185. [ Presumption that land in inam village is not private land. [Substituted for the original section 185 by section 8 of the Madras Estates Land (Third Amendment) Act, 1936 (Madras Act XVIII of 1936).]
- When in any suit or proceeding, it becomes necessary to determine whether any land is the landholder's private land, regard shall be had -(1)to local custom,(2)in the case of an estate within the meaning [of sub-clause (a), (b), (c) or (e)] of clause (2) of section 3], to the question whether the land was before the first day of July 1898, specifically let as private land, and(3)to any other evidence that may be produced:Provided that the land shall be presumed not to be private land until the contrary is proved:Provided further that in the case of an estate within the meaning of sub-clause (d) of clause (2) of section 3 -(i)any expression in a lease, patta or the like, executed or issued on or after the first day of July 1918, to the effect or implying that the tenant has no right of occupancy or that his right of occupancy is limited or restricted in any manner, shall not be admissible in evidence for the purpose of proving that the land concerned was private land at the commencement of the tenancy; and(ii)any such expression in a lease, patta or the like, executed or issued before the first day of July 1918, shall not by itself be sufficient for the purpose of proving that the land concerned was private land at the commencement of the tenancy.
