U.P. REVENUE CODE, 2006
Q. 1. U.P. Revenue Code is enforced in which areas and where is it not enforced?
Ans. Applicability of the U.P. Revenue Code.-According to Section 1(1) of the U.P, Revenue Code, 2006 it extends to the whole of Uttar Pradesh.
According to Section 1(2), it shall come into force on such date [i.e. December 18, 2015] as the State Government may, by notification, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different areas or for different provisions of this Code.
Section 2 says that the provisions of this Code, except Chapters VIII and IX shall apply to the whole of Uttar Pradesh, and Chapters VIII and IX shall apply to the areas to which any of the enactments specified at serial numbers 19 and 25 of the First Schedule was applicable on the date immediately preceding their repeal by this Code.
According to Section 3(1), where after the commencement of this Code, any area is added to the territory of Uttar Pradesh, the State Government may, by notification, extend the whole or any provision of this Code, to such area.
Section 3(2) lays down that where any notification is issued under sub-section (1), the provisions of any Act, Rule or Regulation in force in the area referred to in the said sub-section, which are inconsistent with the provisions so applied, shall be deemed to have been repealed.
Section 3(3) of the Act runs that the State Government may, by a subsequent notification, amend, modify or alter any notification issued under sub-section (1).
Q. 2. Define the following terms under the U.P. Revenue Code, 2006.
1. Agriculture
2. Agricultural Labourer
3. Abadi
4. Bhumi Prabandhak Samiti
Ans. (1) Agriculture.- According to Section 4(2) of the UP, Revenue Code, 2006, ‘agriculture includes horticulture, animal husbandry, pisciculture, flower farming, bee keeping and poultry farming.
(2) Agricultural Labourer- According to Section 4(3) of the Code, agricultural labourer means a person whose main source of livelihood is manual labour on agricultural land.
(3) Abadi- According to Section 4(1) of the Code, ‘abadi or village abadi means such area in a village which, on the date of commencement of this Code, is being used for the purposes of residence of its inhabitants or for purposes ancillary thereto such as sahan and green trees, wells etc. or which may have been or be hereafter reserved for such use.
(4) Bhumi Prabandhak Samiti.- According to Section 4(5) of the Code, Bhumi Prabandhak Samiti’ means a Bhumi Prabandhak Samiti constituted under Section 28-A of the U.P. Panchayat Raj Act, 1947.
Q. 3. Explain the term ‘Agricultural year’, ‘State Government and ‘Central Government’ under the U.P. Revenue Code, 2006.
Ans. ‘Agricultural year’.- Under Section 4(23) of the Code ‘agricultural year’ is defined. It is also known as ‘fasali year’. The year begins from ‘first day of July and ends on thirteenth day of June of calender year. Calender year begins from 1st day of January and ends on 31st day of December. This is also provided in U.P. Tenancy Act, 1939 [Section 3(2)]. In Patiraj v. Mamta, AIR 1993 SC 1329 and Wali Mohammad v. Ramsurat, 1989 RD 403 (SC), the definition of ‘fasali year was affirmed. Fasali year started from the day when King Akbar was crowned to throne in 1555 A.D. This year was called 963 fasali, converted into years it comes to 1555-963 equal to 592 years. If the duration is July to December, from A.D. 592 is deducted fasali year will be obtained. Example-From July, 2018 to December, 2018 fasali year will be 2018-5921426 fasali. If the duration is from January to June 593 is deducted out of A.D.
Example – For January, 2019 to June, 2019 fasali year will be 2019-5931426 fasali.
‘State Government’- State Government means Government of Uttar Pradesh under Section 4(42) of U.P. General Clauses Act, 1904 all those acts which are done by the State under Article 258-A of Constitution of India will be considered act of State. (Section 4(27) of the Code]
Central Government’.- According to Section 4(28) of the Code Central Government shall have the some meaning as assigned to it under Section 3 of the General Clauses Act, 1897. Prior to the enforcement of the Constitution of India te. before 26th January. 1950 all those works which were done by-
(1) Governor-General, or (2) Governor-General-in-Council and works authorised by any Province under Government of India Act. 1935, Section 24(1) and powers used and exercised under Section 94(3) of the Government of India Act, 1935 will be considered as functions of the Central Government. Such acts which are done by the Commissioner under aforesaid Act will also be called the acts of Central Government.
Q. 4. Define the following terms:
1. Board
2. Collector
3. Charitable Institution
Ans. (1) Board.- According to Section 4(6) of the U.P. Revenue Code, 2006 ‘Board’ means the Board of Revenue constituted or deemed to be constituted under Section 7.
