Gujarat Land Grabbing Bill – PDF Copy in English & Gujarati Download
- Land Grabbing Bill in Gujarati – Download PDF
- Land grabbing Bill 19 of 2020 in English PDF Download
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- THE GUJARAT LAND GRABBING (PROHIBITION) BILL, 2020.
GUJARAT BILL NO. 19 OF 2020.
A BILL
to prohibit land grabbing activities and connected matters in the State of
Gujarat.
It is hereby enacted in the Seventy-first Year of the Republic of
India as follow:-
1. (1) This Act may be called the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition)
Act, 2020.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Gujarat.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 29th August, 2020
______________________________________________________________________________________________
22-i GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX. 09-10-2020 [ PART IV
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©
The Gujarat Government Gazette
EXTRAORDINARY
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY
Vol. LXI ] FRIDAY, OCTOBER 09, 2020/ ASVINA 17, 1942
Separate paging is given to this Part in order that it may be filed as a Separate Compilation.
PART – IV
Acts of Gujarat Legislature and Ordinances promulgated and Regulations
made by the Governor.
The following Act of the Gujarat Legislature, having been assented to by the Governor
on the 8
th October, 2020 is hereby published for general information.
K. M. LALA,
Secretary to the Government of Gujarat,
Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Department.
GUJARAT ACT NO. 11 OF 2020.
(First published, after having received the assent of the Governor, in
the “Gujarat Government Gazette”, on the 9
th October, 2020).
AN ACT
to prohibit land grabbing activities and connected matters in the State of Gujarat.
It is hereby enacted in the Seventy-first Year of the Republic of India as follow:-
1. (1) This Act may be called the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Gujarat.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 29th August, 2020.
Short title,
extent and
commencement.
IV-Ex.-22 22-1
22-2 GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX. 09-10-2020 [ PART IV
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) “Committee” means a committee notified from time to time by
the State Government under the chairmanship of District
Collector for the purposes of this Act;
(b) “Government’’ means the Government of Gujarat;
(c) “land” includes rights in or over land, benefits to arise out of land
and buildings, structures and other things attached to the earth or
permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth;
(d) “land grabber” means a person who commits land grabbing and
includes any person who gives financial aid to any person for
taking illegal possession of lands or for construction of
unauthorized structures thereon, or who collects or attempts to
collect from any occupiers of such lands rent, compensation and
other charges by criminal intimidation, or who abets the doing
of any of the above mentioned acts, and also includes the
successors-in-interest;
(e) “land grabbing” means every activity of land grabber to occupy
or attempt to occupy with or without the use of force, threat,
intimidation and deceit, any land (whether belonging to the
Government, a Public Sector Undertaking, a local authority, a
religious or charitable institution or any other private person)
over which he or they have no ownership, title or physical
possession, without any lawful entitlement and with a view to
illegally taking possession of such land or creating illegal
tenancies or lease or licence, agreements or transfer or sale or by
constructing unauthorized structures thereon for sale or hire or
use or occupation of such unauthorized structures and the term
“grabbed land” shall be construed accordingly;
(f) “person” includes a group or body of persons, an association or
a company, or a religious or charitable institution or endowment,
whether incorporated or not;
Definitions.
PART IV ] GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX. 09-10-2020 22-3
(g) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(h) ‘Special Court’ means a Special Court constituted under section
7;
(i) “unauthorized structures” means any structure constructed,
without express permission in writing of the competent
authority, or except in accordance with any law for the time
being in force in the area.
3. The land grabbing in any form shall be prohibited and declared
unlawful and any activity connected with or arising out of land grabbing shall
be an offence punishable under this Act.
4. (1) No person shall commit or cause to be committed land grabbing,
by himself or through any other person.
(2) Any person who, on or after the commencement of this Act, continues to
be in occupation, otherwise than as a lawful tenant, of a grabbed land
belonging to the Government, local authority, religious or charitable
institution or endowment or other private person, shall be guilty of an offence
under this Act.
(3) Whoever contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2)
shall on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall
not be less than ten years but which may extend to fourteen years and with
fine which may extend to Jantri value of such properties.
5. Whoever, with a view to grabbing land in contravention of the
provisions of this Act or in connection with any such land grabbing,-
(a) sells or allots, or offers or advertises for sale or allotment, or has
in his possession for the purpose of sale or allotment any land
grabbed;
(b) instigates or incites any person to commit land grabbing;
(c) uses any land grabbed or causes or permits knowingly to be used
for purposes, connected with sale or allotment; or
Land
grabbing
to be
unlawful.
