Act No. XXVI of 1866
12th October 1866
An Act to legalize the rules made by the Chief Commissioner of Oudh for the better determination of certain claims of subordinate proprietors in that Province. Preamble. WHEREAS rules have been made by the Chief Commissioner of Oudh for the better determination of certain claims by persons possessed of subordinate rights of property in the territories subject to his administration; and whereas it is expedient that such rules should have the force of law; It is hereby enacted as follows:—
1. The rules for determining the conditions under which persons possessed of subordinate rights of property in taluqas in the territories subject to the administration of the Chief Commissioner of Oudh shall be entitled to obtain a sub-settlement of lands, villages or sub-divisions thereof, which they held under Taluqdárs on or before the thirteenth day of February 1856, and for determining the amounts payable to the Taluqdár by such subordinate proprietors, which rules were made by the said Chief Commissioner, sanctioned by the Governor General of India in Council, and published in the Gazette of India for September 1st, 1866, and which are re-published in the Schedule to this Act, are hereby declared to have the force of law.
2. So much of any Act, Regulation or Rule having the force of law, which is in operation in the said territories as may be inconsistent with or repugnant to the rules hereby legalized, shall cease to have effect in such territories.
perpetuity, the lease of the lands to the sub-settlement of which he is entitled, at a uniform (istimrarree) rate of payment, and that such agreement has been acted on within the period of limitation, he will not be liable to payment at an increased rate during the currency of the present or revised settlement. If, in consequence of any future re-adjustment of the Government demand, the former proportion between the respective shares of the profits derived from the land by the under-proprietor and the Talookdar should be altered, the amount payable by the under-proprietor to the Talookdar will be liable to re-adjustment, so that the proportion between their respective shares of the profits may remain unaltered.
If an under-proprietor, entitled to sub-settlement, can show by documentary evidence that he had entered into an agreement with the Talookdar that he should hold the lease of the lands to the sub-settlement of which he is entitled, on payment of the Government demand imposed before the annexation of the province on such lands, with the addition only of certain dues to the Talookdar, or other charges, and such agreement has been acted upon within the period of limitation, such under-proprietor will in future be liable only for the payment to the Talookdar of the Government demand for the time being, with the addition of ten per cent. in lieu of Talookdaree dues and other charges.
If an under-proprietor, entitled to sub-settlement, has held the lease of the lands to the sub-settlement of which he is entitled, under an agreement that he shall pay to the Talookdar a certain share or proportion of the profits or produce of such lands, and such agreement has been acted upon within the term of limitation, the under-proprietor will in future continue to be liable for the payment to the Talookdar of such share or proportion.
In all cases in which an under-proprietor is entitled to a sub-settlement other than those described in Rules 4 to 6, the amount payable by the under-proprietor to the Talookdar will be determined according to the following principles:—
If the present gross rental of the village exceed or fall short of the former gross rental, the payment of the under-proprietor to the Talookdar will be adjusted according to the following rule, viz., as the former gross rental is to the former payment of the under-proprietor, so is the present gross rental to the present payment of the under-proprietor.
In determining the amount payable by the under-proprietor to the Talookdar under the two last preceding rules, the former gross rental and the former payment of the under-proprietor will be held to be the average amount of the gross rental, and the average amount of the former payments of the under-proprietor for the twelve years preceding annexation, or for such portion of that time as the under-proprietor held a lease of the village from the Talookdar or for such portion of that time as the necessary information may be obtained.
In any case in which the clear share of the profit to which the under-proprietor is entitled under the rules contained in the last preceding paragraph does not exceed twelve per cent. of the gross rental, no sub-settlement shall be made. In this case, the under-proprietor will retain all seer and nankar land to which his right is established. If the profits derived from such land be less than one-tenth of the whole rental of the land to the sub-settlement of which the right was established, the Talookdar shall increase the amount of such land so that the total profit to the under-proprietor shall not fall below one-tenth of the gross rental. The under-proprietor will possess, in the whole of such land, a transferable and heritable right of property.
In any case in which an under-proprietor is entitled to a sub-settlement under the preceding rules, and in which the share of the gross rental which such under-proprietor is entitled to receive exceeds twelve per cent., but falls short of twenty-five per cent., such share will be increased so that it shall not be less than twenty-five per cent: of the gross rental. The cost of such increase will be borne half by the Government and half by the Talookdar. In this case, the cesses on account of roads, schools, &c., amounting to two and a half per cent. on the Government demand, will be payable by the Talookdar while the village expenses, including the allowances to the Putwarce and Chowkeedar, will be payable by the under-proprietor.
When a former proprietor, who is not entitled to a sub-settlement, has retained within the period of limitation, either by himself or by some other person or persons from whom he has inherited, possession of land which by virtue of his proprietary right he held as seer or nankar when he was in proprietary possession, he will be deemed in respect of such land to be an under-proprietor, and will possess a heritable and transferable right of property therein, subject to the payment of such amount as may be due by him to the superior proprietor.
If, in any case, the founder of a Poocea or hamlet, who is unable to establish a right to sub-settlement, can show that, in consideration of having founded such Poocea or hamlet, he has held therein, within the period of limitation, possession of seer or nankar land, he will be recognized as an under-proprietor in such land, subject to the payment of such amount as may
Claims to proprietary and under-proprietary rights in jaghirs will be treated according to the same rules which are applicable to similar claims in talookas.
Cases in which claims to under-proprietary rights have been disposed of otherwise than in accordance with these rules will be open to revision, but this rule will not apply to cases disposed of by arbitration or by agreement of the parties.