According to Section 7(1), there shall be a Board of Revenue for Uttar Pradesh consisting of a Chairman and such other members as the State Government may, from time to time, appoint:
Provided that the Board as constituted and functioning immediately before the commencement of this Code shall be deemed to be the Board constituted under this section.
Section 7(3) says that no person shall be qualified for appointment as-
(a) an Administrative Member of the Board, unless he has held an office not lower in rank than that of a Commissioner,
(b) a Judicial Member of the Board, unless he has held an office not below the rank of a Collector.
According to Section 7(4), the State Government may, at the time of making the appointment or at any time subsequent thereto, designate any member, as Judicial Member of the Board, and any such member shall be allotted only judicial business
(2) Collector. – According to Section 4(8) of the Code, ‘Collector’ means an officer appointed as such by the State Government under sub-section (1) of Section 12, and shall include-
(a) an Additional Collector appointed by the State Government under sub-section (2) of the said section; and
(b) an Assistant Collector of the first class empowered by the State Government by notification to discharge all or any of the functions of a Collector under this Code.
(3) Charitable Institution.- Section 4(7) of the U.P. Revenue Code defines the term ‘charitable institution’ as follows-
‘Charitable institution’ means any establishment, undertaking, organisation or association formed for a charitable purpose, and includes a specific endowment
Q. 5. Define the following terms:
1. Consolidated Gaon Fund
2. Grove Land
3. Holding
4. Improvement
Ans. (1) Consolidated Gaon Fund. According to Section 4(9) of the Code, ‘Consolidated Gaon Fund’ means the Consolidated Gaon Fund constituted under Section 69.
Section 69 says-
Consolidated Gaon Fund.- (1) There shall be established for each district, a Consolidated Gaon Fund to which the following amounts shall be credited, namely-
(a) the amount referred to in the proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 68;
(b) all contributions received by the Collector under sub- section (2);
(c) such other amounts as may be prescribed.
(2) Every Gram Panchayat in a district shall pay to the Collector annually such percentage, not exceeding twenty-five, as the State Government may from time to time notify, of the total amount credited to the Gaon Fund under Section 67, in the manner prescribed.
(3) The Consolidated Gaon Fund shall be operated by the Collector and may be applied for the following purposes namely-
(a) the payment of fees and allowances, if any, of the lawyers appointed under Section 72;
(b) the payment of expenses incurred in connection with the conduct and prosecution of suits, applications or other proceedings by or against the Gram Panchayat or the Bhumi Prabandhak Samiti under this Code;
(c) the payment of expenses incurred on protection, preservation and development of lands of common utility; and
(d) the payment of any other sum which the State Government may, by general or special order, declare to be an appropriate charge on such fund.
(4) The Consolidated Gaon Funds constituted under any of the enactments repealed by this Code and subsisting immediately before its commencement shall be deemed to have been constituted under this section.
(5) The State Government may, by notification in the Gazette, direct that a Consolidated Gaon Fund shall be established also for each tahsil for the purpose and in the manner prescribed.
(2) Grove Land. – According to Section 4(11) of the Code, ‘grove land’ means any specific part of land in a holding having trees (not including papaya or banana plants) planted thereon in such manner that they preclude, or when full grown will preclude, the land or any considerable portion thereof from being used primarily for any other purpose, and the trees on such land shall constitute a grove.
In Rama Shiv Ambar Singh v. Allahabad Bank Ltd., AIR 1977 SC 1552, the Supreme Court laid down that to be grove land it is necessary that trees must be grown in such a way that the land cannot be used for any other purpose.
(3) Holding.- According to Section 4(12) of the U.P. Revenue Code, ‘holding’ means a parcel of lands held under one tenure or one lease, engagement or grant.
(4) Improvement.- According to Section 4(13) of the Code, ‘improvement, in relation to a holding, means any work which adds materially to the value of the holding which is suitable thereto and consistent with the purpose for which it is held and which, if not executed on the holding, is either executed directly for its benefit or is, after execution, made directly beneficial to it, and, subject to the foregoing provisions, includes-
(i) the construction of tanks, wells, water channels, embankments and other works for storage, supply or distribution of water for agricultural purposes;
(ii) the construction of works for the drainage of land or for the protection of land from floods, or from erosion or other damage from water;
(iii) the planting of trees and the reclaiming, clearing, enclosing, levelling or terracing of land;
(iv) the erection of buildings on, or in the vicinity of the holding elsewhere than in an abadi or urban area, required for the convenient or profitable use or occupation of the holding, and
(v) the renewal or reconstruction of any of the foregoing works, or alteration therein or additions thereto.
