OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER,

SANGRUR

 

 

 

 

   The Right to Information Act, 2005

 

 

 

MANUAL – IV

 

 

 

 

 

THE NORMS SET BY IT FOR THE DISCHARGE OF ITS FUNCTIONS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Telephone No. 01672-234004, Fax No. 01672-230008)

 

                                               

 

 

                                                                   Authored by:-

                                                                   M.P. Arora, PCS)

                                                                   ADC (R) , Sangrur

 

 

 

Office of the Deputy Commissioner,

Sangrur (Punjab)

 

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The Right to Information Act, 2005

 

Manual:4   The norms set by it for the discharge of its functions

 

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Revenue and Rehabilitation Department Punjab

Manual-4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REVENUE AND REHABILITATION DEPARTMENT

 

The norms set by it for the discharge of its functions.

 

According to section 6 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act 1887, there are following classes of the Revenue Officers namely

(a)                      The Financial Commissioner

(b)                     The Commissioner

(c)                     The Collector

(d)                     The Asstt. of the Ist Grade

(e)                     The Asstt. of the IInd Grade

(2)               The Deputy Commissioner of a district shall be the Collector thereof.

(3)               The State Govt. may appoint any Assistant Commissioner, Extra Assistant Commissioner or Tehsildar to be an Assistant Collector of the first or the second Grade as it thinks fit, any Naib Tehsildar to be an Assistant Collector of the Second Grade

(4)               Appointment under sub section (3) shall by notification and may be of a person specially by name or by virtue of his office or of more persons then one by any description sufficient for their identification.

(5)           Subject to the provision of this Act, the jurisdiction of the Financial Commissioner extends to the whole of territories administration by the State Govt. of Punjab and of Commissioners and of Collectors and Assistant Collectors of the divisions and district respectively in which they are for the time being employed and also as per para 206 of the Punjab Land Administration Manual:- To aid Deputy Commissioner and Commissioners in the maintenance of records of rights and revenue registers and to advice the Financial Commissioner and Govt. and these matters and measures for promotion of agricultural efficiency an officer known as the Director Land Record is appointed. He has no administrative functions, his business is to inspect advise record and report. Thus appointment, therefore is in no way intended to be set aside or lessen the powers and responsibilities belonging to the Deputy Commissioner and Commissioners and to the Financial Commissioner in connection with every branch of revenue administration. Paragraph 207 of the Punjab Land Administration Manual describe the principal duties of the Director Land Records. He does not posses any judicial power in the hierarchy of revenue officers. He is concerned with mostly Ministerial functions, like supervision of Patwari and Kanungo  Agency, inspection of records of right mutation fees, crop prices and weather reports, rain gauges etc. He is also the Director of Consolidation and Holdings and deals with the cases regarding consolidation.

 

Powers of Revenue Officers

 

       As per section 10 of the Punjab Revenue Act, 1887, except where the class of the Revenue Officer by whom any function is to be discharged is specified in this Act. The State Govt. may be notification determine the functions to be discharged under this Act by any class of Revenue Officers.

                         The powers of various Revenue Officers have been also described in paragraphs Nos.  249,250 and 251 of the Punjab Land Administrator Manual.

 

Superintendence and Control of Revenue Officer:-

 

                          As per section 11 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act:-

1.                      The Financial Commissioner shall be subject to the control of the State Govt.

2.                      The general Superintendence and control over all other Revenue Officers shall be vested in , and all such officers shall be subordinate to the Financial Commissioner.

3.                      Subject to general Superintendence and control of the Financial Commissioner, a Commissioner shall control all other Revenue Officers in his division.

4.                      Subject as aforesaid and to the control of Commissioner a Collector shall control all other Revenue Officers.

Powers to distribute business and withdraw and transfer cases

As per section 12 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887:-

 

1.                The Financial Commissioner or a Commissioner or a Collector may be written order distribute in such manner as the thinks fit any Revenue Officers under his control.

2.                                 The Financial Commissioner or Commissioner or Collector may withdraw any case pending before any Revenue Officers under his control and either dispose of it himself or by written order refer it for disposal to any other Revenue Officer under his control.

3.                                  Any order under sub section (1) or sub section (2) shall not empower or deal with any business which he would not be competent to exercise or deal with within the local limits of his own jurisdiction.

