Holding

Changes in family composition occurring after the appointed day, such as a minor son attaining majority or an unmarried daughter marrying, are not to be taken into account for fixing the ceiling area under the Pondicherry Land Reforms Act, 1973.

Summary

The Government of Pondicherry challenged the inclusion of shares of two minor sons who attained majority between the appointed day (24‑Jan‑1971) and the notified date in the calculation of the family’s land‑holding ceiling under the Pondicherry Land Reforms Act, 1973. The Land Tribunal had allowed the respondent’s objection that those shares should be excluded, but the High Court reversed that order. The Supreme Court held that Section 9(2)(a) of the Act does not require the ceiling to be recomputed for changes such as a minor becoming a major or an unmarried daughter marrying after the appointed day, and that the appointed day, not the notified date, is the decisive reference point. Consequently, the Court set aside the High Court’s judgment, restored the authorised officer’s order, and allowed the appeals.

Issues considered

Whether Section 9(2)(a) of the Pondicherry Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings) Act, 1973 requires the ceiling area to be calculated by taking into account changes in family composition after the appointed day, such as a minor attaining majority or an unmarried daughter getting married.
Whether the 'appointed day' or the 'notified date' is the appropriate date for determining the ceiling area and surplus land.

Legislation cited

Constitution of Indias. Article 39
Pondicherry Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land Holdings) Act, 1973s. 21, s. 4, s. 6, s. 7(1), s. 9(2)(a)

Subjects

Land reformsCeiling on land holdingsAppointed dayNotified dateFamily compositionMinor attaining majorityUnmarried daughter marriageStatutory interpretationDirective PrinciplesArticle 39

Judgment

•
A GOVERNMENT OF UNION TERRITORY OF PONDICHERRY
v.
MOHAMMED HUSSAIN (DEAD) BY L.Rs.

JUNE 30, 1994

B [M.M. PUNCHHI, S.C. AGRAWAL AND B.P. JEEVAN REDDY, JJ.J

Pondicherry Land Refonns (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1973 :
Sections 4, 6, and 9(2)(a}-Land holdings-Ceiling aret>-Detennination
of-Appointed day-Significance of-Change in family on account of minor
C son attaining majority or an unmarried daughter getting married after ap-
pointed day-Held not to be taken into account while calculating ceiling area.

Constitution of India, I950: Article 39-Material resources of common
good-Land-Equitable distribution of-Legislation for--f'ondicherry Land
Refonns (Fixation of ceiling on Land Holdings) Act, 1973--fleld, a piece of
D legislation enacted to achieve more equitable distribution of land for common
good.

Interpretation of Statutes: Social Legislatio,,......P,.ovisionr-lnterpreta-
tion of-To be interpreted to further object of the Act.
E In the draft statement published under section 8 of the Pondicherry
Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1973, land admeasuring
18.10.08 standard hectares belonging to the family of the respondent was
shown in excess of the ceiling area as on the appointed day. The respondent
(in C.A. No.135of1979) filed an objection that the shares of his two minor
F sons who became major in between the appointed day and the notified date,
should be excluded from the holding of the family. The authorised officer
rejected the objection. Respondent's appeal was allowed by the Land
Tribunal. The revision petition filed by the Government of the Union
Territory was rejected by the High Court. Aggrieved, the Government filed
G the appeal by special leave. The other two appeals were also filed in similar
circumstances.

It was contended on behalf of the appellants that in view of the
provisions contained in Sections 6 and 7(1) of the Act the surplus land
would be determined with reference to the appointed day only and any
H change in the family subsequent to the appointed day would not have any
282
U.T. PONDICHERRYv. MOHD. HUSSAIN 283

effect on the ceiling area to be retained by the members of the family. A
Allowing the appeals, this Court

HELD : 1.1. Any change in the family· on account of a minor son
attaining majority or an unmarried daughter getting married after the
appointed day is not required to be taken into account while calculating B
the Ceiling area of the family under the provisions of the Pondicherry Land
Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1973. There is no provision in
the Act which provides for recalculation of the ceiling area as a result of
such a change taking place in the family after the appointed day. [292-H,C]