Q. 6. What do you know by land and land-holder under the U.P. Revenue Code, 2006 7 Explain.
Ans. Land. According to Section 4(14) of the Code, ‘land’, except in Chapters VII and VIII and Sections 80, 81 and 136, means land held or occupied for purposes connected with agriculture.
Land holder. According to Section 4(15) of the Code, ‘land holder means the person to whom rent is or but for a contract, express or implied, would be payable.
Q. 7. Define the following terms:
1. Revenue Court
2. Revenue Officer
3. Taungya Plantation
4. Lease
Ans. (1) Revenue Court.- According to Section 4(16) of the Code, “Revenue Court” means all or any of the following authorities (that is to say) the Board and all members thereof, Commissioners, Additional Commissioners, Collectors, Additional Collectors, Chief Revenue Officers, Assistant Collectors, Settlement Officers, Assistant Settlement Officers, Record Officers, Assistant Record Officers, Tahsildars, Tahsildars (Judicial) and Naib-Tahsildars.
(2) Revenue Officer. According to Section 4(17) of the Code, “Revenue Officer” means the Commissioner, an Additional Commissioner, the Collector, an Additional Collector, the Chief Revenue Officer, the Sub-Divisional Officer, an Assistant Collector, the Settlement Officer, an Assistant Settlement Officer, the Record Officer, an Assistant Record Officer, the Tahsildar, the Tahsildar (Judicial), the Naib Tahsildar and the Revenue Inspector.
(3) Taungya Plantation. According to Section 4(19) of the Code, ‘taungya plantation’ means the system of afforestation in which the plantation of trees is, in the earlier stages, done simultaneously with the cultivation of agricultural crops which cases, when trees so planted begin to form a canopy, rendering the cultivation of agricultural crops impossible.
(4) Lease. According to Section 4(25) of the U.P. Revenue Code, ‘lease’ in relation to mines and minerals shall include a sub- lease, a prospecting lease and an agreement to lease or sublet, and ‘lessee shall be construed accordingly.
Q. 8. Write short notes on the following:
1. Intermediary
2. Village
3. Village Artisan
4. Kisan Bahi
5. Decree
Ans. (1) Intermediary. According to Section 4(24) of the Code, ‘intermediary’ with reference to any estate means a proprietor, under-proprietor, sub-proprietor, thekedar, permanent lessee in Avadh and permanent tenure-holder of such estate or part thereof.
(2) Village. Section 4(20) of the U.P. Revenue Code, defines the term ‘village’ as follows-
‘village’ means any local area whether compact or otherwise, recorded as a village in the revenue records of the district concerned, and includes an area which the State Government may, by general or special notification, declare to be a village.
(3) Village Artisan. According to Section 4(21) of the Code, ‘village artisan’ means a person whose main source of livelihood is manufacture or repair of traditional tools, implements and other articles or things used for agriculture or purposes ancillary thereto, and includes a carpenter, weaver, potter, blacksmith, silversmith, goldsmith, barbar, washerman, cobbler or any other person who normally earns his livelihood by practising a craft either by his own labour or by labour of any member of his family in any village.
(4) Kisan Bahi.- Privision regarding Kisan Bahi has been laid down in Section 41 of the Code, which runs as follows:
Kisan Bahi.- (1) Every time when a record-of-rights (Khatauni) is prepared under this Chapter V, the Collector shall as soon as may be, cause to be supplied to every tenure-holder, a Kisan Bahi containing such particulars as may be prescribed.
(2) The Kisan Bahi shall be a consolidated pass-book for all the holdings held by a tenure-holder in the district.
(3) In the case of a joint holding, it shall be sufficient for the purpose of this section if Kisan Bahi is supplied only to such one or more of the recorded co-tenure-holders as may apply for it.
(4) The tenure-holder shall be liable to pay such cost for the Kisan Bahi and in such manner as may be prescribed.
(5) Every person holding Kisan Bahi shall, from time to time, be entitled, without any extra payment, to get the amendments made in the record-of-rights (Khatauni) incorporated in his Kisan Bahi.
(6) Whenever a bank or other public financial institution advances loan to a tenure-holder on the basis of a representation of the tenure-holder that he is a holder of the holdings recorded in the Kisan Bahi, it shall endorse the details of the loan so advanced in the Kisan Bahi.
(7) The tenure-holder shall also submit to such bank or other financial institution an affidavit declaring that he has not taken any other loan (which remains wholly or partly unpaid) on the security of the holdings comprised in the Kisan Bahi nor has he transferred the holding or any share therein to any person in any other manner whatsoever.
