Holding

Tanks used for agricultural or horticultural purposes are "land" under section 2(f) of the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961.

Summary

K.N. Farms Industries (Pvt.) Ltd., a land‑holder, challenged the inclusion of 43.29 acres of tanks in its surplus land assessment under the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961, as applied in Jharkhand. The appellant argued that tanks, being water bodies, are not "land" within the meaning of section 2(f) of the Act and therefore should be excluded from ceiling‑area calculations. The Supreme Court examined the statutory definition of "land", the explanatory clauses that expressly include tanks as part of a homestead, and the object‑oriented approach to interpretation, concluding that the clear language of the Act cannot be ignored. It held that "even land perennially submerged under water" includes tanks used for agricultural or horticultural purposes, except riverbeds. Consequently, the Court found no error in the lower courts' orders and dismissed the appeal.

Issues considered

Whether a tank falls within the definition of "land" under section 2(f) of the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961 as applicable in Jharkhand.

Legislation cited

Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961s. 2(f), s. 3, s. 4, s. 4(f)

Subjects

land reformsdefinition of landtanksurplus landstatutory interpretationceiling areaBihar ActJharkhand

Judgment

[2009] 10 S.C.R. 415

-i
K.N. FARMS INDUSTRIES (PVT.) LTD. A
..... v.
STATE OF BIHAR & QRS.
(Civil Appeal No. 4154 of 2009)
JULY 7, 2009
B
[R.V. RAVEENDRAN AND J.M. PANCHAL, JJ.]

Bihar Land R(!forms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and
Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act, 1961 - s.2(f) - Land -
Definition of - Tanks if fall within the definition of land uls.2(f) c

-~
"
- Held: Tanks meant to provide water for agricultural!
horticultural purposes is 'land' for purposes of the Act - In view
of the clear and specific words used in the definition of 'land',
the land perennially covered with water, which includes tanks,
cannot be excluded from the definition of land - In State of D
Bihar!Jharkhand, land peren,iially submerged under water,
except riverbeds or ravines filled with water, is land.

The question which arose for consideration in this
appeal was whether a tank will fall within the definition
E
of 'land' under section 2(f) of the Bihar Land Reforms
(fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus Land)
.. Act, 1961 as applicable in the State of Jharkhand .
...
Dismissing the appeal, the Court
F
HElD: 1. Having regard to the clear and specific
words used in the definition of 'land' in the Bihar Land
Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of
Surplus Land) Act, 1961, it is not possible to exclude land

-·-.
perennially covered with water, which includes tanks, G
from the definition of land. Therefore, tanks meant to
~
provide water for agricultural/horticultural purposes is
'land' for purposes of the Act. There is no error in the

- orders of the Single Judge of High Court as affirmed by
415 H
416 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009) 10 S.C.R.

A the Division Bench of High Court. (Para 14] [428-B-C] ...
2.1. When a particular word Is defined in an Act with
reference to its ordinary and normal meaning, and then
·-
includes certain additional 'meaning' which would not
normally follow but for the specific inclusion, it is not
B
possible to contend that that the extended meaning is
contrary to the general or normal meaning and therefore
it should be ignored. [Para 6] [423-C-D]

Principles of Statutory Interpretation by Justice G.P. Singh
c 11th (2008) Edition pp 174-181, referred to.
2.2. One of the objects of the Act is to take over
surplus land from large land-holders, and distribute such
excess land among landless. But it does not follow
D therefrom that only land that could be distributed among
.
- ~

landless for agricultural/horticultural purposes, can be
considered as 'land' and not other lands. The courts while
interpreting the provisions of any Act should adopt an
object oriented approach keeping in mind the principle
that legislative futility is to be avoided so long as
E
interpretative possibility permits. But at the same time,
the courts will have to keep in mind that the object
oriented approach, cannot be carried to the extent of }
doing violence to the plain language used in the statute ...
by re-writing the words of a statute in place of the actual
F words used, or by ignoring definite words used in the
statue. The clear and specific words used cannot be
ignored. [Paras 9 and 10) [425-C-F]

Commissioner of Income Tax v. Budhraja and Company

-
G 1994 Supp. (1) SCC 208, referred to.
~ T

Principles of Statutory Interpretation by Justice G.P. -
Singh's 11th Edition, p 116-117 - referred to.