Prohibition
on land
grabbing.
Penalty for
other offences
in connection
with land
grabbing.
22-4 GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX. 09-10-2020 [ PART IV
(d) enters into an agreement for construction of any structure or
buildings on such land;
(e) causes or procures or attempts to procure any person to do any
of above mentioned acts;
shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which
shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to fourteen years
and with fine which may extend to Jantri value of such properties.
6. (1) If the person contravening the provisions of this Act is a company,
every person who, at the time the contravention was committed, was in
charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the
business of the company as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty
of the contravention and shall be liable to be proceeded against and
punished accordingly:
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any
such person liable to any punishment if he proves that the contravention took
place without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent
such contravention.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in sub-section (1), where any offence under
this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence
has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or that the
commission of the offence is attributable to any neglect on the part of any
director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director,
manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that
offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Explanation:— For the purposes of this section:-
(a) “Company” means anybody corporate and includes firm or other
association of individuals; and
(b) “Director” in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.
7. (1) The State Government may, with the concurrence of the Chief
Justice of the High Court of Gujarat, by notification in the Official Gazette
constitute one or more Special Courts for such area or areas, or for such cases
or class or group of cases, as may be specified in the notification.
Offences by
companies.
Constitution
of Special
Courts.
PART IV ] GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX. 09-10-2020 22-5
(2) Where any question arises as to the jurisdiction of any Special Court, it
shall be referred to the State Government, whose decision in the matter shall
be final.
(3) A Special Court shall be presided over by a judge to be appointed by the
State Government with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High
Court of the Gujarat.
(4) The State Government may also appoint, with the concurrence of the
Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat, Additional Judges to exercise
jurisdiction of the Special Court.
(5) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judge or an
Additional Judge of a Special Court unless he immediately before such
appointment, is or has been a Sessions Judge or a District Judge.
(6) The Government from time to time may, by notification in the Official
Gazette, reconstitute the Special Courts constituted under sub-section (1) and
may, at any time abolish such Special Courts by a like notification.
(7) A Judge of the Special Court shall hold office for a term of three years
from the date on which he enters upon his office, or until the Special Court
is reconstituted or abolished under sub-section (6), whichever is earlier.
8. The State Government shall appoint, for every Special Court, a
person to be the Public Prosecutor.
9. (1) The Special Court may, either suo moto or on application made
by any person, or any officer authorized by District Collector, take
cognizance of and try every case arising out of any alleged act of land
grabbing or with respect to the ownership and title to, or lawful possession
of, the land grabbed, whether before or after the commencement of this Act,
and pass such orders (including orders by way of interim directions) as it
deems fit.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, any
case in respect of an alleged act of land grabbing or the determination of
question of title and ownership to, or lawful possession of any land grabbed
V of 1908.
Public
Prosecutor.
Procedure
and
powers of
Special
Courts.
22-6 GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX. 09-10-2020 [ PART IV
under this Act, shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be triable in the
Special Court and the decision of Special Court shall be final.
(3) Notwithstanding anything in the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, the
Special Court may follow its own procedure which shall not be inconsistent
with the principles of natural justice and fair play and subject to the other
provisions of this Act and of any rules made thereunder while deciding the
Civil liability,
(4) Notwithstanding anything in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973,
it shall be lawful for the Special Court to try all offences punishable under
this Act.
(5) The Special Court shall determine the order in which the civil and
criminal liability against a land grabber be initiated. It shall be within the
discretion of the Special Court whether or not to deliver its decision or order
until both civil and criminal proceedings are completed. The evidence
admitted during the criminal proceeding may be made use of while trying the
civil liability. But additional evidence, if any, adduced in the civil
proceedings shall not be considered by the Special Court while determining
the criminal liability. Any person accused of land grabbing or the abetment
thereof before the Special Court shall be a competent witness for the defence
and may give evidence on oath in disproof of the charge made against him
or any person charged together with him in the criminal proceeding:
Provided that he shall not be called as a witness except on his own
request in writing or his failure to give evidence shall be made the subject of
any comment by any of the parties or the special court or give rise to any
presumption against himself or any person charged together with him at the
same proceeding.
(6) Every case under sub-section (1) shall be disposed off finally by the
Special Court, as far as possible, within a period of six months from the date
of institution of the case before it.
V of 1908.
2 of 1974.
PART IV ] GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX. 09-10-2020 22-7
(7) Every finding of the Special Court with regard to any alleged act of land
grabbing shall be conclusive proof of the fact of land grabbing and of the
persons who committed such land grabbing, and every judgment of the
Special Court with regard to the determination of title and ownership to, or
lawful possession of, any land grabbed shall be binding on all persons having
interest in such land.
