Holding

The application filed on 7 March 1984 is barred by the strict six‑month limitation in Section 48‑A, and lands resumed under Section 4(3) are not government lands, so the appeals are dismissed.

Summary

The appellants, B. Rudraiah and his son, sought occupancy rights over lands attached to a former village office by filing an application under Section 45 of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961 on 7 March 1984. The High Court dismissed the application as time‑barred, holding that the six‑month limitation prescribed in the amended Section 48‑A expired on 30 June 1979. The Supreme Court affirmed that the amendment of 1979 expressly removed the power to condone delay, making the limitation period clear, unambiguous and non‑extendable. It also held that lands resumed under Section 4(3) of the Village Offices Abolition Act, 1961 are not "government lands" and therefore fall within the ambit of the Land Reforms Act. Consequently, the appeals were dismissed and the applications remained barred.

Issues considered

The applicability and interpretation of Section 48‑A of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961 regarding the six‑month limitation for filing occupancy applications.
Whether the limitation period can be extended by linking it to the final determination of re‑grant rights under the Village Offices Abolition Act, 1961.
Whether lands resumed under Section 4(3) of the Village Offices Abolition Act become "government lands" and are exempt under Section 107 of the Land Reforms Act.

Legislation cited

Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961s. 107, s. 110, s. 126, s. 45, s. 48-A

Subjects

Land reformsOccupancy rightsLimitation periodVillage office abolitionGovernment landStatutory interpretationCondonation of delay

Judgment

R. RUDRAIAH AND ANR. A
V.

STATE OF KARNATAKA AND ORS.

FEBRUARY 4, 1998

[S.B. MAJMUDAR AND M. JAGANNADHA RAO, JJ.] B

.. Land Laws:

Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961 :

Sections 45 and 48-A (as amended by Act No. 111979)-Limitation-
c
Application for grant of occupancy rights-Filing of-Limitation period-
Six months from the date of commencement of Amendment Act i.e. from
1.1.1979 to 30.6.1979-Application filed on 7.3.1984-Dismissed by High
Court holding that it is barred by limitation-Validity of-Held, intention of
legislature to delete the provision of condonation of delay clear and D
unambiguous-Not capable of more than one interpretation-High Court
justified in dismissing the application as time barred.

Sections 107-Government lands-Exemption-Object of

Section 126-0bject and scope of E
Village Office Abolition Act, 1961 :

Sections 4(1), 4(3), 5, 6 and 107-Limitation-Application for grant
of occupancy rights-Abolition of village office-Resumption-Proceedings
for regrant by erstwhile village office holders-Pendency of-Claim for p
extension of period of limitation under Section 48-A of the Karnataka Land
Reforms Act-Validity of-Held, the period of limitation under the Act does
get extend.ed till rights of regrant to village officer were finally decided-
Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961-Section 48-A.

Section 4(3), 5, 6 and 7-Abolition of village office-Resumption under G
Section 4(3)-Whether lands became 'Government lands '-Held, No.
Resumption under Section 4(3) not absolute.:_Lands resumed cannot be
allotted for general or public purpose but remains strictly for regrant-Thus
lands does not become Government lands.
Interpretations of statutes : H
553
554 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1998] I S.C.R.
A Provisions fixing period of limitation-Interpretation of-Held, equitable
considerations are out of place and strict grammatical meaning of the words
the only safe guide-Plain or grammatical construction leading to injustice
or absurdity is to be avoided only if the language permits.

The lands in dispute were emoluments attached to the village office.
B The said village office stood abolished under the Village Offices Abolition
Act, 1961 and under the provisions of Section 5 of the Act, the erstwhile
holders of the office could obtain regrant of the lands. Thus, certain •
proceedings for regrant were initiated by the erstwhile holders under the
Village Office Abolition Act, 1961. Appellant No. 1 claiming to be cultivating-
C tenant of land, filed an application on 7.3.1984 under Section 45 of Karnataka
Land Reform Act, 1961 (the Act) for grant of occupancy rights. The said
application was allowed by Land Tribunal and Appellate Authority. However
on revision the );Iigh Court dismissed the application for grant of occupancy
rights holding that it was filed beyond the limitation fixed under the Section
48-A of the Act. Hence the present appeal.
D
On behalf of the appellant it was contended that the provision in Section
48-A of the Act prescribing limitation has to be considered liberally in
favour of tenants and the period was to be extended unless the claims
regarding re-g'rant of the emoluments of the village office under Section 5
E of the Village Office (Abolition) Act, 1961 were finally decided by the
concerned authorities under the Act; that after 1.2.1963. when the village
offices stood abolished and when under Section 4(3) of that Act the
emoluments of the village office stood automatically resumed, the lands stood
vested in the Government under Section 4 of the Act and therefore became
'government lands'. Consequently under Section 107 of the Act, these lands
F were not covered by the Act: the provisions under Section 45 and Section
48-A operated by virtue of Section 126 of the Act, only from the dates on
which the question of re-grant in favour of the erstwhile village officers was
finally decided.

The respondent contended that Section 48-A of the Act, which refers
G to the period of limitation for filing application under Section 45 of the Act
is unambiguous and operates by its own force and no resort can be made to
Section 5 of Village Office (Abolition) Act, 1961 which deals with re··grant ~-
of emoluments attached to village offices: that these lands, upon abolition of
village offices, are not 'government lands' and hence Section 107 of the Act
H does not apply: the amendment of section 126 by Act l of 1979 was only
R. RUDRAIAHv. STATE 555
clarificatory and only for removal of doubts. A
r Dismissing the appeals this, Court

HELD : I. I. The application filed by appellant no. 1 under Section 45
of Land Reforms Act, 1961 on 7.3.1984, long after 30.6J 979 is barred by
Section 48-A of the Act, and High Court was right in dismissing the said B
.... )... application while exercising revisional powers.