H
2.3. The definition of "land" includes homestead of
-
K.N. FARMS INDUSTRIES (PVT.) LTD. v. STATE OF 417
BIHAR & ORS.
the land-holder. Explanation (I) to s.2(f) defines A
"homestead" as including any tank appurtenant to the
dwelling house. If a tank appurtenant to the dwelling
house is land, it follows that any tank appurtenant to
agricultural/horticultural land used to irrigate or water
such agricultural/horticultural land, will also be land. B
When tank is specifically referred to as land in
explanation-I to the definition of 'land' in s.2(f), it is not
possible to accept the contention that no tank can be
land. [Para 12] (427-A-C]

2.4. Explanation (II) to the definition of 'lahd' states
c
that "land perennially submerged under water" shall not
include "submerged in the bed of a river". This clearly
implies that in the State of Bihar/Jharkhand, all land
perennially submerged under water, except riverbeds, is D
land. The apparent legislative intention is that not only the
land actually used for agriculture or horticulture but any
or every land which is used incidental or appurtenant to
agriculture or horticulture, is also land. This is evident
from the definition of 'homestead'. Any dwelling house
which is situated in an agricultural or horticultural land, E
which is intended for the dwelling of persons is a
homestead and is included in the definition of land.
Further, any outbuilding used for the purposes
'- connected with agriculture or horticulture is also part of
homestead and therefore, land. Any artificial or natural F
body of water, situated in private holdings, which irrigates
or supplies water for the agricultural or horticultural
purposes is also land. The word 'even land' with
reference to the land submerged under water shows that
what is excluded is riverbeds or ravines filled with water. G
The use of the words 'even land perennially submerged
under water' in the definition of 'land' would thus indicate
that a tank also is land. What is excluded from the
definition of land is the riverbed, or a tank which is a
H
418 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2009] 10 S.C.R.

A dammed ravine. Section 4(f) of the Act which prescribes
the ceiling area in regard to Class VI lands also reiterates
that even land perennially submerged under water, is
land. [Para 13] (427-D-H; 428-A]

B Authorized Of(icer, ThanJ?vur v. S. Naganathf1 Ayyar
1979 (3) SCC 466.; S. J(. Ars~cf Ali v. S. K. Fazle Hakani 1996
(11) sec 585? ref~rr~~ to.

P. Ramanatha Aiyar's Advanced Law Lexicon, Third
Edition, Vol. 4, p 4608 - r~ferred to.
c
Case Law Reference:

1979 (3) sec 466 Referred to. Para 5

D 1996 (11) sec 585

1994 Supp. (1) sec 208
Referred to.

Referred to.
Para 5

Para 9
~

-
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No.
4154 of 2009.
E
From the Judgment and Order dated 19.2.2004 of the High
Court of Patna in LP.A. No. 21 of 1993.
)

S.B. Sanyal and Ranjan Mukherjee for the Appellants. .,
F
Gopal Singh and Anuj Prakash for the Respondents.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

