21. Sub-division, sub-letting and assignment prohibited.—
(1)No sub-division or sub-letting of the land held by a tenant or assignment of any interest therein shall be valid: Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall affect the rights, if any, of a permanent tenant:Provided further that if the tenant dies,—(i)if he is a member of a joint family, the surviving members of the said family, and(ii)if he is not a member of a joint family, his heirs, shall be entitled to partition and sub-divide the land leased, subject to the following conditions:—(a)each sharer shall hold his share as a separate tenant;(b)the rent payable in respect of the land leased shall be apportioned among the sharers, as the case may be, according to the share allotted to them;(c)the area allotted to each sharer shall not be less than a fragment;(d)if such area is less than a fragment the sharers shall be entitled to enjoy the income jointly, but the land shall not be divided by metes and bounds;(e)if any question arises regarding the apportionment of the rent payable by the sharer it shall be decided by the Tahsildar:Provided that if any question of law is involved the Tahsildar shall refer it to the Court. On receipt of such reference the Court shall, after giving notice to the parties concerned, try the question as expeditiously as possible and record finding thereon and send the same to the Tahsildar. The Tahsildar shall then give the decision in accordance with the said finding.(2)Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), it shall be lawful for a tenant who is a soldier in service in the Armed Forces of the Union or a seaman to sub-let the land held by him as a tenant.(3)Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), it shall be lawful for a tenant to take a loan and mortgage or create a charge on his interest in the land in favour of the State Government, a financial institution, a co-operative land development bank, a co-operative society, a company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956 in which not less than fifty one per cent of the paid up share capital is held by the State Government or a Corporation owned or controlled by the Central Government or the State Government or both, for development of land or improvement of agricultural practices; and without prejudice to any other remedy provided by any law, in the event of his making default in payment of such loan in accordance with the terms and conditions on which such loan was granted, it shall be lawful to cause his interest in the land to be attached and sold and the proceeds to be utilised in payment of such 1oan.