1.2. Section 48-A of the Act as amended by the Amending Act 1/1979,
'
specially deleted the provision for con donation of delay in filing application
under Section 45 of the Act contained in the unamended Section. It is thus
obvious that by deleting the provisions relating to the power to condone the c
delay for sufficient cause, the Legislature had clearly intended to do away
with the said power of condonation vested in the Tribunal. If therefore the
Legislature wanted to make a deliberate departure and introduced an
amendment to take away the power of condonation of delay, it is difficult to
accept the contention that Section 48-A is capable of more than one
D
interpretation - one leading to injustice and another permitting avoidance of
such injustice to tenants and that the Court should opt for a liberal
interpretation.

1.3. It is true there is a principle of interpretation of statutes that th.e
plain or grammatical construction which leads to injustice or absurdity is E
to be avoided. But that principle can be applied only if "the language admits
of an interpretation which would avoid it". Section 48-A, as amended , has
fixed a specific date for the making of an application by a simple rule of
arithmetic, and there is therefore no scope for implying any 'ambiguity' at .
all.
F
Tirath Singh v. Bachiter Singh, AIR (1955) SC 830 Sham Rai v. Dt.
~ Magistrate, AIR (1952) SC 324 and Nagendranath Dev v. Suresh Chandra
Dev ILR 60 Cal l(PC), relied on.

2.1. The period of limitation for filing application under Section
48-A of the Act is not extended till the rights of regrant of erstwhile village G
officers were finally decided .
-" ~
.. Eswarappav. State o/Karnataka, (1979) 2 Karn. L.J.182, disapproved.

2.2. Even if the names of the landlords for filing an application under
Section 45 in Form 7 are not known, the provision for public notice protects H
556 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] l S.C.R.

A the rights of tenants claiming occupancy rights. There is a clear provision
under Section 48-A read with Rule 19(1) for a public notice in Form 8 T

addressed to all other persons entitled to be registered as occupants under
Section 45 and to all landlords of such lands and all other persons interested
in such lands. Thus, there was uo difficulty for appellant-tenaut for filiug an
B application under Form 7 before the period of limitation.

3.1. Res\lmption under Section 4(3) of Village Officer Abolition Act.
1961 is not absolute but subject to the provisions of Sections 5, 6 and 7. On
the other hand the language employed in Section 5(3) of the Act, prohibiting
transfer of land regranted under Section 5(1) speaks of 'vesting in the State
C Government free of all encumbrances'. Thus, it is clear that by mere
resumption under Section 4(3) subject to Sections 5, 6 an 7, it was not
intended by the Legislature to equate conditional resumption with absolute
resting of the land in the Government free from all encumbrances so as to
be treated as 'government land'. In fact, because of the restrictions imposed
by Section 4(3) that resumption is subject to Sections 5, 6 and 7, the land
D resumed under Section 4(3) cannot be allotted for general or public purposes
but remains strictly earmarked for regrant and is liable to be regranted. On
the other hand land coming under Section 5(3) where it vests in Government,
free from all encumbrances is clearly 'government land' and is at the
disposal of Government for all public purposes. Therefore on resumption
E under Section 4(3) the lands held by erstwhile office holders does not become
'government land'. Consequently, the said lands are not excluded from the
purview of St>ction 107 of the Act.

3.2. Under Section 107 of the Act, 'government lands' were exempted
from the application of the Act, but subject to the provisions under Section
F 110 of the Act. There are good reasons of policy as to why, under Section
107 of the Act Government land is exempted. Firstly the Section takes notice ,..-
of the fact that when ceiling on lands held by various bodies is to be imposed,
such a ceiling cannot be imposed on la~d held by Government or certain
other enumerated bodies. Government's 'right to hcild land' cannot be limited,
G inasmuch as government does require lakhs of acres for use for public
purpose. Further there is no purpose in taking over excess land in .the State
Government and again revesting the said land in the State Govemment.
Again the policy of the Legislature appears to be, so far as Chapter III of
· the Act and amendments thereto are concerned, that tenants from Government
H are not entitled to claim occupancy under Section 45 of the Act against the
R. RIJDRAIAH v. STATE [M. JAGANNADHA RAO, J.] 557
'. Government even if they were in possession before 1.3.1974. A
3.3. If it is assumed that upon 'resumption' under Section 4(3) the
land held by the erstwhile office holders had become 'government lands' then
as a matter of policy the provision of Section I 07 of the Act right from the
date when the Act came into force, were not to be applied to such lands.
Consequently, tenants cannot seek occ_upancy or ownership rights in lands B
held by Government even after 1.1.1979. No application under Section 45
would be maintainable and the very application of the appellant would have
to be dismissed on that ground, whether filed in 1974 or 1979 or later.

4. After the amendment of 1979 Section 126 is only clarificatory or C
declaratory in nature for removal of doubts. Thus, it cannot be said that the
provisions under Section 45 and 48-A operated by virtue of Section 126 only
from the dates on which the question of regrant in favour of the erstwhile
village officers was finally decided.

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal Nos. 561-562 D
l. • of 1998 .
..
From the Judgment and Order dated 18.7.89 of the Ka."!lataka High Court
in C.R.P. Nos. Nos. 625 and 2898 of 1988.

