Land Acquistion Act, 1894 (West Bengal)
[Act, No. 1 of 1894]
[2nd February, 1894]
Preamble
An Act to amend the law for the acquisition of land for public purposes and for Companies.
Whereas it is expedient to amend the law for the acquisition of land needed for public purposes and for Companies and for determining the amount of compensation to be made on account of such acquisition:
It is hereby enacted as follows:-
Part: 1 - PRELIMINARY
Section 1 - Short title, extent and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
(2) It extends to the whole of India except 1[the State of Jammu and Kashmir].
(3) It shall come into force on the 1st day of March, 1894.
Footnote:
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Substituted by Act 68 of 1984, sec. 2, for certain words (w.e.f. 24-9-1984).
Section 2 - Repeal and saving
[Repealed partly by the Repealing and Amending Act, 1914 (10 of 1914) sec. 3 and Sch. II and partly by the Repealing Act, 1938 (1 of 1938) sec. 2 and Sch.]
Section 3 - Definitions
In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context,--
(a) the expression "land" includes benefits to arise out of land, and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth;
1[(aa) the expression "local authority" includes a town planning authority (by whatever name called) set up under any law for the time being in force;]
(b) the expression "person interested" includes all persons claiming an interest in compensation to the made on account of the acquisition of land under this Act; and a person shall be deemed to be interested in land if he is interested in an easement affecting the land;
West Bengal Amendment
In its application to the State of West Bengal,--
(i) in Cl. (b) of S. 3, after the words "affecting the land", the words "or cultivates the land or any portion of it as a bargadar" shall be added and shall be deemed always to have been added.--W. B. Act 30 of 1963, S. 3.
(ii) for the Explanation in Cl. (b) of S. 3, the following Explanation shall be substituted, namely:--
"Explanation.--A bargadar is a person who under the system generally known as adhi, barga or bhag cultivates the land of another person on condition of delivering a share of the produce of such land to that person and includes a person who under the system generally known as kisani cultivates the land of another person on condition of receiving a share of the produce of such land from that person."--W. B. Act 49 of 1981, S. 3.
(c) the expression "Collector" means the Collector of a district, and includes a Deputy Commissioner and any officer specially appointed by the2[appropriate Government] to perform the functions of a Collector under this Act;
1[(cc) the expression "corporation owned or controlled by State" means any body corporate established by or under a Central, Provincial or State Act, and includes a Government company as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860), or under any corresponding law for the time being in force in a State, being a society established or administered by Government and a cooperative society within the meaning of any law relating to cooperative societies for the time being in force if any State, being a co-operative society in which not less than fifty-one per centum of the paid-up share capital is held by the Central Government, or by any State Government or Governments, or partly by the Central Government and partly by one or more State Governments;]
(d) the expression "Court" means a principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction, unless the2[appropriate Government] has appointed (as it is hereby empowered to do) a special judicial officer within any specified local limits to perform functions of the Court under this Act;
West Bengal Amendment
In its application to the State of West Bengal, for Cl. (d), substitute the following clause, namely:-
"(d) the expression 'Court' means a principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction and includes the Court of any Additional Judge, Subordinate Judge or Munsiff whom the State Government may appoint, by name or by virtue of his office, to perform, concurrently with any such principal Civil Court, all or any of the functions of the Court under this Act within any specified local limits and, if the case of a Munsiff, up to the limits of the pecuniary jurisdiction with which he is vested under section 19 of the Bengal, Agra and Assam Civil Courts Act, 1897."--Bengal Act 2 of 1934, S. 3 (w.e.f. 8-3-1934).
3[(e) the expression "company" means--
(i) a company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), other than a Government company referred to in clause (cc);
(ii) a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860), or under any corresponding law for the time being in force in a State, other than a society referred to in clause (cc);
(iii) a co-operative society within the meaning of any law relating to co-operative societies for the time being in force in any State, other than a co-operative society referred to in clause (cc);
West Bengal Amendment
(1) Calcutta Improvement.--After Cl. (e) of S. 3, the following clause shall be deemed to be inserted, namely:--
"(e) the expression 'local authority' includes the Board of Trustees constituted under the Calcutta Improvement Act, 1911."--Bengal Act 5 of 1961.
