Case Note & Summary
The Supreme Court heard five civil appeals by special leave against the judgment and orders of the Bombay High Court dated August 30, 1961 and June 13, 1961 in Special Civil Applications Nos. 440, 441, 509, 510 and 7 of 1961. The appeals raised a common question of interpretation of rule 19 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Rules, 1955. The respondent in Civil Appeal No. 93 of 1964 was a displaced person from West Pakistan who, along with his three brothers, owned 731 acres of agricultural land in District Nawabshah, Sind, now in Pakistan. The respondent submitted a claim under the Displaced Persons (Claims) Act, 1950, and the Claim Officer by order dated October 7, 1952 accepted his claim and assessed it as 94-3 standard acres. On July 2, 1955, the respondent applied for compensation under the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954, stating that he was not a member of a joint Hindu family but a co-sharer with three others who had filed separate claims. However, the Assistant Settlement Commissioner after inquiry held by order dated March 3, 1960 that the four alleged co-sharers were members of a joint Hindu family and that the whole agricultural land claim was to be treated as joint property. On August 29, 1960, a statement of account was issued to the respondent showing his claim assessed at Rs. 10,701 gross compensation, calculated by taking one-fourth share of the compensation on 376 standard acres and 12 units as per Rules 51 and 56. The respondent served a notice on October 28, 1960 calling upon the Regional Settlement Commissioner to rectify the statement, claiming that rule 20 and alternatively rule 19 should be applied, but the Assistant Settlement Commissioner replied that the calculation was correct. Consequently, the respondent filed a petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution in the Bombay High Court. The High Court allowed the petition, set aside the statement of account dated August 29, 1960, and directed that the respondent be given the benefit of rule 19 and that the compensation be determined in accordance with rules 19, 51 and 56 of the Rules. The appellant, the Regional Settlement Commissioner, obtained special leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. The learned Attorney-General argued that rule 19 did not apply to agricultural land and that Chapter VIII of the Rules provided a separate scheme for agricultural land. The Supreme Court examined the Compensation Act and the Rules. It noted that a verified claim under the Displaced Persons (Claims) Act, 1950 includes claims to agricultural land, and sections 4 and 5 of the Compensation Act apply to such agricultural land. The Court held that Chapter IV of the Rules, in which rule 19 occurs, contains some rules that apply to applications for compensation in respect of agricultural lands, so it could not be said that the Chapter does not deal with agricultural lands at all. Each rule must be considered individually, and there was no principle of construction by which the general words of rule 19 could be limited to non-agricultural land. The Court further held that Chapter VIII of the Rules provides for compensation for verified claims for agricultural lands in rural areas but only deals with how a unit that has been determined is to be compensated; it does not modify or override rule 19. Accordingly, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals and upheld the High Court's direction to determine the unit for assessment of compensation under rule 19 before calculating compensation under rules 51 and 56.
Headnote
A) Interpretation of Rules - Applicability of Rule 19 to Agricultural Land - Rule 19 Applies to Agricultural Property - Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Rules, 1955, Rule 19 - The respondent, a displaced person, had a verified claim for agricultural land in Pakistan and was found to be a member of a joint Hindu family. The High Court held that Rule 19 applies to agricultural land because Chapter IV, where Rule 19 is located, contains some rules that apply to applications for compensation in respect of agricultural lands. There is no principle of construction by which the general words of Rule 19 could be limited so as to exclude agricultural land. Held that Rule 19 applies to the claim of the respondent in respect of agricultural land. (Pages 83 D-E; 85 A-F) B) Statutory Interpretation - Scope of Chapter VIII - Chapter VIII Does Not Override Rule 19 - Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Rules, 1955, Chapter VIII - Chapter VIII provides for compensation in respect of verified claims for agricultural lands in rural areas but only deals with how a unit that has been determined is to be compensated. There is nothing in that Chapter which modifies or overrides Rule 19, which enables the authorities to determine the unit for assessment of compensation in the case of joint families. Held that the unit for assessment of compensation must first be determined under Rule 19 before applying Rules 51 and 56. (Page 85 A-F)
Issue of Consideration
Whether rule 19 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Rules, 1955 applies to agricultural property for determining the unit for assessment of compensation in the case of joint families.
Final Decision
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals and upheld the judgment of the Bombay High Court. It held that rule 19 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Rules, 1955 applies to agricultural land. The Court directed that the respondent be given the benefit of rule 19 and that the amount of compensation payable to him be determined in accordance with the provisions of rules 19, 51 and 56 and other rules of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Rules, 1955.
Law Points
- Rule 19 of Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Rules
- 1955 applies to agricultural land
- joint family unit for assessment of compensation must be determined under Rule 19 before applying Rules 51 and 56
- Chapter VIII of Rules does not override Rule 19
- verified claim under Displaced Persons (Claims) Act
- 1950 includes agricultural land
