West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955

The State of West Bengal appealed against a Calcutta High Court order that had resumed land held by an intermediary under the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act, 1953. The appeals raised three questions: (1) whether the proviso to Section 6(3) of the 1953 Act remains effective after the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1…

The petitioners challenged the constitutional validity of Sections 14M, 17(c), 17(1) and 21B of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 as amended by the 1972 and 1977 Amendment Acts, alleging that the amendments were confiscatory, violated Articles 14, 19 and 31C, and were not covered by the Ninth Schedule. The Court e…

The State of West Bengal initiated proceedings under the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 to determine whether the land held by the deity Sri Sri Lakshmi Janardan Thakur constituted a public or private religious endowment. The Revenue Officer and subsequent appellate authorities held the endowment to be public, allow…

The petitioners challenged the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 and its amendments of 1972 and 1977, alleging violations of Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution and claiming the provisions were arbitrary, discriminatory and unreasonable. The Court examined whether the Acts, placed in the Ninth Schedule before 24 Ap…

The case concerned a dispute over the right of pre-emption under Section 26‑F of the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885, claimed by a predecessor‑in‑interest who was a co‑sharer of a holding that had earlier vested in the State under the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act, 1953. The respondent had purchased the land in 1963, an…

The appellants purchased land from a raiyat and the respondent, a contiguous raiyat, claimed a pre‑emptive right under Sections 8 and 9 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955, alleging that the sale consideration was inflated. The respondent filed an application with only a partial deposit (the alleged actual consid…

The appellants owned agricultural land that was transferred from Bihar to West Bengal under the Bihar and West Bengal (Transferred Territories) Act, 1956, and the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 was extended to the transferred territories. The Calcutta High Court, in a 1984 writ petition, quashed the vesting of the …

The case concerned lands vested in the State under the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act, 1953 after the death of an intermediary (big raiyat) Ganga Das Pal. The heirs of the intermediary filed a writ petition challenging a 1971 order that vested the lands in the State, arguing they retained the right to choose lands…

Sri Ram Saha, the owner of a private garden (bagan) in West Bengal, sought to fell several old trees affected by worms and replace them with saplings. Local police and the Block Land Reforms Officer stopped him, citing the High Court’s interpretation of Sections 4‑A, 4‑B and 4‑C of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 195…

The State of West Bengal appealed against a High Court order directing the execution of a mining lease for dolomite to M/s. Chiranjilal (Mineral) Industries (the respondent). The dispute centered on whether the respondent's 1998 application for a mining lease remained eligible under the Mines and Minerals (Development …

The West Bengal Housing Board, acting through a joint‑sector company, requisitioned and later acquired 1.82 acres of land to build a housing scheme for low‑ and middle‑income groups. The petitioners, who had purchased the land but whose names were not yet entered in the Record of Rights, claimed that the requisition no…

The Supreme Court examined two civil appeals concerning applications under Section 8 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 for enforcement of a statutory right of pre‑emption. The respondents claimed that the applications were barred by limitation, while the appellants argued that Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1…

The dispute concerned the cancellation of a Scheduled Tribe (ST) caste certificate issued in 1993 to respondent No.15, which he later used to challenge land sale deeds executed by his father, Ramanand Baraik, in 1983 under the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955. The father, a government driver, was recorded as belongin…

Iswar Chandra Pal executed a registered gift deed on 7 December 1967 transferring 20.88½ acres to his three sons and three daughters, which was entered in revenue records on 26 May 1969. After the land reforms, 8.80 acres of his remaining holdings were declared surplus and vested in the State. Following the 2nd and 3rd…

The State of West Bengal sought to overturn a High Court order that allowed Jai Hind Pvt. Ltd. to retain about 211 acres of land under Section 6(1)(j) of the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act, 1953. The company had previously been denied the benefit because it failed to prove it was exclusively engaged in agricultura…

The plaintiff filed a suit for declaration of title, possession and permanent injunction based on an alleged amicable partition of land among co‑sharers. The High Court, on a second appeal under CPC s.100, decided that the partition, if any, did not occur before the commencement of Section 14 of the West Bengal Land Re…

The dispute concerned a pre‑emption claim under the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 where three brothers (pre‑emptors) sought to exercise their right of pre‑emption over shares in a plot sold by their sisters to Abdul Matin Mallick (pre‑emptee). The trial court dismissed the claim, but the First Appellate Court allo…

The appellant, Ashim Ranjan Das, purchased land that had earlier been transferred to two patta holders, Shibu Bodhak and Tapan Malik, after a series of proceedings under the West Bengal Estate Acquisition Act, 1953. The Revenue Officer had earlier cancelled tenancy rights under Section 44(2a), but that order was set as…

The West Bengal Bar Association challenged the West Bengal Land Reforms and Tenancy Tribunal Act, 1997, alleging that its provisions were ultra vires the Constitution because they ousted the High Court's jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 227. The Calcutta High Court struck down sections 6, 7 and 8 of the Act, holding…

The State of West Bengal sought to vest an estate and its tank fisheries in the State under the West Bengal Estate Acquisition Act, 1953, extinguishing the rights of intermediaries. The respondents, who held lease‑hold rights to the tank fisheries, filed a writ petition to restrain the vesting and to retain possession.…

Abdulla Kabir purchased a one‑quarter share in a plot that was recorded in the Record of Rights as a "bari" (homestead) belonging to an agriculturist raiyat. Md. Nasiruddin, claiming to be a co‑sharer, filed an application for pre‑emption under Section 8 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955. The lower courts were …