 

Powers and functions of various Revenue Officers

 

               There are various types of functions being performed by Revenue Officers  e.g. collection of land revenue. Recovery against Recovery Certificate received from other departments which are declared as arrears of land revenue by the Collector under Punjab Revenue Recovery Act, 1890, appointment of Lambardars, inspection of girdawari work , preparation of annual revenue record, mutation work to keep the revenue  record upto date . Partition cases u/s 111 to 126 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887, now to maintain survey marks. To perform the functions beside Financial Commissioner, Commissioner, Collector, Sub Divisional Magistrate, Tehsildar and Naib Tehsildars. Tehsildars have also been appointed Assistant Collectors of the Ist Grade. The Punjab Govt. vide notification No.4043-G-42/32886 dated 27.5.42 while all the Naib Tehsildars have been appointed as Asstt. Collector 2nd Grade with No.730 dated 1.11.87.

              The order passed by the various revenue officers are appealable also subject to review and revision. Where that is a case mutation, partition, correction of girdawari , appointment of  Lambardars etc. and as per section 13 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887

              Save as otherwise provided by this Act an appeal shall lie from an original or appealable orders of a revenue officer as follows namely:-

(a)              To the Collector when the order is made by an Asstt. Collector of either grade.

(b)             To the Commissioner when the order is made by a Collector.

(c)             To the Financial Commissioner, when the order is made by the Commissioner provided that:-

(i)              when the original order is confirmed on first appeal a further appeal shall not lie

(ii)               when any such order is modified on revered an appeal by the Collector the order made by the Commissioner on further appeal, if any, to him shall be final.

 

Limitation for appeals:-

 

As per section 14 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887 'Save as otherwise provided by the Act, the period of limitation for an appeal under the last foregoing section shall seen from the date of the order appealed against and shall be as follows, that is to say

(a)                            when the appeal lies to the Collector-----30 days

(b)                            when the appeal lies to the Commissioner------60 days

(c)                            when the appeal lies to the Financial Commissioner-----90 days

 

Review by Revenue Officers:-

 

 According to section 15 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887

(1)         A Revenue Officer may either of his own motion or on the application of any party  interested, review and so on reviewing  modify reverse or confirm, any order passed by himself or by any of his predecessors in office

(a)    when a Commissioner or Collector thinks it necessary to review any order which he has not himself passed        and when a  Revenue Officer of a class below that of Collector proposes to review any order whether passed by himself or by any predecessor in office he shall first attain the sanction of the revenue officer to whose control he is immediately subject:

(b)            an application for review of an order shall not be entertained unless it is  made within ninety days from the passing of the order or unless the applicant satisfies the revenue officer that he had sufficient cause for not making the application within that period:

(c)            an order shall not be modified or reversed unless reasonable notice has been given to the parties affected thereby to appear and be heard in support of the order:

(d)            an order against which an appeal has been preferred shall not be reviewed

(2)                 For the purposes of this section the collector shall be deemed to be the successor in office of any Revenue Officer of a lower class who has left the District or has caused to exercise power as a Revenue Officer and to whom there no successor in Office.

(3)               An appeal shall not lie from an order refusing to review or confirming on Review a previous order.

 

 

 

 

Powers of Revision:-

 

According to section 16 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act 1887 :-

1.        The Financial Commissioner may at any time call for record of any case pending before or disposed of by any Revenue Officer Subordinate to him.

2.        A Commissioner or Collector may call for the record of any case pending before or disposed of by, any Revenue Officer under his control.

3.        If in any case in which a Commissioner or Collector has called for a record he is of opinion that the proceedings taken or order made should be modified or reversed , he shall report the case with his opinion thereon for the orders of the Financial Commissioner.

4.       The Financial Commissioner may any case called for by himself under Sub Section (1) or reported to him under Sub Section (3) pass such orders as he thinks fit.                 

Provided that he shall not under this section pass an order reversing          

or modifying the proceedings or order of a subordinate Revenue Officer and affecting any question or right between private persons without giving those persons an opportunity of being heard.

 

Note:

 

 (1)  In the matter of appeals the S.D.M's where they pass an order of the capacity of Collector, an appeal from that order shall lie to the Commissioner and where an order is passed by them in the capacity of as a Asstt. Collector Ist Grade, an appeal from that order shall lie to the Distt. Collector.

(2)  The jurisdiction of Civil Court as per section 158 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887 is barred in any matter where the State Govt. or a Revenue Officer is empowered by this Act to dispose or take cognizance of the manner in which the state govt. or any Revenue Officer exercise any powers vested in it or by him or under the Act.

       Apart of the revenue function the work regarding registration of documents are also undertaken by the revenue department under Indian Registration Act 1908.