1.2. Section 9(2) (a) of the Act which deals with changes in the family
c
on account of death of a member of the family after the appointed day but
before the notified date, cannot be construed to cover a change in the family
on account of a minor son attaining majority or an unmarried daughter
getting married after the appointed day but before the notified date.
Moreover the object underlying Section 9(2)(a) is to further reduce the D
ceiling area by taking into account a. change taking place between· the
appointed day and the notified date on account of death of a member of a
family. The said provision cannot be invoked so as to enlarge the ceiling
area by taking into account a change in the family as a result of a minor son
attaining majority or an unmarried daughter getting married. [292-D-E]
E
1.3. The High Court was in error in not attaching sufficient impor-
tance to the expression "appointed day" in the matter of calculation of the
ceiling area and determination of the surplus land. It has to be borne in
mind that even though the Act came into force on October 5, 1973, the
appointed day is january 24, 1971, a date much anterior to the date of F
coming into force of the Act. The significance of the appointed day in the
matter of calculation of ceiling area and determination of surplus land is
evident from the provisions for prohibiting a person from holding land in
excess of the ceiling area on and from the appointed day, requiring a
person holding land in excess of ceiling area on the appointed day to tile G
a return, and excluding land transferred by sale, gift etc. by a person after
the appointed day but before the commencement of the Act, as contained
in ss.6, 7(1) and 4(4) of the Act respectively. These provisions clearly
indicate that the crucial date for determination of Ceiling area· to be
retained by a person holding land in excess of the ceiling limit is the
appointed day. [290-E-H, 291-A] H
•
J
284 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1994) SUPP. 1 S.C.R.

A Rajgopal Pillai v. State of Tamil Nadu & Anr., AIR (1973) Mad. 68
and Thirumathi Rajam Sivasubramaniam alias Mathu Meenakshi
Veeralakshmi Nagammal v. The Authorised Officer (Land Refonns) Tirunel-
veli and Anr., (1979) Law Weekly 527, disapproved.

2. The Act is a piece of legislation enacted with a view to achieve a
B more equitable distribution of land for common good so as to subserve the
Directive Principles contained in Article 39 of the Constitution. The
provisions of such a legislation have to be so interpreted as to further the
object of the legislation and not defeat the same. The construction placed
by the High Court on the provision of Section 9(2)(a) of the Act runs
C counter to the object of the Act and there is no indication in the provisions
of the Act which justifies placing such an interpretation on Section 9(2)(a).
[292-F-G]
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 135 of
1979 etc. etc.
D From the Judgment and Order dated 16.11.77 of the Madras High I
Court in C.R.P. No. 2118 of 1970. (

A.S. Nambiar, P.K. Manohar and Smt. Shanta Vasudevan for the
Appellant.

E G.V. Iyer and K.R. Nambiar for the Respondent.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

S.C. AGRAWAL, J. Leave granted in SLP(C) No. 6468/80.

F These appeals raise a common question involving the interpretation
of Section 9(2)(a) of the Pondicherry Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling
on Land) Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). The question is
: whether Section 9(2)(a), which provides that for the purpose of calculat-
ing, after the appointed day, the ceiling area of a family holding land on
the appointed day in excess of 6 standard hectares, the authorised officer
G shall take into account only those members of that family who are alive on
the notified date, requires that in cases where on the appointed day one
of the members of the family is an unmarried daughter or a minor son and
the said unmarried daughter gets married or the minor son attains majority
after the appointed day and before the notified date, the share of the said
H daughter or son in the family holding should be excluded for the purpose
U.T. PONDICHERRYv. MOHD. HUSSAIN [AGRAWAL.J.] 285

of fixing the ceiling area of the family. A
The Act has been enacted to provide for the fixation of ceiling on
agricultural land holdings and for certain other matters connected there
with in the regions of Pondicherry and Karaikal. Under sub-section (4) of
Section 2, the expression "appointed day" has been defined to mean the
24th day January, 1971. The expression "family" has been defined in sub- B
section (10) of Section 2 as under :