P. Krishnamurthy, N.S. Hegde, (R.S. Hegde) for K.R. Nagaraja, P. Mahale, E
P.P. Singh, S.N. Bhat and N.P.S. Panwar fort.he appearing parties.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

M. JAGANNADHA RAO. J. Leave granted in both SLPs.

In each of these appeals, the appellants are Sri B. Rudraiah and his son F
Sri B. Veeranna. The party respondents are Sri Lakshmi Narasappa (3rd
respondent). Smt. Kittamma (wife of Late Narasimha Murthy) (4th respondent)
. and Sri S.N. Prahlada Rao, (son of Late Narasiah (Jr.) (5th respondent). These
two appeals are directed against the orders in CRP No. 625 of 1988 and CR.P
No. 2898of1988 dated 18.7.1989 of the Kamataka High Court allowing the G
said revisions which were filed by Lakshmi Narasappa (3rd respondent) and
· S.N. Prahlada Rao. (5th respondent) respectively .. In those revisions the
appellants were respondents. The revisions filed in the High Court under
Section 121-A of the Kamataka Land Reforms Act, 1961 were allowed, setting
aside the orders dated 7.11.1987 passed by the appellate authority and by the
Land Tribunal on 27.4.1987 registering occupancy rights in favour of the first H
558 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] I S.C.R.

A appellant i.e. B. Rudraiah in respect of 3 acres 34 guntas and 1 acre 24 gunta~
in Survey No. 55 and 62 respectively of Saneguruvanaballi village, Bangalore T
North Taluk. Aggrieved by the orders of the High Court dated 18.7.1989, these
two appeals are filed by Rudraiah, the aggrieved party. His son B. Veeranna
has joined as the second appellant.

B The main ground on which the High Court has allowed the revisions
of respondents· 3 and 5 and dismissed the Form 7 application of the 1st ""-. ..,
appellant B. Rudraiah is that the said application for grant of occupancy right
was filed on 7.3 .1984 beyond the period prescribed by Section 48-A of the
Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961 (hereinafter called the Land Reforms Act,
C 1961 ). The said provision in Section 48-A was introduced by Karnataka Act
I of 1979 (with effect from 1.3.1974) fixing time limit for filing applications
under Section 45 for registration as "occupants" before the Tribunal. These
words introduced by the amending Act I of 1979 fixing time limit read as
follows:

D "before the expiry of a period of six months from the date of the
commencement of Section 1 of the Karnataka Land Reforms
(Amendment) Act, 1978"

In view of the amendment made by Act 1/1979, the High Court held that
the time stood extended only for 6 months from 1.1.1979 i.e. upto 30.6.1979
E and this date being not in dispute, the application filed by the 1st appellant
on 7.3 .1984 before the Land Tribunal was time barred.

The appellant No. I seeks to have the period of limitation extended
beyond 30.6.1979 by linking up the commencement of limitation under Section
48-A of the KLR Act, 1961 with certain orders passed in proceedings under
F the Karnataka Village Offices Abolition Act, 196 I (hereinafter called the Village
Offices (Abolition) Act, 1961) against Kittamma, (wife ofNarasimha Murthy)
(4th respondent) and in favour of Lakshmi Narasappa (3rd respondent) and
S.N. Prahlada Rao (5th respondent), they being her husband's brother and
deceased brother's son respectively.
G We shall therefore refer to the facts relating to the connection of the
proceedings before us, under the Land Reforms Act, I 961 with the proceedings
under the Karnataka Village Officers Abolition Act, 1961.

The facts leading to the dispute inter se between S.K. Lakshmi Narasappa
H (3rd respondent), S.N. Prahlada Rao (5th respondent) on the one hand and
R. RUDRAIA!-1 v. STATE [M. JAGANNAD!-IA RAO, J.] 559

Kittamma on the other, are as follows: A
'(
Narasaih (Jr), Narasimha Moorthi and S.K. Lakshmi Narasappa (3rd
respondent) are the sons of Narasiah (Sr) who was the Baravardar of the
Shamboghi Office cif the village Saneguruvanahalli. The lands in question
were emoluments attached to the said village office. The rights thereto,
according the respondents 3 and 5 devolved on the death of Narasiah (Sr) B
.~
,._ upon his aforesaid three sons. Of them Narasimha Moorthi (who allegedly
sold this property on 11.3.1970 to Rudraiah, !st appellant) died in 1971,
leaving behind him, his wife Kittamma (4th respondent in these CAs). Later
on, Narasiah (Jr) died in 1975 leaving behind him Prahlada Rao (5th respondent).
The village offices stood abolished under the Village Offices Abolition Act,
c
1961, w.e.f. 1.2.1963 and under the provisions of Section 5 of that Act, the
erstwhile holders of the village office could obtain re-grant of the lands after
the village offices stood abolished under Section 4(1) of the said Act and after
the emoluments stood "resumed" by force of Section 4(3) of the said Act. It
is the case of the l st appellant that even before 1961, he was the cultivating
tenant of the land in question and continued to be in possession. Prior to his D
death in 1971, Narasimha Moortlii, one of the sans ofNarasiah (Sr) applied
before the Asstt. Commissioner under section 5 of the KVO Act, 1961 for re-
grant of the entire lands exclusively in his favour. This was contested by his
brother S.K. Lakshmi Narasappa (3rd respondent) and Narasiah (Jr.). It appears
that the Asstt. Commissioner by orders dated 22.6.1970 decided that the lands
should be re-granted in favour of all three brothers, i.e. sons of the last holder
E
and he did not.accept the report -of the Tahsildar that re-grant should be in
favour ofNarasimha Moorthi (husband ofKittamma) alone for the entire land.