R.V. RAVEENDRAN, J. Leave granted. Heard parties.
G
1. This appeal by special leave raises the question • ..
whether a tank will fall within the definition of "land" under
section 2(f) of the Bihar Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling Area
and Acquisition of Surplus Land) Act. 1961 as applicable in the
H State of Jharkhand ('Act' for short), extracted below :
K.N. FARMS INDUSTRIES (PVT.) LTD. v. STATE OF 419
BIHAR & ORS. [RV RAVEENDRAN, J.]
.. ''Lahd'' means land Which is used or capable of being used A
for agriculture of horticulture and includes land which is an
'" orchard, kharhur or pasturage or forest land ot eveh land
perennially submerged under water or the homestead of
a land-holder;
B
Explanation 1.- "Homestead" means a dwelling house for
the purpose of living or for the purpose of letting out on rent
-l together with any courtyard, compound, attached garden,
orchard and out-building and includes any out-building for
the purpose connected with agriculture or horticulture and
any tank, library and place of worship appertaining to such
c
dwelling house .
... Explanation II. - Land perennially submerged under water
shall not include submerged in the bed of a river."
,. "' D
2. The appellant is a land-holder. Proceedings were
initiated in the year 1973 for determination of the surplus land
held by it. The appellant filed a return showing the extent of land
in its possession as 379.12 acres. The Circle Officer submitted
a report to the Land Reforms Deputy Collector, Jamshedpur, E
showing the extent of land in the possession of appellant as
443.09 acres. The appella11t filed the objections contending that
certain tanks which did not fall under the definition of land in all
~
measuring 43.29 acres had been wrongly included in the draft
... ' publication. By order dated 9.10.1982, the Addi. Collector held
F
that the tanks covering an area of 43.29 acres fell within the
definition of "land" and therefore, had to be taken into account
for determining the surplus area. The challenge to the inclusion
of the "tank" area was rejected by the appellate authority on
22.3.1983 and upheld by the Board of Revenue on 22.11.1983.
G
--} 3. Feeling aggrieved, the appellant filed a writ petition 0NP
No.995 of 1984), contending that while "even land perennially
submerged under water" was 'land' for the purpose of the
ceiling area, a tank cannot be considered to be land. The
'"::. H
420 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 10 S.C.R.

A appellant contended that only land which was arable, that is ..
land which was used or capable of being used for agriculture
or horticulture could be considered as land for determining
..
surplus land and a tank which is land covered with water
incapable of being used for agriculture or horticulture could not
B be treated as land for the purp1se of the Act. A learned Single
Judge of the Patna High Court rajected the said contention and
dismissed the writ petition by order dated 2.3.1993. He held
that the legislative intent was to include all tanks and ponds )' >

used for agricultural purposes, within the definition of "land" by
c including in the definition "even land perennially submerged
under water". The appeal filed by the appellant was dismissed
by order dated 19.2.2004 affirming the reasoning and findings
of the Learned Judge. The Division Bench also noticed the
amendment to the Act in the State of Bihar by Act 5 of 2002
by which the words 'also the land' were substituted for the words .. ,._
-
D
"even land" and held that the subsequent amendment showed
the legislative intent was that 'land' should also include any land
perennially submerged under water. The said order is
challenged in this appeal, giving rise to the question whether a
tank will be 'land' for purposes of the Act.
E
4. The learned counsel for the appellant contended that the
Preamble to the Act showed that the object of the Act was to
provide for fixation of ceiling, restriction on sub-letting and )

resumption of certain raiyats for personal cultivation of land,
F acquisition of status of raiyat by certain under-raiyats, and
-
acquisition of surplus land by the State and matters connected
therewith. He submitted that the definition of land shows that it
means only land which is used or capable of being used for
agriculture or horticulture. According to him, the addition of
G certain categories of land by using the words "includes" does
not take away or dilute the requirement that only land used or ~ .
capable of being used for agricultural or horticultural purposes, '
will be 'land'. He submits that the additions of certain categories
by use of the words "and includes land which is an orchard,
H karhur or pasturage or forest land or even land perennially ....
K.N. FARMS INDUSTRIES (PVT.) LTD. v. STATE OF 421
BIHAR & ORS. [R.V. RAVEENDRAN, J.]
·J
submerged under water or the homestead of land holder" A
merely accentuates the requirement that the land should be used
or capable of being used for agricultural or <horticultural
purposes. He points out that each of the categories of land
referred to in the inclusive definition is also land which is used
or is capable of being used or incidental to the use of land for B
agriculture or horticulture; that "orchard" refers to a garden of
trees devoted to cultivation of fruit trees; "karhur" refers to land
producing thatching grass or shrubs; "pasturage" refers to land
covered with grass or herbage and grazed or suitable for
grazing by livestock; "homestead of the land-holder" means c
dwelling house together with courtyard, compound, attached
garden, orchard and includes any out-building for the purpose
of connected with agriculture or horticulture and any tank, library
and place of worship appertaining to such dwelling house; "even
land perennially submerged under water" refers to level land D
'" covered by water which is shallow (which retains the character
of land that is capable of growing certain types of crop or of
vegetation trees/shrubs). He therefore contended that what was
included to the general definition of "land" that is "land which is
used or capable of being used for agricultural or horticultural",
E
were different categories of land which though not directly used
for agriculture or horticulture, were capable of being used for
agriculture or horticulture or which were incidental or necess()ry
--\.
for agricultural horticultural activities. He therefore contended
that a "tank" cannot be termed as land for the purpose of the. ·
Act. F