"familY', in relation to a person, means the person, the wife or
husband as the case may be, of such person and his or her minor
sons and unmarried daughters." c
'Notified date' has been defined in Section 2(24) to mean the date
specified in the notification issued by the Government under sub-section
(1) of Section 7. Section 4 fixes the ceiling area as 6 standard hectares in
the case of every person and in the case of every family consisting of not
more than five members. Where the family consists of more than five D
members the ceiling area is enhanced by 1.2 standard hectares for every
member of the family in excess of. five but the total extent of land held by
any family shall in no case exceed twice the ceiling area, i.e. 12 standard
hectares. In sub-section (4) of Section 4 it has been laid down :
E
"4(4): In calculating the extent of land held by any person, any land
which was transferred by sale, gift or otherwise or partitioned by
that person after the appointed day but before the commencement
of this Act, shall be taken into account as if such land had not
been transferred or partitioned as the case may be."
F
Section 6 provides as under :

'6. On and from the appointed day, no person shall, except as
otherwise provided in this Act, but subject to the provisions of
Chapter VI be entitled to hold land in excess of the ceiling area ; G
Provided that in calculating the total extent of land held by any
person, the authorised officer may, for reasons to be recorded in
writing permit any person to hold land in excess of the ceiling area .
if the extent of excess of land does not exceed 0.2 hectare in the
case of wet land and 0.4 hectare in the case of dry land." H
286 SUPREME COURT REPORTS 11994] SUPP. l S.C.R.

A Section 7 requires that \vithin lhirty days from such date as may be
specified in the notification issued by the Government in this behalf, every
person, who, on the appointed <lay, held land in excess of the ceiling area
shall, i~ respect of all land held by such person on such day, furnish to the
authorised officer within whose jurisdiction· the holding of such person or
the major part thereof is situated, a return containing the particulars
B
specified in clauses (i) to (viii) of sub-section (1). In a case where a person
who has held land in excess of the ceiling area fails to furnish the return
under Section 7 or furnishes an incorrect or incomplete return sub-section
(1) of Section 8 empowers the authorised officer to issue a notice requiring
such a person to furnish the return or the additional particulars, as the case
C may be, within the time specified in the notice. Where a person on whom
notice has been served under sub-section (1) of Section 8, fails to furnish
the return, or the additional particulars, as the case may be, within the time
specified in that notice, or within the further time allowed by the authorised
officer, the authorised officer is empowered by sub-section (2) of Section
D 8 to obtain necessary information either by himself or through such agency
as he thinks fit. Under sub-section (1) of Section 9 the authorised officer
is required to prepare a draft statement in respect of each person holding
or deemed fo have held land in excess of the ceiling area. The said draft
stateme'nt is required to contain the particulars mentioned in sub-clauses-
(i) to (xi) of clause (b) of Section 9(1).
E ·'
.Sub-section (2) of Section 9 provides as under :
·1 J Ji·
1
• (a),}'or 0U,>.e purpose of calculating after the appointed day the
ceiling area of a family holding land on the appointed day in excess
· of 6 standard hectares, the authorised officer shall take into ac-
F count only those members of that family who are alive on the
notified day.
.'
(b) For the purpose of calculating .after the appointed day, the
ceiling area of any other family, the authorised officer shall take
into account only those members of that family who are alive on
G
the date of the preparation of the draft statement under sub-sec-
' tion (1)."
' •
The draft statement prepared under ·sub-section (1) of Section 9 is
.
required to be published under sub-section (5) of Section 9 and a copy of
H the same is required to be served on the person concerned as well as on
\J.T. PONDICHERRY1·. MOHD. HUSSAIN [AGRAWAL,J.j 287

