Sinha, J. - (1.) The subject matter and the legal points involved in this application and 101 other applications are the same. The petitioners in all these applications are occupancy raiyats in respect or holdings situated within the State of West Bengal. The question is as to whether by virtue of the West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act 1953 (Act I of 1954) the interests of the petitioners can be acquired by the State. Before I deal with this point, it will be necessary to state in brief how estates in West Bengal came to be acquired. The West Bengal Estates Acquisition Act 1953, which is West Bengal Act I of 1954 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') came into operation on the 12th February, 1954 having received the assent of the President. The preamble to the Act states that it is an Act to provide for the State acquisition of estates, of rights of intermediaries therein and of certain rights of raiyats and under-raiyats. Under Section 4 of the Act, "it is provided that the State Government may from time to-time by notification declare that with effect from the date mentioned in the notification, all estates and the rights of every intermediary in each such estate, situated in any district or part of a district specified to the notification, shall vest in the State free from all incumbrances. Under Section 2 (1), "intermediary" has been denned to mean a proprietor, tenure-holder, under-tenure-holder or any other intermediary above a raiyat or a non-agricultural tenant. The word "estate" has not been defined in the Act, but Section 2 (p) lays down that expressions used in the Act and not otherwise defined have in relation to the areas to which the Bengal Tenancy Act 1835 (VIII of 1885) applies, the same meaning as in that Act, and in relation to other areas meaning as similar thereto as the existing law relating to land tenures applying to such areas, permits. Prior to the coming into operation of the Act, land was held by the Zemindar or proprietor and his tenants, who, as described by Section 4 of the Bengal Tenancy Act, were grouped under three heads, namely, (1) tenure-holders, including under-tenure-holders; (2) raiyats; and (3) under-raiyats, that is to say, tenants holding, whether immediately or mediately, under raiyats; and the following classes of raiyats (namely): (a) raiyats holding at fixed rates, which expression means raiyats holding either at a rent fixed in perpetuity, or at a rate of rent fixed in perpetuity, (b) occupancy-raiyats, that is to say, raiyats having a right of occupancy in the land held by them, and (c) non-occupancy-raiyats, that is to say, raiyats not having such a right of occupancy.
(2.) According to Section 5 (1) of the Bengal Tenancy Act, the word "tenure-holder" means primarily a person who has acquired from a proprietor or from another tenure-holder, a right to hold land for the purpose of collecting rents or bringing it under cultivation by establishing tenants on it and includes also the successors In interest of persons who have acquired such a right. Section 5 (2) defines the word ''raiyat" as meaning primarily a person who has acquired such a right to hold land for the purpose of cultivating it by himself or by members of his family or by servants or labourers or with the aid of partners, and includes also the successors-in-interest of persons who have acquired such a right. Although the object of the Act was to provide for the State acquisition of estates and the rights of intermediaries therein and of certain rights of raiyats and under-raiyats, in the Act as originally framed, the intermediaries dealt with were 'true intermediaries', as described by Bose, J., in the case of Biswanibhar Singh v. State of Orissa, that is to say, the person who holds an interest in the land somewhere between a raiyat and the overlord of the State This however was not all. Chapter VI of the Act' dealt with acquisition of certain khas lands and rent receiving interests. This Chapter VI has undergone three substantial amendments. In fact, it is under the provisions of this Chapter that the interests of the petitioners in these cases are being acquired. It will therefore be necessary to follow the various amendments and to observe the significance thereof. The heading of this chapter as appearing in the original bill and as retained by the Joint Select Committee was "Special provision for the acquisition of certain interests of raiyats and under-raiyats". But in the heading as it was incorporated in the original Act, or in the body of the chapter, there was no mention made of raiyats or under-raiyats The chapter consisted of Sections 49 to 52. Section 49 lays down that the pro-visions of this chapter shall come" into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the official gazette, appoint. Section 50 as it originally stood was as follows: "50. Certain persons to be deemed to be intermediaries. For the purposes of this Chapter the following classes of persons, not being intermediaries within the meaning of Clause (i) of Section (2), shall be deemed to be intermediaries within the meaning of this Act, namely : (1) persons who hold lands which they cultivate by bargadars as defined in the West Bengal Bargadars Act, 1950, (W. B. Act II of 1950) or which they do not cultivate themselves or by members of their families, or by servants or labourers; (2) persons who have sublet their holdings in part or in whole". Section 51 provided for the vesting in the State of so much of the khas lands of persons referred to in Clauses (1) and (2) of Section 50, which they cultivated through bargadars and which they did not cultivate themselves or by members of their families or by servants or labourers, and of rent-receiving Interests of persons referred to In Clause-(2) of Section 50. It was however provided that persons whose lands have vested in the State under Sub-section (1) would be entitled to retain khas lands not exceeding three acres, as tenants under the State Government. It win thus be seen that nothing was said about the position of the interests of raiyats and under-raiyats In express terms. The first amendment of the Act was by the West Bengal Estates Acquisition (Amendment) Act 1954 (Act XIII of 1954). By this Amendment Act, Section 52. was altered, but the alteration is not of any direct consequence for the purposes of these applications. This was followed by West Bengal Ordinance No. IV of 1954 which also it is not necessary for our purposes to consider. The next amendment was by the West Bengal Estates Acquisition (Amendment) Act 1955 (W. B. Act XXXV of 1955) which came into operation on the 25th November, 1955. By this amendment, the heading of Chapter VI was changed into "Acquisition of Interests of raiyats and under-raiyats". Sections 50 and 51 of the Act were omitted and were to be deemed always to have been omitted. Section 52 was totally altered as follows : "52. On the issue of a notification under Section 49 the provisions of Chapters II, III, V and VII shall, with such modifications as may be necessary, apply mutatis mutandis to raiyats and under-raiyats as if such raiyats and under-raiyats were intermediaries and the land held by them were estates and a person holding under a raiyat or an under-raiyat were a raiyat for the purposes of Clauses (c) and (d) of Section 5."
(3.) It is also not necessary to consider the latest amendment, being Amending Act of 1957 (W. B. Act IV of 1957) which came into operation on the 9th March. 1957.;