Narasimha Moorthi filed an appeal MA No.21of1971 before the District
Judge and as he died, his wife Kittamma came on record as appellant. The F
matter was remanded on 20.2.1973 and after remand, an order was passed on
~
19 .4.82 by the Tahsildar again against Kittamma. During the pendency of the
appeal, Narasiah Jr, died in 1975 and Prahlada Rao, his son came on record
. in his place. Against the fresh order dated 19.4.1982, Kittamma filed appeal
MA 20 of 1982 questioni~g the aforesaid order of the Tahsildar, before the G
appellate authority, impleading Lakshmi Narasappa (her husband's brother)

-~
- .,_.. an_d Prahlada- Rao, (her husband's nephew), as respondents. In that appeal,
the 1st appellant Rudraiah filed IA No. 3 for being impleaded as..purchaser
of the entire property from Natasimha Moorthi and· the said application for
impleadment was allowed on 30.1.84 by the Addi. City Civil Judge, the appellate H
560 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] 1 S.C.R.

A authority. Thereafter, the appeal of Kittamma was dismissed on 17.12.1984 and
the revision of Kittamma CRP 300 of 1985 was also dismissed by the High
Court on 22.1.1985. Kittamma's SLP (c) 9347of1985 was dismissed by this
Court on 9.1.I987. It appears that appellant also filed CRP 654of1985 and it
was rejected on 30.7.1989. (There was also another SLP (C) 14391/1981 by !st
B appellant's son Veeranna (second appellant) and others against an order in
another CRP 634/1985 which was dismissed by this Court on 9.5.1991). It is·
to be noticed that Veeranna, 2nd appellant son of Rudraiah (1st appellant)
claims to have purchased the share of Narasimha Moorthi from Kittamma.
This is why Kittamma is now supporting the case of the appellants. The
above is a resume of the facts in the proceedings under section 5 of the
C Village Officers (Abolition) Act, 1961.

We shall now refer to the rival contentions of the parties in the appeals
before us.

It is contended by the learned counsel for the appellants Sri. R.S. Hegde
D that the provision in section 48-A prescribing limitation has to be considered
liberally in favour of tenants and the period is to be extended. It is also
contended alternatively that unless the claims regarding re-grant of the
emoluments of the village office under Section 5 of the Village Offices
(Abolition) Act, 1961 were finally decided by the concerned authorities under
E that Act, the period of limitation fixed under Section 48-A of the Land Reforms
Act, I 961 did not start, inasmuch as it is not possible to specify who the
landlord is. He contends that the application under Section 45 in Form 7
requires the name of landlords to be specified and that if it is not known who
the landlords are until the case under section. 5 of the Village Offices (Abolition)
Act, 1961 as to re-grant of the village officer's emoluments is finally decided,
F · time does not start till that question is finally decided. Yet another contention
is that after 1.2.1963, when the village offices stood abolished and when under
Section 4(3) of that Act the emoluments of the village office stood automatically
resumed, the lands stood vested in the Government under Section 4 of that
Act and therefore became 'government lands'. Consequently, under Section
G 107 of the Land Reforms Act, 1961 these lands were not covered by the said
Land Reforms Act. If they were not so covered, then the time limit in Section
48-A of that Act, relating to filing of applications by tenants for occupancy
did not also apply. Contention is that the said provisions under Section 45
and Section 48-A operated- by virtue of Section 126 of the Land Reforms Act,
1961 - only from the dates on which the question of re - grant in favour of
H the erstwhile village officers was finally decided. Hence it is argued that the
R. RUDRAIAH v. STATE [M. JAGANNADHA RAO, J.] 561

provision relating to the period of limitation mentioned in Section 48-A of the A
Land Refonns Act, 1961 namely 6 months from the commencement of Section
I of Karnataka Land Reforms Amendment Act, 1978 (Actl/1979) - did not
come into operation till 22.1.1985 when Kittamma's CRP 300 of 1985 was
dismissed or when appellants CRP 653of1985 was dismissed on 20.7.1989.
Yet another contention is that amendment to section 126 by Land Reforms B
, .__ t- Act introduced by Act 1/79 is not clarificatory.

The above contentions of the appellants are supported by learned
senior counsel Sri P. Krishna Murthy appearing for Kittamma, 4th respondent.
learned counsel relies also on rule 4 of the Karnataka Village office Abolition
Rules, 1961 dealing with the time and manner of payment of 'occupancy - C
price' under Section 5 and 6 of the V:illage Offices (Abolition) Act, 196 J by
the erstwhile village offices upon re - grant of lands in their favour after the
abolition of the village offices. He contends that until the erstwhile village
offices are declared entitled to re - grant upon payment of occupancy price
and until they had actually paid the same, the time fixed under Section 48-
A of the Land Reforms Act, 1961 does not start to run. D
J..
On the other hand, Sri N.S. Hegde, learned senior counsel for the
respondents 3 and 5 (i.e. S.K. Lakshmi Narasappa and S.N. Prahlada Rao)
contends that Section 48-A of the Land Refonns Act, 1961 which refers to
the period of limitation for filing application under section 45 of the Land E
Refonns Act, 1961 is unambiguous and operates by its own force and no
resort can be made to Section 5 of Village Offices (Abolition) Act, 1961 which
deals with re - grant of emoluments attached to village offices. It is contended
that there can be no linkage between the two Acts. It is argued that time in
the present case had expired clearly on 30.6.1979, as fixed by statute and there
was therefore no ambiguity in the language of the provision. Alternatively, F
it is argued that these lands, upon abolition of village offices, are not
'government lands'. Hence Section· 107 of the Land Refonns Act, 1961 does
. not apply. On the other hand, Section 126 of that Act came into play
immediately after 1.3.1974 when section 48-A was introduced with retrospective
effect by Act 1/79 w.e.f. 1.3.1974. After the Amendment in 1979, time stood
extended for 6 months from LI. 79 upto 30.6. 79. The amendment of section 126 G
by Act I of 1979 was only clarificatory and only for removal of doubts.
Further, the respondent 3 and 5 did not, in the re-grant proceedings under
section 5 of the Village Offices (Abolition) Act, 1961 dispute the right of
Kittamma regarding re - grant of the share of her husband Narasimha Murthy
and it was only Kittamma who disputed the right of her husband's brothers H
562 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] l S.C.R.