persons \vho in the opinion of the authorised officer are interested in the A
land together with a notice stating that any objection to draft statement
shall be preferred within 15 days of such notice. Sub-section (6) of Section
9 prescribes that the objections that are received must be considered by
the authorised officer and the objector should be given a reasonable
opportunity of being heard and of adducing evidence, if any. Section 11 B
prescribes that after the disposal of objections, if any, the final statement
specifying the entire land held by each person, the land to be retained by
him within the ceiling area and the land declared to be surplus land, shall
be published. Section 17(1) provides for acquisition of surplus land after
the publication of the final statement and for that purpose a notification is
required to be issued by the Government to the effect that the surplus land C
is required for a public purpose. Section 17(3) provides that on the
publication of such notification the land specified in the notification
together with the trees standing on such land and buildings, machinery,
plant, apparatus, wells, filter points or powerlines constructed, erected or
fixed on such land and used for agricultural purposes shall, subject to the D
provisions of the Act, be deemed to have been acquired for a public
purpose and vested in the Government free from all encumbrances with
effect from the date of such publication and all right, title and interest of
all persons in such land shall, with effect from the said date, be deemed to
have been extinguished. Section 21 deals with ceiling on acquisition by
inheritance bequest or by sale in execution of decree, etc. after the ap- E
pointed day and prescribes for filing of a return by the person who has
thus acquired the land before the authorised officer. Sub-section (2) of
Section 21 provides as under :

"(2) If, as a result of marriage or adoption on or after the ·appointed F
day, the extent of land held by any person exceeds in the aggregate
the ceiling area, then, he shall, within thirty days from the notified
date or from the date of marriage or adoption, as the case may
be, whichever date is later, furnish to the authorised officer within
whose jurisdiction his holding or the major part thereof is situated,
a return containing the following particulars, namely : - G

(i) particulars of the land held before the date of the marriage or
adoption; ·

· (ii) particulars of the land held after the date of marriage or H
288 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1994) SUPP. 1 S.C.R.

A adoption;

(iii) such other particulars as may be prescribed."

The facts in all the three appeals are similar. We will briefly refer to
the facts in C.A. No. 135 of 1979.
B
According to the draft statement published under Section 8 of the
Act, an extent of 18.10.08 standard hectares was shown in excess of the
ceiling area as on the appointed day. Respondent, Mohammed Hussain,
filed an objection that the holding of his minor sons, Sharafudeen and
C Abdul Hameed, who had become major on the notified date should be
excluded from the ceiling area of the family. The said objection was
rejected by the authorised officer but on appeal the Land Tribunal (Sub-
ordinate Judge), Karaikal, upheld the said objection and held that the
holdings of the minor sons who became major in between the appointed
day and the notified date should be excluded from the holdings of the
D family of the land owner in computing the ceiling area. In this connection,
reliance was placed on the decision of the Madras High Court [Kailasarn
J., as the learned Judge then was) inRajagopal Pillai v. State of Tamil Nadu
& Anr., AIR (1973) Mad 68. The revision petition filed by the appellant
against the said order of the Land Tribunal was rejected by the High Court
E (Ismail J.) on the view that the order of the Tribunal is in accordance with
the Judgment of the High Court.

In the other two appeals also there was a minor son on the appointed
day who attained majority before the notified date and it was claimed that
his share in the family lands should be excluded while fixing the ceiling
F are.a of the family. The said objections have been allowed by the Land
Tribunal and the revision petitions against the orders of the Land Tribunal
have been dismissed by the High Court.

In Rajagopal Pillai v. State of Tamil Nadu & Anr., (supra) the
G provision under consideration was Section 10(2)(a) of the Madras Land
Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1961. In that case the family
included a daughter who was unmarried on the appointed day but got
married thereafter but before the notified date. It was held that since
Section 10(2) postulates that the authorised officer shall take into account
only those members of the family who are alive on the notified date which
H means that the ceiling area of the family should be fixed with reference to
U.T.PONDICHERRYv. MOHD.HUSSAIN [AGRAWAL,J.] 289

the state of affairs on the notified date and that just as in the event of a A
.death in the family between the date of the commencement of the Act and
the notified date, that person will have to be excluded in fixing the family
holding similarly it would logically mean that the authorised officer could
fix the members of the family as on the notified date by taking into account
the subtraction by the minor becoming major or by the unmarried daughter B
getting married who are by virtue of the definition 'family' excluded from
the said definition. In taking this view the learned Judge has placed reliance
on an earlier unreported judgment of the High Court (Ramanujam J,) in
C.R.P. No. 854 of 1967 wherein it was held that when a minor on the date
of the commencement of the Act becomes a major before the notified date,
his share should be excluded in fixing the family ceiling area. It appears C
that in Thirumathi Rajam Sivasubramaniam alias Muthu Meenakshi
Veeralakshmi Nagammal v. The Authorised Officer (Land Reforms) Tirune/-
veli & Anr., (1979) Law Weekly 527, Ismail, J. has taken the same view as
was taken by Kailasam, J. in Rajagopal Pillai v. State of Tamil Nadu & Anr.,
(Supra). D

