Law: Land Laws of Rajasthan (Tenancy Act and Land Revenue Act)

What the official syllabus says

Main Examination, Paper III (General Studies III), Unit III - Behavior and Law, Part B - Law, under “Important Land Laws in Rajasthan”:

• Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955:
  Section 1
  Section 5 - Definition: Agricultural Year, Agriculture, Agriculturist, Assistant Collector, Board, Collector, Commissioner, Crops, Grove-Holder, Grove land, Holding, Ijara or Theka, Improvement, Land, Land Cultivated Personally, Land Holder, Land less person, Occupied land, Pasture Land, Rent, Revenue, Revenue Appellate Authority, Revenue Court, Revenue Officer, Sayar, Settlement, Sub-divisional officer, Sub-Tenant, Tehsildar, Tenant, Trespasser, Nalbat.
  Sections 14-17A, 31-37, 38-54A, 206-232, 239-242
• Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956:
  Section 1, 2
  Section 3 - Interpretation: Land Record Officer, Municipality, Nazul Land, Panchayat Circle, Revenue Appellate Authority, Settlement Officer, Village.
  Sections 4-36, 40A, 74-87, 106-137, 142-183

The syllabus names sections, not themes: read those sections from the bare Acts. The lists below group what to learn so that the definitions and rules make sense together.

Topics in detail

Why these laws matter

• The two Acts replaced the many tenure systems of the former princely states (jagir, zamindari, biswedari) with one system for the state
• Land reforms in Rajasthan: abolition of jagirs and zamindari, ceiling on holdings, rights for cultivators
• Revenue officers and courts apply both Acts; the Board of Revenue at Ajmer is the highest revenue court

Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955: definitions (section 5), grouped

• Persons: agriculturist, tenant, sub-tenant, land holder, grove-holder, landless person, trespasser
• Land: land, holding, grove land, occupied land, pasture land, land cultivated personally
• Activities and time: agriculture, agricultural year, crops, improvement
• Officers and courts: Assistant Collector, Collector, Commissioner, Sub-divisional Officer, Tehsildar, Board, Revenue Appellate Authority, revenue court, revenue officer
• Payments and arrangements: rent, revenue, sayar, settlement, ijara or theka, nalbat

Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955: rules to learn from the listed sections

• Classes of tenants (section 14): khatedar tenants, gair khatedar tenants and others
• Khatedari rights: who gets them, and land on which khatedari rights do not accrue (such as pasture land)
• Rights of tenants in their holdings
• Transfer of rights: sale, gift, mortgage, sub-letting, exchange, division of holdings; restrictions on transfer of land of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe tenants to others (section 42)
• Succession to tenancy
• Procedure in revenue courts: suits, applications, appeals, revision and review
• Jurisdiction of revenue courts and civil courts over tenancy matters

Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956: definitions (section 3)

• Land Record Officer, Settlement Officer, Revenue Appellate Authority
• Municipality, Panchayat Circle, Village
• Nazul land: land in an abadi (settlement) area belonging to the State

Rajasthan Land Revenue Act, 1956: rules to learn from the listed sections

• The Board of Revenue: constitution, powers and supervision of subordinate revenue courts
• Revenue officers: Divisional Commissioner, Collector, Additional Collector, Sub-Divisional Officer, Assistant Collector, Tehsildar, Naib Tehsildar; land record officers down to the Patwari
• Appeals, revision, reference and review in revenue cases
• Survey of land, boundaries and boundary marks
• Land records: record of rights, jamabandi, khasra, maps; mutation of names on transfer and succession
• Settlement operations: assessment of land revenue and rent rates

Linked topics

• Digitisation of land records in Rajasthan and online mutation
• Role of the Patwari, Girdawar (Inspector Land Records) and Tehsildar in daily revenue work
• Revenue administration in the district (see State and District Administration)