Section 17 Of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act 1955 ~ LLBH

Section 17 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act 1955

Section 17 gives the power to the owner of a land to terminate the cultivation by bargadar on his land on some specified grounds, but such termination can only be done in execution of an order passed by the competent authority or officer.

Termination of cultivation by bargadar

Subsection (1)
No person shall be entitled to terminate cultivation of his land by a bargadar except in execution of an order, made by such officer or authority as the State Government may appoint, on one or more of the following grounds-

(a) that the bargadar has without any reasonable cause failed to cultivate the land, or has used it for any purpose other than agriculture;

(b) that the land is not cultivated by the bargadar personally;

(c) that the bargadar has failed to tender deposit to the full extent the share of the produce as required by sub-section (2), or sub-section (4), as the case may be, of section 16:

Provided that no order for the termination of cultivation, made on the ground specified in this clause, shall be given effect to if the bargadar delivers to the person, whose land he cultivates, the share of the produce due to such person, or pays to him the market price thereof, within such time and in such instalments as the officer or authority making the order may, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, specify in his behalf;

(d) that the person owning the land requires it bona fide for bringing it under personal cultivation:

Provided that the person owning the land shall be entitled to terminate cultivation by a bargadar or only so much of land as, together with any other land in the personal cultivation of such person, does not exceed 3.00 hectares :

Provided further that such person shall not be entitled to so terminate cultivation by a bargadar as to reduce the aggregate area of the land cultivated by the bargadar to less than 1.00 hectare.

Explanation.—In determining the areas specified in the foregoing provisos no transfer of land made after the commencement of the West Bengal Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 1970, shall be taken into account.

Explanation.—For purposes of clause (b), a bargadar who cultivates the land with the help of members of his family shall be deemed to cultivate it personally.

Subsection (2)

If an owner fails to bring under personal cultivation any land, the cultivation of which by a bargadar has been terminated under clause (d) of sub-section (1) within two years from the date of such termination or allows such land to be cultivated by some other person, the land shall vest in the State free from all encumbrances under an order of the prescribed authority in the prescribed manner, and the owner of the land shall be entitled to an amount therefor in accordance with the provisions of section 14V.

(3) Omitted

(4) No bargadar shall be entitled to cultivate more than [4.00 hectares] of land. In computing this area any land owned by the bargadar as well as the land cultivated by him as a bargadar shall be taken into account.

(5) If a bargadar cultivates land in excess of [4.00 hectares] the share of the produce due to him as a bargadar in respect of the land in excess of [4.00 hectares] shall be forfeited to the State Government by the order made in this behalf by a Revenue Officer.

(6) Where any land cultivated by a bargadar is in excess of the limit specified in sub-section (4), the person whose land is cultivated by such bargadar shall, if the excess land is within the provisions of Chapter II-B, have the land cultivated by any person referred to in section 49 who is willing to cultivate the said land as a bargadar.

Explanation.—For the purposes of clause (d) of sub-section (1) and sub-section (2), "personal cultivation" shall not include cultivation by servant or labourers on wages payable in cash or in kind not being as a share of the produce, or both.

The provisions of section 17 by which the rights of the bargadar has been protected cannot be challenged on the ground that it is either unconstitutional, unreasonable or arbitrary.-- Madhusudan Singh v. Union of India, AIR 1984 SC 374.

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