In the appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 6468/80 the High Court has
observed that the provisions of Section 9(2)(a) and (b) are in pari materia
with the provisions of Section 10(2)(a) and (b) of the Tamil Nadu Land
Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1961 which were considered
by Kailasam, J., in Rajagopal Pillai v. State of Tamil Nadu & Anr., (Supra) E
and that by reading of the provisions contained in Section 9(2)(a) and {b)
of the ,Act and Section 10(2)(a) and (b) of the Tamil Nadu Act, the
conclusion is inescapable that whatever changes or alterations in situation
take place between the app?inted day and before the notified date they
will have to be recognised and calculations must be done on the basis of F
these changes and alterations in the situation. It has been held that Section
6 of the Act, which makes a reference to the appointed day, merely
provides statutory bar against future acquisition and that the relevant date
for the purpose of computation, preparation and publication of the draft
statement under Section 9 is only the notified date.
G
Shri A.S. Nambiar, the learned senior counsel appearing for the
appellants, has urged that the High Court was in error in ignoring the
significance of the appointed day and in laying emphasis on the notified
date and on that basis in holing that a change which takes places in the
family between the appointed day and the notified date on account of a H
290 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1994) SUPP. 1 S.C.R.

A minor son attaining majority or unmarried daughter getting married has to
be taken into account while calculating the extent of land which can be
retained by a land owner. The submission of Shri Nambiar is that in view
of the clear provisions contained in Sections 6 and 7(1) of the Act the
surplus land has to be determined with reference to the appointed day only
and any change in the family subsequent to the appointed day will not have
B
any effect on the ceiling area that can be retained by the members of the
family. and that the High Court was in error in construing the provisions of
Section 9(2)(a) to mean that the ceiling area has to be calculated by taking
into account the change in the family that takes place after the appointed
day but before the notified date by reason of a minor son attaining majority
c or a~ .unmarrierl daughter getting married. On the other hand, Shri' G.
Viswanatha Iyer, the learned senior counsel appearing for the respondents,
has supported the view of the High Court and has urged that the High
Court has rightly construed the provisions of the Act and in holding that
a change in the family occurring after the appointed day but before the
D notified date has to be taken into account while calculating the ceiling area
of the family.

The High Court was, in our opm10n, m error m not attaching
suffici~nt importance to the expression "appointed day" in the matter of
calculation of the ceiling area and determination of the surplus land. It has
E to be borne in mind that even though the Act came into force on October
5, 1973 the appointed day is January 24, 1971, a date much anterior to the
date of the Coming into force of the Act. The reason being that the Act
has been enacted in pursuance of the recommendations made by the
Central Committee on Land Reforms regarding the fixation of ceiling on
F agricultural holdings. January 24, 1971, which has been fixed as the ap-
pointed day, has reference to the said meeting of the Central Committee
on Land Reforms. The significance of the appointed day in the matter of
calculation of ceiling area and determination of the surplus land is evident
from the provisions contained in Section 6 of the Act which prescribes that
G on and from the appointed day no person shall, except as otherwise
provided in the Act, be entitled to hold land in. excess of the ceiling area.
Similarly sub-section (1) of Section 7 requires a person who on the ap-
pointed day held land in excess of the ceiling area to furnish to the
authorised officer return in accordance with the provisions of the said
H section. Sub-section (4) of Section 4 excludes land which was lrnnsferred
U.T. PONDJCHERRYv. MOHD. HUSSAIN [AGRAWAL,J.] 291

by sale, gift or otherwise or partitioned by a person after the appointed day A
but before the commencement of the Act. The aforesaid provisions clearly
indicate that the crucial date for determination of the ceiling area that can
be retained by a person holding land in exc.ess of the ceiling limit is the
appointed day.