5. The learned counsel for appellant relied upon two
decisions of this Court in support of his contention that the
definition of 'land' and the provision relating to fixation of ceiling
area of the land when read with the object of the Act made it G
~-; clear that the Act is intended to apply only to land which is used
or capable of being used for agriculture or horticulture, and that
a tank which is obviously not capable of being used for
agriculture or horticulture is not therefore land.
.. H
422 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 10 S.C.R.

A (5.1.) Th,e first is the decision in Authorized Officer,
Thanjavur v. S. Naganatha Ayyar (1979 (3) SCC 466] where
this Court held that the object of land ceiling laws is equitable
distribution of land to the landless by taking over the surplus
land by the State from large land-holders. He contended that a
B 'tank' cannot be distributed to the landless and that 'land' with
reference to land ceiling law can only refer to land which is
capable of being used for agriculture or horticulture.

(5.2.) The second decision relied on by him is S. K. Arsed
C Ali v. S. K. Fazle Hakani [1996 (11) SCC 585] wherein this
Court while considering whether an area described as
'Matsyasheho Pushkarini' in a sale deed, is 'land' or 'tank' for
the purpose of West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 196, observed
thus:

D "There the land sold to the pre-emptor has been described
as "Matsyasheho Pushkarini" which in English means a
tank/pond full of fish. The learned :Single Judge of the High
Court in relying upon an earlier <llecision of that Court in
Niranjan Das v. Lakshmi Mani Dasi (1986 CWN 318) has
E taken the view that 'doba' does not come within the
mischief of the word 'tank' as is apparent from the Wilson's
Glossary of Words. We have caused a copy thereof to be
placed before us and we find therefrom that the word 'doba'
in Bengali means immersed, low and swampy of
inundated land. The depth of such land perhaps comes to
..
F
cause a distinction between a 'doba' and a 'tank'.
Apparently the High Court was of the view that if surface
waters be shallow, then the land even though inundated will
retain the character of the land, bearing at the back of its
mind that paddy crop can be grown in puddled lands.
G
Correspondingly, if the depth is more which prevents the
land being put to agricultural use then it would be 'tank' for
the purposes of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act and
in particular Section 2(7) thereof, which defines 'land! to
be agricultural land, tank being an exception thereto. Now
H
K.N. FARMS INDUSTRIES (PVT.) LTD. v. STATE OF 423
BIHAR & ORS. [RV RAVEENDRAN, J.]

here the land has been described as 'Matsyasheho A
Pushkarini' which apparently would mean a pond with
sufficient water, abounding in fish and seemingly it was so
described in the deed of sale in favour of the respondent.
Thus the area owned by the respondent did not come
within the ambit of the word 'land' for the purposes of B
Section 2(7) of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1995."

6. At the outset, we should notice that we are not
concerned with the validity of the Act or the validity of the
definition of 'land' in the Act. We are concerned only with the C
true meaning of the word 'land' as defined in the Act.When a
particular word is defined in an Act with reference to its ordinary
and normal meaning, and then includes certain additional
'meaning' which would not normally follow but for the specific
, -. inclusion, it is not possible to contend that that the extended
meaning is contrary to the general or normal meaning and D
therefore it should be ignored. To put it differently, if a word is
defined as A and B and includes C, D,. E a.nd F, the word
'includes' is used in order to enlarge the meaning of the words
'A' and 'B'; and when it is so used, those words must be
construed as comprehending not only what they signify E
according to their natural import (that is 'A' and 'B') but also
those things which the interpretation clause declares that they
shall include (that is C, D, E & F). (See : generally the
observations in Justice G.P. Singh's Principles of Statutory
Interpretation - 11th (2008) Edition Page 174-181) F

7. Section 3 of the Act provides that the provisions of the
Act shall have effect, notwithstanding anything to the contrary
contained in any other law, customs, usage or agreement, for
the time being in force or in any decree or order of any court. G
.. ~ Section 4 deals with fixation of ceiling area of land. It provides
that on the appointed day, the following shall be the ceiling area
of land for one family for the purpose of the Act ;

(a) 15 acres of land irrigated or capable of being
H
424 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 10 S.C.R.

