3: Grounds necessary for ejectment of the tenants and procedure

Grounds necessary for ejectment of the tenants and procedure.– (1) Notwithstanding any provision contained in any other law for the time being in force to the contrary, a tenant shall not be ejected from his tenancy unless it is established that he has– (i) failed to pay the rent in accordance with the terms of the tenancy; or [(ii) * * * * * * * * * * * *] (iii) used the land comprised in the tenancy in a manner which renders it unfit for the purpose for which he held it; or (iv) failed to cultivate or arrange for the cultivation of the land comprised in the tenancy in accordance with the terms thereof, or if there are no express terms in this behalf, in accordance with the customary manner of cultivation in the locality: Provided that where a landlord, his son, or grand-son does not have under his personal cultivation (including cultivation through a servant or hired labour) jointly or severally or in partnership with anyone else, out of the cultureable land owned by the landlord an area equal to 25 acres, his right to eject any tenant from such portion of his tenancy, as with the area already in the possession of such landlord, his son or grand-son whether jointly or severally or in partnership with any one else will take 25 acres, will not be affected [,] [and that in the case of a landlord owning more than 100 acres of land, the minimum of 25 acres shall be deemed to have been raised to 50 acres]: Provided further that for the purposes of the first proviso an acre of unirrigated culturable land shall be counted as half an acre [,] [and the classification of land made and the ratio between the irrigated and other categories of land fixed for purposes of determining the area for personal cultivation under the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887, shall mutatis mutandis apply for purposes of determining the area for personal cultivation under this Act]: [Provided further that for the purpose of this sub-section subletting of the tenancy or any portion thereof shall not be treated as arrangement for the cultivation of the land comprised in the tenancy, except where the tenant is incapacitated bodily from cultivating the land himself.] (2) An application for the ejectment of a tenant on any one or more of the grounds mentioned in sub-section (1) may be made by the landlord to a revenue officer of any grade having jurisdiction in the area where the tenancy is situated. [(2-A) Where a landlord has in exercise of the right reserved by the first proviso to sub- section (1) once secured an area for personal cultivation, he shall not thereafter have the right to claim any other area in lieu of the said area or any part thereof even though he may have lost that land through alienation: The Punjab Protection of Tenancy Rights Act 1950 (XIII of 1950) 5 Provided that he shall have the right of exchanging the said area of 25 acres or any part thereof with any land in which he may acquire proprietary rights by inheritance after having secured the said area; Provided further that if the land secured by the landlord for personal cultivation or any portion thereof is compulsorily acquired by the Provincial or [Federal Government] or is rendered darya burd, or if 50 per centum or more thereof is rendered totally unculturable on account of the action of Sem or Thur, the landlord shall be entitled to so much additional area, as with the area, if any, still in his possession, and in the last mentioned case, the area fit for cultivation, will make up 25 acres, and for this purpose he may eject any tenant.] [(2-B) Where a person has, under the provisions of this Act or of any other law for the time being in force, secured or retained any land for personal cultivation, he may let out the whole or any part of such land to tenants, and such tenants shall not have the protection of this Act in respect of ejectment from the land so let out to them.] [(2-C) When any land, not secured or retained by any person owning land for personal cultivation under this Act or under any other law for the time being in force, is transferred by sale, exchange, gift, will, mortgage or any other means, whether permanently or temporarily, the transferee shall not have the right to eject the tenant thereof on any ground on which he could not be ejected by the transferor: Provided that the prohibition imposed by this sub-section shall not apply where any sale of such land is effected with the sanction of the Collector under sub-section (2-D).] [(2-D) Where any person wishes to sell any land which has not been secured or retained by him for personal cultivation, he may take an application in writing to the Collector of the District where the land is situate, and the Collector may, after such inquiry as he may consider necessary, either grant the necessary sanction in writing or reject the application.] (3) On receiving the application of a landlord under sub-section (2) the revenue officer shall, if the application is in order and not open to objection on the face of it, cause a notice to be served on the tenant to show cause why he should not be ejected from his tenancy or such portion thereof as is referred to in the application: Provided that no notice under this sub-section shall be served after the 15th day of November in any year. (4) The notice shall specify the name of the landlord on whose application it has been issued and describe the land to which it relates and the ground or grounds on which it is based. (5) The revenue officer, after hearing both the parties, if present, on a date fixed for the purpose, and making such further enquiries as he may consider necessary, shall pass an order directing the tenant to be ejected or the notice to be cancelled, as the case may be: Provided that no order for the ejectment of a tenant shall be executed before the first day of May in any year, and in no case shall a tenant be ejected without paying such compensation to him, as he may be entitled to under the law, for the standing crop, if any, or for preparing the land for sowing, if it has been so prepared, as may be determined by the revenue officer. (6) [* * * * * * * * * * * *] (7) [* * * * * * * * * * * *] 6 The Punjab Laws

Effective date: 1950-01-01

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