WHEN THE INAM LANDS VESTED? CONSEQUENCES OF VESTING INAM LAND WITH GOVERNMENT

Shri Dharmarayaswamy Temple vs Chinnathayappa ILR 1990 KAR 4242 “The former State of Mysore enacted the Mysore (Religious and Charitable) Inarns Abolition Act, 1955. Under the provisions of the Act all religious inam lands stood vested in the State Government with effect from 1-4-1959, on which date the Act came into force. The Act provided that after the Inam tenure is abolished, and the lands are vested in the State, occupancy rights in respect of erstwhile inam lands be conferred in favour of persons who were Kadim tenants and Permanent tenants under Sections 4 and 5 of the Act respectively. In respect of other tenants, other than Kadim tenants and permanent tenants, Section 6 of the Act provided that from the date of vesting the said tenants shall continue as tenants under the Government in respect of the lands of which they were the tenants under the Inamdar prior to the date of vesting. Section 8 of the Act provided that except in respect of the categories of lands specified in the said Section, the Inamdar was entitled to be registered as an occupant of the lands which stood vested in the Government consequent on the Abolition of the Inam lands. ............... But the granting of occupancy right could be only on the basis that the claimant had become a tenant of such land of the Inamdar on and after the date of vesting of the land in the Government under that Act and/or after the grant of occupancy right to the Inamdar under the said 1955 Act; for, under Section 8 of that Act occupancy right could be and would have been granted to an Inamdar only in respect of lands which were not under cultivation of Kadim tenants or permanent tenants who were entitled to occupancy right under Sections 4 and 5 thereof or in respect of which there were no other category of tenants, who were entitled to continue as tenants under the Government as provided in Section 6 of that Act. ........... Mysore Religious and Charitable Inams Abolition Act, 1955 came into force with effect from 1-4-1959. Under the provisions of the said Act all the lands which had constituted religious Inams in the State stood vested in the State Government. As stated earlier in detail. Section 4 of the Act provided for conferment of occupancy rights on certain categories of tenants called Kadim tenants. Section 5 of the Act made provision for grant of occupancy rights in respect of permanent tenants. Section 6 of the Act is of very material importance to this case. It provided that every tenant, other than tenants under Sections 4 and 5 who alone could claim occupancy rights, would become tenants under the Government. Section 8 of the Act provided for conferment of occupancy rights on the Inamdar only in respect of lands in respect of which there were no tenants, falling under Section 4, Section 5 or Section 6. Therefore, from these provisions, it is clear if any one was a Kadim tenant of an erstwhile inam land belonging to a religious Institution he was entitled to be registered as an occupant under Section 4, and a permanent tenant of an erstwhile religious inam land was entitled to be registered as an occupant under Section 5. Every tenant other than a Kadim tenant or a permanent tenant was to continue as a tenant under the Government with effect from the date of vesting. The Inamdar; in the present case the petitioner-temple; was entitled to be registered as an occupant of the land if only in respect of such lands there were no tenants either falling under Section 4 or Section 5 or Section 6 of the Act.”