A irrigated by flow irrigation work or tubewells or lift
irrigatipn which are constructed, maintained,
improved or controlled by government or its
agencies etc, capable of growing at least two crops
in a year (class I land);
B
(b) 18 acres of land irrigated by private lift irrigation,
or private tubewells which provide or are capable
of providing wat~r for more than one season (class
II land); or

C (c) 25 acres of land irrigated or capable of being
irrigated by works which provide or are capable of
providing water for only one season (class Ill land);
or

D (d) 30 acres of land other than those referred to in • ""
clauses (a), (b), (c) and (f) or land which is an
orchard or used for any other horticulture purpose
(class IV land); or

(e) 37.5 acres of Diara land or chaur (class V land);
E or

(f) 45 acres of hilly, sandy, forest land, even land
)
perennially submerged under water or other kind of
I land, none of which yields paddy, rabi or cash crop
F (class VI land).

8. At the outset we should clear certain red-herrings. First
is the amendment to the Act in Bihar whereby the words "even
land" has been substituted by the words "also the land" in the
year 2002. The said amendment cannot be applied or
G extended to the State of Jharkhand as that State has not made
such amendment. Secondly, it is not possible to treat the said
~ .
amendment as mere. clarification or re-statement of the pre-
amendment position. There are sufficient indications in the Act
to show that the word 'even' was not used to mean 'also'. The
H
K.N. FARMS INDUSTRIES (PVT.) LTD. v. STATE OF 425
BIHAR & ORS. [R.V. RAVEENDRAN, J.]
J
Hindi version of the Act uses the words "Barhaon mahine A
jalmagan Samtal Bhoomi" for the English words "even land
perennially submerged under water". The use of the word
'Samtal' for 'even' shows the word 'even' was not intended to
mean "also" , but to mean "level surface". Further, section 4(f)
lists "even land perennially submerged under water'' as one of B
the categories of land to be considered as class VI land along
with hilly, sandy, forest land. Therefore, the words "even land
4
perennially submerged under water" refer to "level land
perennially submerged under water'' as contrasted from river
beds covered with water or ravines filled with water. c
9. The second is the role of the object of the Act while
interpreting its provisions. It is true that one of the objects of
the Act is to take over surplus land from large land-holders, and
'>· distribute such excess land among landless. But it does not
follow therefrom that only land that could be distributed among D
landless for agricultural/horticultural purposes, can be
considered as 'land' and not other lands. The courts, while
interpreting the provisions of any Act should, no doubt, adopt
an object oriented approach keeping in mind the principle that
legislative futility is to be avoided so long as interpretative E
possibility permits. But at the same time, the courts will have
to keep in mind that the object oriented approach, cannot be
~
carried to the extent of doing violence to the plain language
used in the statute, by re-writing the words of a ,statute in place
of the actual words used, or by ignoring definite words used in F
the statue. (See : the observations of this court in
Commissioner of Income Tax v. Budhraja and Company -
1994 Supp. (1) SCC 208 and Justice G.P. Singh's Principles

~ . of Statutory Interpretation - 11th Edition, Page 116-117).
Therefore the decision in S. Naganatha Ayyar (supra) relied G
on by the appellant will be of no assistance.

