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25. Section 215 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1954 (for short 'the MPLRC, 1954') provided for appointment of Kotwars and their remuneration whereas Section 216 made provides for remuneration of Kotwar in 9 AIR 1953 SC 244 10 (2017) 3 SCC 362 Mahakushal Region. The appointment of Kotwar and the mode of payment of remuneration as has been referred in Part VIII of the Sixth Schedule and Part XI of the GOI Act, 1935 together with Section 196 of the CPLR Act, 1917 leave no room of doubt or speculation that Kotwar is a village servant. In fact, he is a Government employee, a revenue officer of the lowest cadre. Even if a Kotwar is employed by a malguzar or a gaontia during the pre independence era he can, by no stretch of imagination, be given absolute ownership over his service land because the Abolition Act, 1950 effectively terminated their ownership and therefore, the malguzar or the gaontia even if had granted some land to kotwar by way of remuneration to earn livelihood, in lieu of services of Kotwar rendered to the area in control of Zamindar, the said grant would be covered by Section 3 of the Abolition Act, 1950.

39. Lalla Singh Chouhan (supra) has proceeded on the reasoning that under the MPLRC, 1954 the Kotwar or his successor in interest became bhumidhari and thereafter, under the provisions of the CGLRC, 1959 they became occupancy 22 AIR 1962 SC 1916 tenant, which entitled them to be called bhumiswami subsequently. However, under Section 147 of the MPLRC, 1954 the following classes of persons can be bhumidhari :

(a) every person in respect of land held by him as an occupancy tenant in the Mahakushal Region excluding merged territories.
(b) every person in respect of land held by him as a raiyat or raiyat sarkar.

[Mahakushal Region excluding merged territories]

(c) every person in respect of land held by him as a raiyat or tenant in the merged territories.

Such bhumidhari was required to pay the land revenue as provided under Section 148 of the MPLRC, 1954 and thereafter, the said MPLRC, 1954 provides for conferral of bhumiswami right on bhumidhari.

42. If the petitioners' forefathers became bhumidhari under the MPLRC, 1954 there is absolutely no reason why their forefathers or after their demise the present petitioners did not move application for conferral of bhumiswami rights under Section 150 of the MPLRC, 1954 or the CGLRC, 1959 for last about seven decades. There is no proof that the petitioners or their forefathers had ever paid the land revenue under Section 148 of the MPLRC, 1954. As a matter of fact, this provision by itself exposes the fallacy in the petitioners' argument because a bhumidhari is required to pay the same land revenue, which he was paying in respect of lands held by him and the same rent if he was paying rent in respect of lands held by him. It is the petitioners' own case and it is the case of all Kotwars who were enjoying service land before coming into force the CGLRC, 1959 that they were exempted from payment of land revenue.