            The Deputy Commissioner is also the Registrar, Sub Divisional Magistrates are Inspectors, Tehsildars are Sub Registrar and Naib Tehsildars are Joint Sub Registrars for this purpose and also the Director of Land Records, Punjab is the Inspector General of Registration.

 

         The documents pertaining to properties are registered by the various Sub Registrars and Jt. Sub Registrars. The documents which are registered relates to Book No.1,2,3 & 4 . The rate of stamp duty which is to be affixed  on these documents is  governed by Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and rules made under this Act.

      The Act has prescribed time limit for presentation of documents is as per section of 23,24,25 & 26 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908.

       Section 23:- subject to the provisions contained in section 24,25 & 26 no document after than a will shall be accepted for registration unless presented for that purpose to the proper officer within four months from the date of execution.

        Provided that a copy of decree or order may be presented within four months from the day on which the decree or order was made or where it is appealable within four months from the day on which its become final.

 
As per Section 24

 

           Where there are several persons executing a document at different times such document may be presented for registration and re-registration within four months from the date of execution.

 

        Similarly section 25 of the Act prescribes that:-

 

(1)              If owning to urgent necessity or unavoidable circumstances any document executed or copy of a decree or order made in (India) is not presented for registration till after the expiration of the time herein before prescribed in that behalf the Registrar in cases where the delay in presentation does not exceed four months may direct that on payment of a fine not exceeding ten times the amount of the proper registration fee such document shall be accepted for  registration.

(2)           Any application for such direction may be lodged with a Sub Registrar who shall forthwith forward it to the Registrar to whom he is subordinate

A document presented before the Sub Registrar and Jt. Sub Registrar shall be registered if proper stamp duty as per rules is affixed an it except as per section 35 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908:-

(a)                    If all the persons executing the document appear personally before the registering officer and are personally known to him or if he is otherwise satisfied that they are persons they represent themselves to be, and if they all admit the execution of the document: or

(b)                   If the persons executing the document is dead and his representation or assign appears before the registering officer shall registered the document as directed in section 58 to 61 inclusive.

(3)             The registering officer may no order to satisfy himself that the persons appearing before him are the persons they represent themselves to be, or for any other purpose contemplated by this Act, examine any one present in his office.

(a)             If any person by whom the document purports  to be executed denies its execution or

(b)             If any person appears to the registering officer to be a minor, an idiot or a lunatic or

(c)               If any person by whom the document purports  to be executed is dead and his representative or assigned its execution .

 

    The registering officer shall refuse to register the document as to the person so denying or dead.

 

1.)             As per section 71 of Act every sub registrar refusing to register a document except on the ground that the property to which it relates is not situate within his Sub-district shall make an order of refusal and record his reasons for such order in his Book No.2 & endorse the words " registration refused" on the document and an application made by any person executing or claiming under the document shall without payment and necessary delay, give him a copy of the reasons recorded .

 

2.)              No registering officer shall  accept for registration a document so endorsed unless and until under the provisions herein after contained the document is directed to be registered.

 

The aggrieved party may file before the Registrar to whom such Sub Registrar is subordinate, if presented to such Registrar within thirty days  from the date of order (under section 72 of the Act) and the Registrar may reverse or alter such order and if the order of the Registrar directs the document to be registered and the document is duly presented for registration within 30 days after the making of such order the Sub Registrar shall obey the same.

            

      As said above the executing party will affix the proper stamp duty on the document and also deposit the presented registration fees in the office of the Sub Registrar / Joint Sub Registrar. According to the Punjab Stamps (Dealing of under valued Instruments) Rules, 1983 first amendment 2002, the collector shall fix the minimum rates of the properties in the month of march with the consultation with the Officers of other Department like Development, Agriculture, Public works Department , Local Bodies, Town Planner etc. which will be applicable from first April every year.

 

              If any document is presented before the Sub Registrar / Joint Sub Registrar which is not as per the prices fixed by  the Collector the registering authority shall impound the document and send to the Collector for taking action under section 47-A of the Indian Stamp Act 1899. Then Collector after hearing the parties shall decide that how much amount as Stamp Duty and Registration fee the party has to be deposited and aggrieved with the orders of the Collector the concerned party can file before the Commissioner within 30 days of passing of such order.

 

             Similarly in Land Reforms Act 1972 the Collector is competent to decide the cases and procedure of appeal , review and revision under this Act shall so far may be the same as provided in Punjab Land Revenue Act and Punjab Tenancy Act 1887 and as per section 21 of this Act the jurisdiction of Civil Court is barred.