A to get two shares. Once the Dy. Commissioner had passed orders on 22.6.1970
to re - grant under section 5 of the Village Offices Abolition Act of 1961 in
favour of respondent 3 and 5 as also respondent 4 or again after remand, the
Tahsildar passed fresh orders on 19 .4.1982, the intention of the government
to re - grant became clear. Even assuming that the lands became 'government
B lands' aft~r the village officers were abolished, the provisions of Section 126
of the Land Reforms Act, 1961 came into operation, at any rate from 19.4.1982
when the second order of re - grant was passed after remand. It is argued that
there was therefore no justification on the part of the 1st appellant to file the
application under section 45 (read with section 48-A) on 7.3.1984, nearly two
years after 19.4.82. In fact the application which ought to have been filed on
C 30.6.1979, was filed only on 7.3.1984 and was ~.opelessly time barred by 5
years. Alternatively, viewed from 19.4.1982, it was barred by 2 years.

On these contentions, the following points arise for consideration : ·

(I) Are the provisions of Sections 45, 48-A of the Land Reforms Act.
D 1961 dealing with the period of limitation for filing application for
grant of occupancy right (namely 6 months from date of commencement
. of Section 1 of Act 1/1979 i.e. 30.6.1979) clear and unambiguous and
not capable of extension on the ground that there is ambiguity or on
the ground that they lead to gnwe injustice?

E (2) Can the appellant rely on Section 5 and 8 of the Village Offices
(Abolition) Act, 1961 and Rule 4 Karnataka Village Offices Abolition
Rules, 1961 read with Section 107 and 126 of the Land Reform~ Act,
1961 and Form 7 under that Act, to contend that unless the rights of
regrant to the erstwhile village officers under Section 5 of the Village
Offices(Abolition) Act, 1961 is finally decided, the limitation under
F
Section 48-A of the Land Reforms Act, 1961 does not commence?

'Point I:

The point is whether the language in Section 48-A of the Land Reforms
G Act, 1961 fixing a period of limitation is clear and unambiguous. If the period
is 6 months from the date of commencement of section 1 of the KLR Amendment
Act of 1978 (Act 1/1979), and if the date of commencement of that section
is not in dispute and the six month period for filing application is to count
from 1.1.79 and it expired on 30.6.1979, can it be £aid that the language of
section 48-A is ambiguous and is to be liberally construed? Can it be said
H that if 30.6.79 is the last day for filing of applications by tenant then section t
. R. RUDRAIAH v. STATE [M. JAGANNADHA RAO, J.] 563

48-A must be treated as harsh and unjust to tenants and should be interpreted A
"(
differently?

We shall first examine the relevant provisions of the Land Reforms Act,
1961. The said Act came into force from 2.10.1965. Chapter 1 thereof deals
with ·definitions', Chapter II deals with 'general provisions regarding tenancies
like, who are tenants or deemed tenant, rent, termination of tenancies, eviction B
_......_ }-
of tenants, tenants' right to purchase, procedure for taking possession or
recovery rent etc. We are here concerned with Chapter IJl which deals with
'conferment of ownership on tenants' in possession and who are personally
cultivating lands as on 1.3.1974. In fact that is the date when new Sections
44, 45 were substituted .by Act 1of1974 w.e.f. 1.3.1974. Section 44(1) says c
that all lands held by or in possession of tenants immediately prior to the date
of commencement of the' Amendment Act (except lands held by reasons
permitted under Section 5) shall, w.e.f. on and from the said date (i.e. 1.3.1974)
stand transferred to and vest in the State Government.
D
Then come Sections 45 and 48-A (as amended by Act 1/1979) and they
read as follows:

"45. Tenants. to be registered as occupants of land on certain
conditions.-(!) Subject to the provisions of the succeeding sections
of this Chapter, every person who was a permanent tenant, protected E
tenant or other tenant or where a tenant has lawfully sublet, such sub-
tenant shall with effect on and from the date of vesting be entitled to
be registered as an occupant in respect of the lands of which he was
a permanent tenant, protected tenant or other tenant or sub-tenant
before the date of vesting and which he has been cultivating personally.
F
'("
48-A. Enquiry by the Tribunal, etc.-(!) Every person entitled to be
registered as an occupant under section 45 may make an application
to the Tribunal in this behalf. Every such application shall, save as
provided in this Act, be made before the expiry of a period of six
months from the date of the commencement of section 1 of the G
Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Act. 1978".
--~
In order to understood the intention of the legislature in bringing
forward the above Amendment, we shall refer to section 48-A as it stood
before the Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 1978 (Act 1/1979). We
shall show that earlier it in fact contained a specific provision for condonation H
564 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] l S.C.R

A of delay in filing the application under Section 45, but the same was deleted
by the 1978 Amendment. The unamended Section 48-A read as follows:

"Every person entitled to be registered as an occupant under Section
45 may make an application to the tribunal in this behalf. Every such
applications shall, save as provided in this Act, be made on or before
B the 31st day of December 1974.