· The Act envisages consideration of changes taking place after the
B
appointed day in the following provisions :

(i) Section 9(2)(a) which applies to a family holding land on the
appointed day in excess of 6 standard hectares and requires the authorised
officer to take into account only those members of the family who are alive C
on the notified date for the purpose of calculating, after the appointed day,
the ceiling area of the family;

(ii) Section 9(2)(b) which applies to a family other than that covered
by Section 9(2)(a) and requires the authorised officer to take into account D
only those members of the family who are alive on the date of the prepara-
tion of the draft statement for the purpose of calculating after the ap-
pointed day the ceiling area of the family;

(iii) Sub-section (1) of Section 21 which deals with acquisition of land
by a person after the appointed day either by inheritance or bequest from E
any person and acquisition after the appointed day but before the notified
date by sale in execution of a decree or order of a civil court or of an award
or order of any other lawful authority and provides that if such land
together with the land, if any, already held by him exceeds in aggregate the
ceiling area then he shall within 30 days from the notified date or from the F
date of such acquisition, whichever is later, furnish to the authorised officer
within whose jurisdiction his holding or the major part thereof is situated,
a return containing the particulars mentioned to in clauses (i) to (vii) of
sub-section (1).

(iv) Sub-section (2) of Section 21 which deals with a situation where G
the extent of land held by any person exceeds in the aggregate the ceiling
area as a result of marriage or adoption on or other the appointed day.
Such a person also must within 30 days from the notified date or from the
date of marriage or adoption, as the case may be, whichever is later, furnish
to the authorised officer within whose jurisdiction his holding or the major H
292 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1994) SUPP. 1 S.C.R.

A part thereof is situated, a return containing the particulars set out in that
sub-section.

From the aforesaid provisions it would appear that while claiises (a)
and (b) of sub-section (2) of Section 9 seek to curtail the ceiling area of
the family by taking into account the· death of a member of the family after
B the appointed day, sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 21 deal with cases
where holding of a person exceeds the ceiling area after the appointed day
on account of acquisition of land by inheritance or bequest or sale in
execution of a decree, etc., or as a result of the marriage or adoption and
require such a person to file return to the extent of land in excess of the
c ceiling area. There is no provision in the Act which provides for recalcula-
tion of the ceiling area as a result of a change taking place in the family
after the appointed day on account of a minor son attaining majority or an
unmarried daughter getting married before the notified date. Section
9(2)(a) which deals with changes in the family on account of death of a
D member of the family after the appointed day but before the n!'tified date
cannot be construed to cover a change in the family on account of a minor
son attaining majority or an unmarried daughter getting married after the
appointed day but before the_ notified date. Moreover the object underlying
Section 9(2)( a) is to further reduce the ceiling area by taking into account
a change taking place between the appointed day and the notified date on
E
account of death of a member of a family. The said provision cannot be
invoked so as to enlarge the ceiling area by taking into account a change
in the family as a result of a minor son attaining majority or an unmarried
daughter getting married. We cannot lose sight of the fact that. the Act is
a piece of legislation enacted with a view to achieve a more equitable
F distribution of land for common goods so as to subserve the Directive
Principles contained in Article 39 of the Constitution. The provisions of
such a legislation have to be so interpreted as to further the object of the
legislation and not defeat the same. The construction placed by the High
Court on the provision of Section 9(2)(a) of the Act runs counter to the
G object of the Act and we do not find any indication in the provisions of the
Act which justifies placing such an interpretation on Section 9(2)(a). We
are, therefore, unable to uphold the view taken by the High Court. In our
view any change in the family on account of a minor son attaining majority
or an unmarried daughter getting married after the appointed day is not
H required to be taking into account while calculating the ceiling area of the
U.T. PONDJCHERRYv. MOHD. HUSSAIN [AGRAWAL, J.] 293

family. A
In the result, tlie appeals are allowed, the judgments of the High
Court under appeal as well as the orders passed by the Land Tribunal
holding that the share of the minor son attaining majority after the ap-
pointed day must be excluded from the holding of the family are set aside
and the orders passed by the authorised officer are restored. On orders as B
to costs.

R.P. Appeal allowed.