TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1961 (8) TMI 71
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....time when they were made and the lands involved in them. They were made for performance of services of deities and were classed as Devadayam grants in the revenue papers. The grants in all these cases were not of whole villages but of certain lands and hence their classification as minor inams, and they comprised both the melwaram and kudiwaram rights in the lands. It is not necessary to refer to these cases separately, since a single argument was addressed before us involving the consideration whether Notification No. 4971-XV-2154-E. A. dated July 15, 1955, issued by the Orissa State Government, and the Orissa Estates Abolition Act, 1951 (Act 1 of 1952) as amended by the Orissa Estate Abolition (Amendment) Act, 1954 (Act XXVII of 1954) were respectively beyond the competence of the State and the Orissa State Legislature. 3. By the original Act, all estates of the intermediaries were abolished, and on a notification by the Government, such estates vested in Government. By the amending Act, the definition of "estate" was widened to cover even such minor inams, and then the impugned notification was issued. The appellants contend that the original Act and the amending Act ....
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....ords 'estate' and 'Intermediary' in the Orissa Estates Abolition Act, 1951, shall not cease "to be so covered merely on the ground that by virtue of the provisions of this Act the said definitions have been amended and widened in scope. " 7. The meaning of the last provision is clear. It takes away nothing from the ambit of the old definition, but only adds thereto, as indeed the new definition of "estate" introduced by the amending Act shows only too plainly in its terms. 8. To complete the survey of the provisions which we may have to refer to in this judgment, we first set down the definition of "estate" as given in the Madras Estates Land Act, 1908, which was applied to Orissa. Section 3(2) (d) of that Act defined "estate" as : "Any inam village, of which the grant has been made, confirmed or recognised by the Government, notwithstanding that subsequent to the grant the village has been partitioned amongst the grantees or the successors in title of the grantee or grantees. " 9. The argument in this case is based upon this definition, because in defining an 'estate', whole villages which were inam were con....
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....ourt on the ground that it contravenes the provisions of clause (2). " 12. The combined effect of these provisions of the Constitution was that there could be no compulsory acquisition of property for public purposes, unless the law provided for payment of compensation; but the law could not be called in question on this ground if it had been reserved for the consideration of the President and had been assented to by him. The assent of the President was a condition precedent to the effectiveness of the law. By the amendment of the Constitution and the addition of Article 31A, no such law was to be deemed to be void on the ground that it was inconsistent with or took away or abridged any of the rights conferred by Article 14, Article 19 or Article 31, provided that it had been reserved for the consideration of the President and had received his assent. By the definition clause, Article 31A(2)(a), the expression "estate" was to have the same meaning in any local area, which it or its equivalent had in the existing law relating to land tenures in force in that area but was to include among others any 'inam'. 13. The contention of the appellants is really two-f....
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....t itself has no substance. No doubt, these minor inams were not of whole villages but of lands and the grant included both the warams and there were thus no intermediaries. But they were inams nevertheless, and the Constitution defined and 'estate' an including 'any inam', and the amending Act merely followed that definition. The extended definition in the Constitution and a similar extended definition in the Act thus exclude resort to the general definition clause in section 2(q) of the Abolition Act and the definition of "estate" in the Madras Estates Land Act. The definition of "estate" introduced by the amending Act is sufficiently wide to cover such minor inams, and section 2(q) only applies, if a word or expression used in the Abolition Act is not defined therein. If the minor inams are already within the definition of the word "estate", there is no need to go to section 2(q) or to any local law defining the word. There can be no doubt that if the new definition of "estate" applies to minor inams, then they are affected by the Abolition Act. This, indeed, was conceded. 16. Learned counsel for the appellants also urged, ....