Provided that the tribunal may,for sufficient cause shown, admit
an application well beyond that date but on or before 30th June,
1977".

C Comparing this with the amended section 48-A set out above, it will be
noticed that the above proviso was deleted by the Amel)ding Act 1/1979 with
effect from 1.3.1979. Thereafter to obviate hardship, 6 months time was given
from date of commencement of Section I of the Amending Act, 6 months from
1.1.1979, i.e: upto 30.6.1979.

D It is obvious that by deleting the provisions relating to the power to
condone the delay for sufficient cause, the Legislature had clearly intended ,.l

to do away with the said power of condonation of the Tribunal. It was in fact
so held by a learned Single Judge of the Kamataka High Court in Virupaxappa
v. Land Tribunal, [(1980) 2 Karnataka L.J.428]. This view, in our opinion, is
E quite correct. If therefore the Legislature wanted to make a deliberate departure
and introduced an amendment to take away the power of co.ndonation of
delay, it is difficult to accept the contention that Section 48-A is capable of
more than one interpretation - one leading to injustice and another permitting
avoidance of such injustice to tenants and that the Court should opt for a
liberal interpretation. Another reason for rejecting the appellant's contention
F is that we have also to give importance to the words 'save as provided in
the Act', occurring in section 48-A. It is no where else provided in the Land
Reforms Act, 1961 that the period fixed for tenant to file an application under
section 45 gets extended. None has been brought to our notice.

G It is true there is a principle of interpretation of statutes that the plain
or grammatical construction which leads to injustice or absurdity is to be
avoided (See Venkatarama Iyer, J. in Tirath Singh v. Bachiter Singh, AIR
(1955) SC 830 at 855. But that principle can be applied only if"the language
admits of an interpretation which would avoid it". Sham Rai V. Dt. Magistrate
AIR (1952) SC 624 at 327. In our view Section 48-A, as amended, has fixed
H a specific date for the making of an application by a simple rule of arithmetic,
R. RUDRAIAH v. STATE [M. JAGANNADHA RAO, J.] 565

and there is therefore no scope for implying any 'ambiguity' at all. Further A
"the fixation of periods of limitation must always be to some extent arbitrary
and may frequently result in hardship. But ih construing such provisions,
equitable considerations are out of place, and the strict grammatical meaning
of the words is the only safe guide''. (Sir Dinshaw Mulla in Nagendranath
Dev v. Suresh Chandra Dey, !LR 60 Cal I (PC).
B
For the aforesaid reasons, we hold that the application filed by the I st
appellant under Section 45 on 7.3.1984, long after 30.6.1979 is barred by
section 48A of Land Refonns Act, 1961 and the High Court was right in
dismissing the said application while exercising revisional powers. Point I is
held against the appellants. C

Point 2:

We shall now deal with the alternative contention advanced for the
appellant and on behalf of Kittamma (4th respondent) that until proceedings
under the Village Offices (Abolition) Act, 1961 as to re-grant became final in D
the CRPs disposed of on 22.1.1985 or 20.7.1989, the limitation for filing
application under Section 45 did not start:

It is true that Form 7 framed for purposes of filing an application by the
tenant under Section 45 [read with Section 48-A and Rule 19(1)] of the Land
Refonns Act, 1961, require_s in the first column that the 'name of Landlord/ E
landlords' and their address to be given. But, on the facts of this case, if after
1.1.1979 when fresh period of limitation was given upto 30.6.1979 - the I st
appellant did want to file an application, he could have mentioned in the
above column that the landlord, according to him was Narasimha Moorthi (on
hid death, Kittamma). He could have also stated by way of a Note that there
was a dispute raised by Laxmi Narasappa and Prahlada Rao that they had two F
shares out of the land and that the said question was pending in proceedings
under Section 5 of the Village Offices Abolition Act, 1961.

Further, even if it was not possible to add such a Note, there is a clear
provision in Section 48-A read with Rule 19(1) for a public notice in Fonn 8 G
addressed to all other persons entitled to be registered as occupants under
-- ,... Section 45 and to all Landlords of such lands and all other persons interested
in such lands. Unfortunately, the 1st appellant did not avail of such a procedure
which was clearly available and pennissible. We may also state that in an
application under Section 45 as presented in Form 7, the tenant who claims
occupancy rights must prove his possession as tenant before 1.3.1974. Even H
566 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] 1 S.C.R.

A if the names of landlords are not known, the provision for public notice
protects the rights to natural justice of landlords or persons interested in the
land, whose names are not known to the tenant applicant and not shown in
Form 7. There is therefore no such difficulty as imagined by the 1st appellant
in the matter of filing an application under Form 7 before 30.6.1979.

B We shall next take up the main point that after the village offices stood
abolished under Section 4(1) of the Village Offices Abolition Act, 1961 and
the emoluments of the office holders ..stood 'resumed' under Section 4(3), the
lands became 'government lands' and hence Section 107 of the Land Reforms
Act, 1961 excluded such 'government lands' from the purview of that Act
C (including Section 45) and it was only when the question of re-grant of those
lands under the Village Offices Abolition Act, 1961 was finally decided that
the lands ceased to be 'government lands' and it became possible to know
who the landlord was, that Form 7 application could be filed.

