Original issue, dated 29th
January, 1910.
1st reprint, dated 20th
June, 1916.
2nd reprint, dated 13th
August , 1925.
3rd reprint, dated 23rd December, 1938.
4th reprint, dated 12th
February, 1952.
1. Introductory - The subject matter of this Standing
Order may be classified as follows:-
(A)
Assignments
of land revenue, commonly called “jagirs” and “muafis”, and
(B)
Non-service
pensions.
Assignments of Land Revenue (A) may be sub-divided into:-
(a) Military
reward grants, or fauji jagirs.
(b) Special
jagirs.
(c) Jagirs
governed by the Punjab Jagirs Act, 1941.
(d) Other
jagirs and muafis
Non-service pensions (B) may be
sub-divided into :-
(e) Political
pensions.
(f) Bedi
and Sodhi pensions.
(g)
Jagir pensions,
i.e., pensions to destitute dependents of deceased jagirdars.
(a)
Military reward grants, or fauji jagirs.
2. Government of India,
Military Department, resolution no. 867-B., dated 27th February,
1893. (1)-These
grants are dealt with in paragraph 138-39 of The Land Administration Manual.
They are made to Indian Officers by the Government of India for distinguished
military service rendered to that Government.
(2) The
orders of Government of India are addressed by Army Department to the Punjab
Government, and are dealt with by the Financial Commissioner in his dual
capacity of Revenue Secretary to Government and Financial Commissioner.
(3) Forms of grant - Up to the 1st January,
1931, the orders conveyed a grant either :-
(a) of land of the “annual value of Rs. 400”
clear of all charges and deductions; or
(b)
alternatively
of a land revenue assignment of Rs. 600 per annum for the first life one half
of the amount for 2nd and one-quarter for the 3rd and
last life.
Army Instruction (India) No. 102, dated the 16th
September, 1930, and Government of India, Army Department, letter No. B-2523-3
(A.G. 9), dated the 3rd March ,1931. From the 1st January, 1931, however, the grants will
be either-
(a)
of
land of the “annual value of Rs. 400” clear of all charges and deductions; or
(b)
of a
“cash payment amounting to Rs. 600 per
annum” in place of jagirs in the form of assignments or remissions of
land revenue.
4. Procedure where a grant
of land is made - Where
the order is for grant of land, the following procedure shall be followed: -
(i) If the orders of Government of India
do not specify the name of the district in which the grantee wishes to take his
grant, the first step to be taken is a direct communication, from the Financial
Commissioner’s Office to the grantee to ascertain his wishes.
(ii)
When
it is ascertained where the grantee wishes to take his grant, the Deputy
Commissioner of the district concerned is asked, a copy of the letter being
sent to the Commissioner, to report where land is available and, if it is to
place himself in communication with the grantee. This order is addressed to the
Deputy Commissioner, with copy to the Commissioner, for information and
guidance.
(iii) If no land is available in the locality
in which the grantee wishes to take his grant, he is asked to select some other
locality, and, failing that, a report to this effect is made to the Government
of India.
(iv)
If
suitable land is available, the Deputy Commissioner is ordered to put the
grantee in possession as early as possible.
(v) These
grants of land are given on the following conditions;-
(a) The land to be subject to payment of the
revenue assessed upon it, (if it is not assessed to the payment of revenue)
subject to the payment of revenue at the rates at which land in the immediate
vicinity is assessed, provided that, if the land is waste land requiring
clearance, the grantee will be allowed the ordinary concession, which would be
allowed to vendees at public auctions of Government land of two harvests free
of land revenue.
(b) Canal rates and cesses to be paid in
full by the grantee from the beginning of the lease. The grantee to also pay
the malikana at the rate in force in
the tract concerned; provided that no
malikana is to be charged on grant which does not exceed one square or
rectangle .
(c) The grant to be lease hold for the first
ten years, and the property rights to be given after the end of that term if
the land has been properly brought under cultivation and the grantee has made
good use of his grant.
(d) All grants are subject to the loyalty
and the good behaviour of the holder.
(vi)
When a
grant of irrigable land is under contemplation, reference must be made to the Irrigation
Branch before any promises of irrigation are given to the grantee. If the
Irrigation Branch decides that irrigation is not possible, the grantee should
be informed and an acknowledgement obtained from him that he agrees to take the
land on the understanding that irrigation cannot be extended to it.
(vii)
As
soon as the grantee has been put in possession of his land the Deputy
Commissioner concerned should submit a completion report to the Financial
Commissioner, through the Commissioner, stating the market price of the land
granted.
(5) Assignments of land
revenue - As the
form of jagirs granted prior
to the 1st January, 1931, and the status and dignity attached to such jagir awards remain unchanged, the following
conditions governing them are reproduced below:-
(i) All grants are subjected to the loyalty
and the good behaviour of the holder.
(ii)
Assignments
of this kind are for three lives only , the original assignee receiving the
whole sum , his first heir half , and the next heir in succession one-quarter.