(2) Howrah Improvement.--After Cl. (e), the following clause shall be deemed to be inserted, namely:--
(ee) the expression 'local authority' includes the Board of Trustees constituted under the Howrah Improvement Act, 1956."--W. B. Act 14 of 1956, S. 70 and Sch. I.
4[(ee) the expression "appropriate Government" means in relation to acquisition of land for the purposes of the Union, the Central Government, and, in relation to acquisition of land for any other purpose, the State Government;]
5[(f) the expression "public purpose" includes--
(i) the provision of village-sites, or the extension, planned development or improvement of existing village-sites;
(ii) the provision of land for town or rural planning;
(iii) the provision of land for planned development of land from public funds in pursuance of any scheme or policy of Government and subsequent disposal thereof in whole or in part by lease, assignment or outright sale with the object of securing further development as planned;
(iv) the provision of land for a corporation owned or controlled by the State;
(v) the provision of land for residential purposes to the poor or landless or to persons residing in areas affected by natural calamities, or to persons displaced or affected by reason of the implementation of any scheme undertaken by Government, any local authority or a corporation owned or controlled by the State;
(vi) the provision of land for carrying out any educational, housing, health or slum clearance scheme sponsored by Government, or by any authority established by Government for carrying out any such scheme, or, with the prior approval of the appropriate Government, by a local authority, or a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860), or under any corresponding law for the time being in force in a State, or a cooperative society within the meaning of any law relating to cooperative societies for the time being in force in any State;
(vii) the provision of land for any other scheme of development sponsored by Government or, with the prior approval of the appropriate Government, by a local authority;
(viii) the provision of any premises or building for locating a public office, but does not include acquisition of land for Companies;]
(g) the following persons shall be deemed persons "entitled to act" as and to the extent hereinafter provided (that is to say)-
trustees for other persons beneficially interested shall be deemed the persons entitled to act with reference to any such case, and that to the same extent as the persons beneficially interested could have acted if free from disability;
a married woman, in cases to which the English law is applicable, shall be deemed the person so entitled to act, and, whether of full age or not, to the same extent as if she were unmarried and of full age; and
the guardians of minors and the committees or managers of lunatics or idiots shall be deemed respectively the persons so entitled to act, to the same extent as the minors, lunatics or idiots themselves, if free from disability, could have acted:
Provided that-
(i) no person shall be deemed "entitled to act" whose interests in the subject-matter shall be shown to the satisfaction of the Collector or Court to be adverse to the interest of the person interested for whom he would otherwise be entitled to act;
(ii) in every such case the person interested may appear by a next friend, or, in default of his appearance by a next friend, the Collector or Court, as the case may be, shall appoint a guardian for the case to act on his behalf in the conduct thereof;
(iii) the provisions of 6[Order XXXII of the First Schedule to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908] shall, mutatis mutandis, apply in the case of persons interested appearing before a Collector or Court by a next friend, or by a guardian for the case, in proceedings under this Act; and
(iv) no person "entitled to act" shall be competent to receive the compensation money payable to the person for whom he is entitled to act, unless he would have been competent to alienate the land and receive and give a good discharge for the purchase money on a voluntary sale.
Footnotes:
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Inserted by Act 68 of 1984, sec. 3 (w.e.f. 24-9-1984).
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Substituted by the A.O. 1950, for "Provincial Government".
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Substituted by Act 68 of 1984, sec. 3, for clause (e) (w.e.f. 24-9-1984).
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Inserted by the A.O. 1950.
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Substituted by Act 68 of 1984, sec. 3, for clause (f) (w.e.f. 24-9-1984).
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Substituted by Act 68 of 1984, sec. 3, for "Chapter XXXI of the Code of...
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