It is true that under Section 4(1) of the Village Offices Abolition Act,
D 1961 it is stated that "all village offices shall be and are hereby aboiished"
and Section 4(3) says that land attached to the office "be and is hereby
resumed'. It is true that Section 5 provides for re-grant of land so resumed
to the holder of the village office. Here what is important to notice is the
language employed in subcclause (3) of Section 4 which deals with resumption
as compared to the language employed later in section 5(3) of the same Act.
E It reads:-

"Section 4(3): Subject to the provisions of Section 5, Seqtion 6 and
Section 7, all land granted or continued in respect of or annexed to
a village office by the State shall be and is hereby resumed and ... "

F In other words, the resumption is not absolute but subject to the provision
relating to re-grant to erstwhile office holders as in Section 5 and other' types
of re-grant in Sections 6 and 7. Section 5( l) deals with re-grant to the office
holders and procedure to be followed by them to pay the occupancy-price
and upon such payment on or before the date stated in the provision, the
G holder "shall be deemed to be an occupant or holder of a ryotwari patta" and
under Section 4(2), if he does not pay the occupancy price within the prescribed
period, he shall be summarily evicted. Therefore, on abolition and resumption, ~ --
the erstwhile office holder continues in occupation of the land which previously
was attached to his office and with a right to have his claim for re-grant
considered. If he does not pay the occupancy price then he can be evicted.
H Of course, if he is not re-granted the land, he has any way to vacate.
R. RUDRAIAH v. STATE [M. JAGANNADHA RAO, J.] 567
Section 5 (3) which prohibits transfer of land re-granted under Section 5(1) A
(and now as per amending Act 13178 within a period of 15 years after the date
of the commencement of Act 13178) says in· Section 5(4) that such transfers
shall be null and void and be

"forfeited to and vest in the State Government free from all
encumbrances". B
On a comparison of language employed by the legislature in Section
4(3) of the Village Offices Abolition Act, 1961 which only speaks of resumption
subject to re-grant under Sections 5, 6 and 7 with the language employed in
Section 5(3) which speaks of "vesting in the State Government free of all
encumbrances", it is clear that by mere resumption under Section 4(3) subject c
to Sections 5, 6 and 7, it was not intended by the legislature to equate
conditional resumption with absolute vesting of the land in the Government
free from all encumbrances so as to be treated as ·government land'. In fact,
because of the restriction imposed by Section 4(3) that resumption is subject
to Sections 5, 6 and 7, the land resumed under Section 4(3) cannot be allotted D

- for general or public purposes but remains strictly earmarked for re-grant and
is liable to be re-granted under sections 5, 6 and 7. On the other hand, land
coming under Section 5(3) where it vests in government, free from all
encumbrances, is clearly ·government land' and is at the disposal of
government for all public purposes. Therefore, on resumption under the
section 4(3) the land has not become 'government land'. E
Next we shall refer to Section I 07 of.the Land Reforms Act, 1961 which
is the main plank of the !st appellant's argument.

"Section 107: Act not to apply to certain lands : Subject to the
provisions of Section I 10, nothing in this act, except Section 8, shall apply F
to lands-

(i) belonging to Government
(ii) ...................... .

(iii) belonging to or held on lease by or from a local authority.... G
(iv) given as gallantry award ...

(vii) used for cultivation by the Coffee Board ...

(viii) held by any Corporation contracted by the State Government or
the Central Government or both... H
568 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1998] 1 S.C.R.

A Section 107 says that the Land Reforms Act does not apply to
'government lands'. This is however subject to the provisions of section 110.
Under section· 110, Government may ·by notification' direct that any land
covered by sections I 07 and I 08 shall not be exempt from such of the
provisions of this Act from which they have been exempted under the said
section.
B
Reading the section, it appears that there are good reasons of policy
as to why, under section 107 of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961,
government land is exempt. Firstly the section takes notice of the fact that
when ceiling on land held by various bodies is to be imposed, such a ceiling
C cannot be imposed on land held by Government or certain other enumerated
bodies. Government 'right to hold land' can not be limited, inasmuch as
government does require lakhs of acres for use for public purposes. Further
there is no purpose in taking over excess land from State Government and
again revesting the said land in the State Government. Again the policy of
the legislature appears to be, so far as Chapter lII of the Act and amendments
D thereto are concerned, that tenants from Government are not entitled to claim
occupancy under section 45 of the Act against the Government, even if they
were in possession before 1.3.1974.

We shall first assume that the contention of the !st appellant that upon
E 'resumption' under Section 4(3) of the Village Offices Abolition Act, 1961 the
land held by the erstwhile office holder had become 'government land' is
correct. The position then will be that if, as a matter of policy the provisions
of section 107 of the Land Reforms Act, 1961 right from 2.10.1965 when the
said Act came into force, were not to be applied to such lands, then Sections
45 and 48-A substituted by Act I of 1974 w.e.f. 1.3.1974 or as they now stand,
F would not also apply, ever after 1.1.79 or 30.6.79. Therefore such tenants
cannot seek occupancy or ownership rights in lands held by government,
even after 1.1.79. No application under section 45 would be maintainable and
the very application of the appellant would have to be dismissed on that
ground, whether filed in 1974 or 1979 or later. This contention of the appellants
G appears to have been advanced without noticing that it is clearly self-
destructive.

Further, even ifthe land had become 'government land', on resumption,
there is no procedure for change of ownership from government land to the
erstwhile-holder of village office outside section 4(3) so as to permit a
H contention that the land ceased to be government land. There can be a
R. RUDRAIAH v. STATE [M. JAGANNADHA RAO, J.] 569
cessation of the land as government land under section I 07 only if government A
proceeds to exclude by notification under section 110 such land from the
purview of section 107. It is no body's case that after a decision as to who
is entitled to re-grant under section 5 of the Village offices (Abolition) Act,
1961, Government is to issue a notification under section 110 excluding the
land so re-granted from the purview of 'government land'. Hence the entire B
theory based on section I 07 ·propounded by the appellant does not fit into
the scheme of the Land Reforms Abolition Act, 1961.

