of Government' by the Government of India (Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937, then the words 'State' substituted for the word 'Provincial' by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1950.] in regard to the distribution of the net rent or profit derived from the limitation of the Government demand, or by the rules now in force or hereafter to be enacted, for vesting the sadar malguzars with specific powers over the subordinate tenants in the collection of the rent or revenue demandable from them.The responsibility attaching to the persons selected as sadar malguzars and the conditions under which they are to hold that title of management will in each case be specifically declared at or after the time when the settlement is confirmed.The conditions and limitations under which the subordinate proprietors shall be admitted to separate engagements will also be similarly declared.Ninth. - Parcels separately owned and occupied may be separately settled. Power to partition and to settle separately with each proprietor. - Provided further that, in all cases wherein different parcels of land belonging to any mahal may be separately owned and occupied by different proprietors or by different bodies of proprietors, it shall be competent to the [Board] [Word substituted for the word 'Boards' by Act 1 of 1903.] of Revenue or other authority exercising the powers of that Board to cause a separate settlement to be made for the land owned and occupied by each proprietor or by each body of proprietors, and each parcel of land for which a separate settlement may be so made shall be held exclusively responsible for the revenue assessed upon it :Provided also that, if the several parties possessing a joint property or separate properties subject to a common obligation as aforesaid, or any of them, shall apply to a Collector or other officer making or revising a settlement to have separate possession of their several share or shares in such joint property, or to be admitted to separate engagements, it shall be competent to such Collector or other officer, with the sanction of the Board or other authority to which he may be subordinate, to make a partition of the property among the different parties according to their respective interests, and to make a separate settlement with each of them or with such as may desire to enter into separate engagements.Tenth. - Proprietors excluded from engagements may have their names registered. - In all cases wherein any proprietors may be excluded from engagements the Collector shall be careful to let it be known that all persons possessing a property in the mahal are entitled to have their names recorded in the rubakari of settlement, with the amount or rate of the assessment demandable from each.