(8) Any tenure-holder who in such an affidavit makes any statement which is false and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extent to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
(9) Such bank or other financial institution shall also endorse the final repayment of the loan on the Kisan Bahi.
(5) Decree. Section 4(26) of the Code says-
‘decree’ shall. have the meaning assigned to it in Section 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act No. V of 1908).
Q. 9. Describe the constitution of revenue areas under the U.P. Revenue Code, 2006.
Ans. Division of State into revenue areas. According to Section 5 of the U.P. Revenue Code, the State shall be divided into revenue areas comprising of divisions which may consist of two or more districts, and each district may consist of two or more tahsils and each tahsil may consist of one or more parganas, and each pargana may consist of two or more villages.
Constitution of revenue areas. Section 6(1) of the Code says, the State Government may, by notification, specify-
(i) the districts which constitute a division:
(ii) the tahsils which constitute a district:
(iii) the villages which constitute a tahsil
According to Section 6(2), the State Government may, by notification, alter the limits of any revenue area referred to in sub- section (1) by amalgamation, re-adjustment, division or in any other manner whatsoever, or abolish any such revenue area and may name and alter the natse of any such revenue area, and in any case where any area is renamed, then all references in any law or instrument or other document to the area under its original name shall be deemed to be references to the areas as renamed unless expressly provided otherwise:
Provided that before passing any order under this sub-section on any proposal to alter the limits of any revenue area, the State Government shall publish, in the prescribed manner, such proposals for inviting objections, and shall take into consideration any objections to such proposals.
Section 6(3) provides that the Collector may, by an order, published in the prescribed manner, arrange the villages in a tahsil into Lekhpal circles and the Lekhpal circles into Revenue Inspector circles and specify also the headquarters of each Revenue Inspector within his Circle.
According to Section 6(4), the divisions, districts, tahsils, parganas, Revenue Inspector circles, Lekhpal circles and villages, as existing at the commencement of this Code shall, until altered under the preceding sub-sections, be deemed to be the revenue areas specified under this section.
Q. 10. What do you understand by Board of Revenue? Describe the power to distribute business and jurisdiction of the Board.
Ans. Board of Revenue. Section 7(1) of the Code lays down that there shall be a Board of Revenue for Uttar Pradesh consisting of a Chairman and such other members as the State Government may, from time to time, appoint:
Proviso to Section 7(1) provides that the Board as constituted and functioning immediately before the commencement of this Code shall be deemed to be the Board constituted under this section.
According to Section 7(3), no person shall be qualified for appointment as-
(a) an Administrative Member of the Board, unless he has held an office not lower in rank than that of Commissioner,
(b) a Judicial Member of the Board, unless he has held an office not below the rank of a Collector.
Sub-section (4) of Section 7 is to the effect that the State Government may, at the time of making the appointment or at any time subsequent thereto, designate any member, as Judicial Member of the Board, and any such member shall be allotted only judicial business.
Jurisdiction of the Board. Section 8 of the Code deals with the jurisdiction of the Board. It runs as follows:
(1) The Board shall be the Chief Controlling Authority-
(a) in all matters relating to disposal of cases, appeals or revisions; and
(b) subject to the superintendence, direction and control of the State Government, in all other matters provided in this Code.
(2) Subject to the provisions of the sub-section (1), the Board shall exercise, perform and discharge powers, functions and duties conferred upon it by or under this Code or any other law for the time being in force.
(3) The State Government may authorise any member of the Board to exercise, perform and discharge either generally or in respect of any particular locality or matter, all or any of the powers, functions and duties conferred or imposed on the Board.
Power of the Board to distribute business. According to Section 9(1) of the Code, the Board may distribute its business amongst its members as the Board may deem fit. Chairman may constitute bench or benches consisting of more than orte member for disposal a a particular case or class of cases.
According to Section 9(2), all orders made or decrees passed by member of the Board in accordance with such distribution shall be deemed to be orders or decrees, as the case may be, of the Board.
Decisions of the Board. Section 10 of the Code lays down- Where any proceeding coming under the consideration of the Board on appeal or in revision is heard by a Bench composed of two o more members, the case shall be decided in accordance with thi opinion of such members or of the majority, if any, of such members.
Where the members of the Board constituting the Bench are equally divided in opinion as to the decision of a case, it shall be heard by a larger Bench to be constituted by the Chairman, and the case shall be decided in accordance with the opinion of the members constituting such Bench or of the majority, if any, of such members.
All decisions given by a member sitting singly, or by a Division Bench comprising two members or a larger Bench constituted as aforesaid shall be deemed to be decisions of the Board.