- (1.) The State of Orissa has appealed to this Court against the judgment of the State High Court declaring "unconstitutional and invalid" Chapter IV of the Orissa Land Reforms (Amendment) Act 15 of 1965.
(2.) The Orissa Land Reforms Act 16 of 1960 (hereinafter called the principal Act) received the assent of the President on October 17, 1960. By Section 1 (3) of the principal Act it ws provided that the Act shall come into force in whole or in part, on such dates or dates as the Government may from time to time by notification appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of the Act. By a notification issued on September 25, 1968 certain provisions of the principal Act other than those contained in Chapters III and IV were brought into force. By a notification dated December 9, 1965 Chapter III (Sections 24 to 37 dealing with resumption for personal cultivation of any land held by a tenant and related matters) was brought into force. But Chapter IV (Sections 38 to 52 dealing with ceiling of holdings of land and disposal of excess land) was not brought into operation. The Legislature of the State of Orissa amended the principal Act by Act 13 of 1965. By Act 13 of 1965 amendments were made in the principal Act: the expressions "ceiling area" and privileged raiyat" were defined by Cls. (5) and (24) of Section 24 and the expression "classes of land" was defined in Section 2 (5-a). The original Chapters III and IV of the principal Act were deleted and were substituted by fresh provisions. Nothing need be said about the amendments made in Chapter III because in these groups of appeals the validity of these provisions is not in issue. It may suffice to say that Chapter III (Sections 24 to 36) as amended deals with the right of the landlord to resume land for personal cultivation, the extent of that right, and the proceedings for resumption of land. Chapter IV as amended deals with ceiling and disposal of excess land. By Section 37 it is provided: "(1) No person shall hold after the commencement of this Act lands as landholders or raiyat under personal cultivation in excess of the ceiling area determined in the manner hereinafter provided. * * * * * *" By Section 38 of the Government is authorised to grant exemption from the operation of the ceiling in respect of certain classes of land. Section 39 deals with the principles for determining the ceiling area. Sections 40, 41 and 42deal with the filing of returns in respect of lands in excess of the ceiling area on the date of commencement of the Act and the consequences of failure to submit the return. Section 43 provides for the preparation and publication of draft statements showing ceiling and surplus lands by the Revenue Officer and Section 44 provides for the publication of the final statement of ceiling and surplus lands after hearing objections, if any, received and after making enquiries as the Revenue Officer may deem necessary. Section 45 provides that: "With effect from the beginning of the year next following the date of the final statement referred to in sub-section (3) of Section 44 the interests of the person to whom the surplus lands relate and of all landholders mediately or immediately under whom the surplus lands were being held shall stand extinguished and the said lands shall vest absolutely in the Government free from all encumbrances." Section 46 provides for determination of compensation. Section 47 sets out the principles for determining compensation. It provides that the compensation in respect of the interest of the landholders mediately or immediately under whom the surplus lands are being held as a landholder or raiyat shall be fifteen times the fair and equitable rent. It also provides for payment of market value of tanks, wells and of structures of a permanent nature situate in the land, determined on the basis of fair rent in the manner deal with the preparation and publication of draft compensation assessment roll and the final compensation assessment roll. By Section 51 provision was made for settlement of surplus lands vested in the Government under Section 45 with persons as raiyat in the order of priority mentioned therein and Section 52 imposes a ceiling on future acquisitions. It is provided thereby: "The foregoing provisions of this Chapter shall, mutatis mutandis, apply where lands acquired and held under personal cultivation subsequent to the commencement of this Act by any person through inheritance, bequest, gift, family settlement, purchase, lease or otherwise, together with the lands in this personal cultivation at the time of such acquisition exceeds his ceiling limit. * * * * * *" By the amendments made in the Constitution by the 17th Amendment Act the principal Act is incorporated in the Ninth Schedule to the Constitution with effect from June 20, 1964. The Act is therefore not liable to be attacked on the plea that it is inconsistent with or takes away or abridges any of the fundamental rights conferred by Part III of the Constitution. But the power of the competent Legislature to repeal or amend the Act incorporated in the Ninth Schedule is not thereby taken away. The amending Act passed after the enactment of the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 1964 does not therefore qualify for the protection of Article 31-B. See Ramanlal Gulabchand Shah v. State of Gujrat, Civil Appeals Nos. 1751 to 1773 of 1966, D/- 19-4-1968 = (AIR 1969 SC 168); Sri Ram Narain Medhi v. State of Bombay, (1959) Supp (1) SCR 489 = AIR 1959 SC 459). This position is not disputed.
(3.) Chapter IV incorporated in the principal Act by Orissa Act 13 of 1965 when brought into force is liable to be challenged on the ground that it is inconsistent with or taken (sic takes ) away or abridges any of the fundamental rights conferred by Part III of the Constitution. It was urged however, and that plea has found favour with the High Court, that Section 47 incorporated by Act 1965 which provided for compensation not based on the market value of the land but at fifteen times the fair equitable rent is inconsistent with Article 31-A, proviso 2, and is on that account void. To appreciate the contention the constitutional provisions relating to protection guaranteed by the Constitution against compulsory acquisition of property may be noticed. By Article 31 (2) as amended by the Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1955, insofar as it is material, it is provided. "No property shall be compulsorily acquired or requisitioned save for a public purpose and save by authority of a law which provides for compensation for the property so acquired or requisitioned and either fixes the amount of the compensation or specifies the principles on which and the manner in which, the compensation or specifies the principles on which and the manner in which, the compensation is to be determined and given; Clause (2A) of Article 31 which in substance defines the expression "law" providing for compulsory acquisition enacts that: "Where a law does not provide for the transfer of the ownership or right to possession of any property to the State or to a corporation owned or controlled by the State, it shall not be deemed to provide for the compulsory acquisition or requisitioning of property, notwithstanding that it deprives any person of his property." By Article 31 (2) read with Article (2A) property may be compulsorily acquired only for a public purpose and by authority of a law which provides for compensation for the property so acquired and either fixed the amount of the compensation or specifies the principles on which, and the manner in which, the compensation is to be determined and given. In order that property may be validly acquired compulsorily the law must provide for the transfer of ownership or right to possession of any property to the State or to a corporation owned or controlled by the State.;