10. The third is the emphasis on the general meaning of
the word 'tank' and the consequential contention that no one·
would think of a 'tank' as 'land'. The argument is sea is not
H
/

426 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 10 S.C.R. ~

A considered as land, river is not land and therefore tank also "
cannot be land. It is pointed out that if the determining factor is
existence of land or level surface beneath the water to say 'tank'
is land, then even sea and rivers also will have to be treated
as land. It is submitted that when land is perennially covered
B with water, such land cease to be 'land' as ordinarily
understood, and become water bodies which may be an ocean,
sea, river, lake, tank or pond, depending upon the size,
~
situation and nature of the water body. Reliance is placed on
the decision of Arsed Ali (supra) where it was held that a pond
c abounding with fish was not land. But general meanings and
perceptions, or decisions rendered with reference to statutes
containing different definitions will not be of any assistance in
interpreting a word which is clearly, specially and exhaustively
defined in the Act itself. We will have to find out the meaning
D
of the word, with reference to its definition in the Act. While the • ~

object of the Act can be one of the indicators used in
interpretation, clear and specific words used cannot be ignored.
In fact the learned Single Judge keeping in view the object of
the Act, has held that only tanks used for agricultural purposes
will be 'land' for purposes of the Act and not all tanks in general.
E Let us now examine the provisions of the Act to find out whether
a 'tank' used for agricultural purposes is land, as held by the
High Court, keeping the above principles in view. J.

11. It is no doubt true that the word 'land' would not have
F included a tank, in the normal sense, but for its definition
specifically including "even land perennially submerged under
water". The word 'tank' is defined in P. Ramanatha Aiyar's
Advanced Law Lexicon, (Third Edition, Vol. 4, page 4608) as
follows:
G
""Tank". - A pond or pool, or lake; a tank is often of many ~ ~

acres in extent; an irrigation reservoir, a dammed up ravine
or other suitable place for collecting the water............

All the following three together, namely (i) the underground
H
K.N. FARMS INDUSTRIES (PVT.) LTD. v. STATE OF 427
BIHAR & ORS. [R.V. RAVEENDRAN, J.]
j. or the land underneath, on which water is stored (ii) the A
embankment or the bandh ·which serves the purpose of
keeping the water confined within its boundary and (iii) the
bed or pet of the tank, is known as tank.

12. As noticed above, the definition of "land" includes
B
homestead of the land-holder. Explanation (I) to section 2(f)
defines "homestead" as including any tank appurtenant to the
__, dwelling house. If a tank appurtenant to the dwelling house is
land, it follows that any tank appurtenant to agricultural/
horticultural land used to irrigate or water such agricultural/
horticultural land, will also be land. When tank is specifically
c
referred to as land in Explanation-I to the definition of the word
'land' in section 2(f), it is not possible to accept the contention
that no tank can be land.

_..
"' 13. Explanation (11) to the definition of 'land' states that "land D
perennially submerged under water" shall not include
"submerged in the bed of a river'' . This clearly implies that in
the State of Bihar/Jharkhand, all land perennially submerged
under water, except riverbeds, is land. The apparent legislative
intention is that not only the land actually used for agriculture or E
horticulture but any or every land which is used incidental or
appurtenant to agriculture or horticulture, is also land. This is
,. evident from the definition of 'homestead'. Any dwelling house
which is situated in an agricultural or horticultural land, which is
intended for the dwelling of persons is a homestead and is F
included in the definition of land. Further, any outbuilding used
for the purposes connected with agriculture or horticulture is
also part of homestead and therefore, land. Any artificial or
natural body of water, situated in private holdings, which
irrigates or supplies water for the agricultural or horticultural
G
purposes is also land. The word 'even land' with reference to
•-J
the land submerged under water shows that what is excluded
is riverbeds or ravines filled with water. The use of the words
'even land perennially submerged under water' in the definition
of 'land' would thus indicate that a tank also is land. What is
H
428 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2009] 10 S.C.R.

A excluded from the definition of land is the riverbed, or a tank •
which is a dammed ravine. Section 4(f) of the Act which
prescribes the ceiling area in regard to Class VI lands also
reiterates that even land perennially submerged under water,
is land.
B
14. Having regard to the clear and specific words used in
the definition of 'land', it is not possible to exclude land
perennially covered with water, which includes tanks, from the
definition of land. We therefore agree that tanks meant to
provide water for agricultural/horticultural purposes is 'land' for
C purposes of the Act. We therefore find no error in the orders of
the learned Single Judge affirmed by the Division Bench and
consequently, the appeal is dismissed.

N.J. Appeal dismissed.