Learned counsel for the appellant relied upon the decision of a learned
Single Judge of the Karnataka High Court in Eswarappa v. State ofKa1nataka,
(1979) 2 Kam. L.J. 182 as an authority to say that the appellant could file an C
·application under Section 45 of the Land Reforms Act, 1961 only after the
determination of rights of the erstwhile village office holders' to re-grant were
finally decided under the latter Act. .

We do not think that the aforesaid decision helps the appellants. What
is important to notice is that in that case the application under Section 45 in D
Form 7 was filed in time. This is clear from the case Nos. of the cases filed
in the Tribunal as given in the Judgment. They appear to be of 1974 (before
1978 Amendment) and were disposed of by the Land Tribunal on 27.12.1976,
long before the 1978 amendment gave further time upto 30.6.79. In fact, no
question of limitation of an application filed under Section 45 after 30.6. 79 E
arose in that case nor was decided. The applications of the tenants were
contested by the opposite party stating that the lands in question were Patel
Umbli lands, and that the lands were not yet re-granted to the opposite parties
under the Village Offices Abolition Act. 1961 and hence the Tribunal aid not
have jurisdiction to decide the application filed under section 45 of the Land
Reforms Act, 1961. The applicants-tenants, on the other hand, contended that F
the lands were not attached to village offices but were Devadayam lnam lands
and that the services attached to temples and the inam lands attached to the
said services were both abolished w.e.f. 1.1.1970. The Tribunal accepted the
plea of the opposite party and dismissed the Section 45 applications. The
tenants filed a writ petition in the High Court and it was held that if the inam
lands were attached to services rendered to religious institutions as contended G
for by th_e tenants, they would stand abolished under the statute of 1955. On
the other hand, if they were inams attached to village offices, they would
stand abolished by Act of 1961 w.e.f. 1.2.1963. The Land Reforms Act, 1961
came into force from 2. I 0.1965 and right to Occupancy had to be judged under
section 45 on the basis of possession as tenant immediately before 1.3.1974 H
570 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1998) I S.C.R.

A under Act 1/1974 as amended by Act 1/1979. On the above basis, it was held
by the High Court that in view of the contention of the tenants, the rights
of service holders under the 1955 Act had to be considered first because if
the lands were attached to a religious service as inam, then the Village Offices
(Abolition) Act would not apply and no question of re-grant under that Act
could arise. In case, it was held under the I 955 Act that the lands were not
B inams attached to a religious service, then the question of their resumption
under Village Offices Abolition Act would have to be decided. It was further
held that it was only thereafter that the claims under section 45 of the Land
Reforms Act, I 961 could be "considered' and

"therefore the Tribunal will have to keep these applications pending
c instead of disposing them of."

Thus, all that was decided in that case was that in cases where Section 45
applications under the Land Reforms Act, 1961 had been filed in time, and
there was a dispute whether they were inam lands attached to a service
D connected with a temple or were emoluments attached to a village office, then
the proceedings under section 45 should be kept pending and adjourned till
these questions as to which Act applied, was decided. It is therefore clear that
no question of limitation in filing application under section 45 and particularly
one relating to the Amendment of Act 1/79 came up for consideration, in the
above case. In fact, when Tribunal in that case passed orders on 27.12.76 the
E provision for condonation of delay in section 48A was very much in existence.
That power was taken away only under Act 1/79. Hence the above judgment
is clearly not relevant.

We shall then refer to Section 126 of the Land Reforms Abolition Act, 1961
upon which both sides relied. It deals with "Application of Act to Inams".
F It starts with the words "For the removal of doubts" and states that it is
"hereby" declared that the provisions of the Act, in so far as they confer any
rights and impose any obligation on tenants and landlords, shall be applicable
to tenants holding lands in inams and other alienated village or lands including
tenants referred to in Section 8 of the Village Offices Abolition Act, 1961,
G but subject to the provisions of the said Act and to landlords and inamdars
holding in such villages or lands.

The un.derlined words were introduced by Act 1 of 1979 w.e.f. 1.1.1979.
It is the contention of the I st appellant that it was oniy w .e.f. 1.1.1979 that
the Act gave certain rights to tenants of land held by village offict:s and that
H the amendment of 1979 was not retrospective in the sense ofbein.g clarificatory.
R. RUDRAIAH v. STATE [M. JAGANNADHA RAO, J.] 571
It will be noticed that after the Amendment by Act 1/1979 in Section 126, the A
added words are preceded by the words "including". The words 'removal of
doubts' therefore govern the inams abolished under the Village Offices
(Abolition) Act, 1961 also. In other words, the Amendment of 1979 is
clarificatory or declaratory that the Land Reforms Act, 1961 was always
applicable to lands attached to village offices after abolitions of the said B
offices under the Village Offices (Abolition) Act. 1961. This contention of the
appellant therefore fails. Even if the amendment is prospective, the application
under section 45 is to be filed on or before 30.6.1979 and that was not done.

Learned senior counsel for Kittamma (4th respondent) Sri Krishnamoorthi
contended that till the occupancy-price is paid by the erstwhile office holder C
under Section 5(1) of the Village Offices Abolition Act read with Rule 4 of the
Rules made under the Village Offices Abolition Act, the rights as to re-grant
do not get crystallised and hence it is not possible to fill up Form 7 for filing
an application under Section 45 of the Land Reforms Act, 1961. It is argued
that till re-grant, the land is 'government land'. We have already considered
this contention and rejected the same. D

For all the above reasons, the appeals are dismissed. There shall be no
order as to costs.

S.V.K.l. Appeals dismissed.