(8) When an offence of land grabbing is proved, the Special Court may if it
thinks fit, order that possession of the same be restored to that person after
evicting by force, if necessary, any other person who may be in possession
of the property.
(9) It shall be lawful for the Special Court to pass such order as it may deem
fit to advance the cause of justice. It may award compensation in terms of
money for wrongful possession of the land grabbed which shall not be less
than an amount equivalent to the Jantri value of the land grabbed as on the
date of the order and profits accrued from the land payable by the land
grabber to the owner of the grabbed land and may direct re-delivery of the
grabbed land to its rightful owner. The amount of compensation and profits,
so awarded and costs of re-delivery, if any, shall be recovered as an arrear of
land revenue in case the Government is the owner, or as a decree of a civil
court, in any other case to be executed by the Special Court:
Provided that the Special Court shall, before passing an order under
this sub-section, give to the land grabber an opportunity of making his
representation or of adducing evidence, if any, in this regard, and consider
such representation and evidence.
10. Save as expressly provided in this Act, the provisions of the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, in so far
as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, shall apply to the
proceedings before the Special Court and for the purposes of the provisions
of the said enactments, Special Court shall be deemed to be a Civil Court, or
as the case may be, a Court of Sessions and shall have all the powers of a
Civil Court and a Court of Sessions and person conducting a prosecution
before the Special Court shall be deemed to be an Assistant Public
Prosecutor.
V of 1908.
2 of 1974.
Special Court to
have powers of
Civil Court and
the Court of
Sessions.
22-8 GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX. 09-10-2020 [ PART IV
11. (1) Where in any proceedings under this Act, a land is alleged to have
been grabbed, and such land is primafacie proved to be the land owned by
the Government or by a private person, the Special Court shall presume that
the person who is alleged to have grabbed the land is a land-grabber and the
burden of proving that the land has not been grabbed by him shall be on such
person.
(2) Where it is proved that a land grabber or any person on his behalf is or
has at any time been, in possession of movable or immovable property which
he cannot satisfactorily account for, or where his pecuniary resources are
disproportionate to his known sources of income, the Court shall, unless
contrary is proved, presume that such property or pecuniary resources have
been acquired or derived by his activities as a land grabber.
12. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973,-
(a) no information about the commission of an offence under this Act,
shall be recorded by a police officer without the prior approval of
the District Collector in consultation with the Committee notified by
the Government;
(b) no investigation of an offence under the provision of this Act shall
be carried out by a police officer below the rank of the Deputy
Superintendent of Police, or for the areas where the Commissioner
of Police is appointed by the State Government, by a police officer
not below the rank of the Assistant Commissioner of Police.
13. Every person acting under the provisions of this Act shall be deemed
to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal
Code.
14. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any
officer or employee of the special Court or any officer of the Government for
anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act
or the rules made thereunder.
Burden of
proof.
Information
to be
recorded and
investigation
to be carried
out by the
police officer.
Persons
acting
under the
Act to be
public
servants.
Protection
of action
taken in
good faith.
45 of 1860.
PART IV ] GUJARAT GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, EX. 09-10-2020 22-9
15. The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything
inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force
or custom, usage or agreement or decree or order of a court or any other
tribunal or authority.
16. (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official
Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(2) All rules made under this section shall be laid for not less than thirty
days before the State Legislature as soon as possible after they are made, and
shall be subject to such modifications as the legislature may make during the
session in which they are so laid or the session immediately following.
17. Any transaction relating to an alienation of a land grabbed or any part
thereof by way of sale, lease, gift, exchange, settlement, surrender,
usufructuary mortgage or otherwise, or any partition effected or a trust
created in respect of such land, which has taken place whether before or after
the commencement of this Act shall, except to the extent ordered by the
Special Court be null and void.
18. (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this
Act, the State Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette,
make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as
appears to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty:
Provided that no order under sub-section (1) shall be made after the
expiry of two years from the date of commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as
may be after it is made, before the State Legislature.
19. (1) The Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Ordinance, 2020 is
hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken
under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken under
the said Act.
—————–
GOVERNMENT CENTRAL PRESS, GANDHINAGAR.
Act to
override
other laws.
Power to
make
rules.
Prohibition of
alienation of
lands grabbed.
Power of State
Government to
remove
difficulties.
Guj. Ord.
10 of
2020.
Repeal and
saving.