(iii)
On the
death of the original holder, one –half of the grant shall descend integrally
to a single heir; the heir will be selected by the Deputy Commissioner , but
will ordinarily be the eldest male heir in the eldest branch of the deceased’s
descendants. On the death of the selected heir, one-quarter of the original
grant will descend integrally to one of his heir similarly chosen by the Deputy
Commissioner. The selection made by the Deputy Commissioner will, in all cases
, be subject to confirmation by the Commissioner ,who will report the name of the approved successor to the
Financial Commissioner for information.
Note.- The rule that the grant
should descend integrally to a single heir , may be relaxed at the discretion
of the local Government and the reduced grant, i.e., the grant after the death
of the original grantee, may be distributed among several heirs in such
proportions as may seem most suitable , provided that the proper proportion of
the original grant is not exceeded. (Dispatch from His Majesty’s Secretary of
State for India , No.50-Finl., dated 20th December, 1918.)
(iv)
The
assignment, if taken in an estate, the land revenue of which is fixed, will, in
each case, be paid in the same proportions as the instalments of land revenue
obtaining in the estate in which it is taken. Thus if the instalments are kharif
one-third and rabi two-thirds, an
assignee of Rs.600 will receive Rs.200 at kharif and Rs 400 at rabi.
(v)
If the
assignments is taken in an estate under fluctuating assessment, the assignment
should ordinarily be paid in two equal instalments. If, owing to the
predominance of either crop, this is not feasible, special proposals should be
made by the Deputy Commissioner.
(vi)
Where
the grantee takes his reward in the form of fixed assignment of land revenue, haq-ul-tehsil should not be charged.
(vii) Punjab
Government letter no. 9154 (Rev. & Agrl.-Genl.) dated 23rd March, 1920: -With
effect from rabi 1920, the Punjab Government have been pleased to exempt Indian
military jagirdars from the payment of contributions towards
the remuneration of zaildars and inamdars leviable
under Land Revenue Rule 11.
(viii) Government
of India letter no. 825-101-2, dated, the 18th August, 1922. It has
been ruled by the Government of India that military reward assignees should be
treated like other jagirdars
as regards remissions and suspension of land revenue. That is to say that, if
the revenue of the state in which the assignment is taken is suspended or
remitted on account of bad seasons, the assignee must bear the proportionate
loss. The object of granting an official or non-official an assignment of land
revenue on a particular village is to increase his izzat localy, so that he becomes a jagirdar of that village and his association with the land is accepted
with the full knowledge of the danger, that at times his revenue will not be
collected.
6. Condition of loyalty and
good conduct. The policy and procedure in regard to the
forfeiture of military pensions and other military awards will be found in the
Army Department letter No. B.-27919/1
(A. G.-8), dated the 9th April, 1934, to all such local Governments
and Administrations, copy endorsed to all Deputy Commissioners and Commissioners
with Punjab Government endorsement No. 14452-H./Mily., dated the 2nd
May, 1934.
7. Cash payments - Where the orders of the Government
of India are for the grant of a cash payment, the Civil Authorities will not be
concerned. This cash payment, which will be for three lives, reducible by half
on each succession, will be known as a “jagir allowance’’. To Indian
Officers on the active list, payment will be made monthly through a unit pay
bill. To Indian Officers on the pension
establishment, payment will be made at the same time, and through the same
channel, as the individual’s pension.
The title of “Bahadur” will be conferred on every recipient of a “jagir
allowance” who is not already a member of the Order of British India.
8. Adjustment
between civil and military estimates of the expenditure in connection with the
annual military grants of land and jagirs. -As land revenue,
including the proceeds from the sale of Crown lands, is now a purely provincial
source of income the provincial Government receives compensation from the
revenues of the Central Government for all grants of land and assignments or
remissions of land revenue, sanctioned on or after the first April, 1921
and also assignments of land revenue
sanctioned in connection with the Government of India Special War Rewards
Scheme referred to in the late Army Department of the Government of India
letter No.18779, dated 20th December, 1917, in favour of officials
and non-officials in recognition of exceptional services rendered by them
direct to the Government of India.
For Jagirs sanctioned on or after
the Ist April 1921; For Jagirs sanctioned the Government of India,
Special War Reward Scheme; Hissar, Kangra, Jullundur, Ludhiana, Hissar, Rohtak,
Kangra, Ludhiana, Ferozepore, Amritsar.
The Deputy Commissioner of the marginally noted districts should report by
Ist March each year the exact amount of the assignment paid to any such Jagirdar
to the Financial Commissioner, who will
arrange for the necessary adjustment of the expenditure through the Accountant-General.
3. Secretary of State’s
Despatch No.53-Finl., dated the 8th September, 1916, and Punjab
Government Resolution No.8397, dated the 5th April, 1917. (1) - In 1917 a scheme for the
creation of special jagirs
was sanctioned by the Secretary of State enabling the Government of the
Punjab to grant such jagirs
ordinarily not exceeding Rs.1,000 a
year in in any one case to persons other than whole time officials in
active service and subject, as regards
the aggregate grant permissible in any one year, to a maximum of Rs.5,000. Ex-officials can be granted special jagirs solely on public service rendered
after retirement.
2. Recommendations
for the grant of special jagirs. Recommendations
for the grant of special jagirs
should be made only in favour of persons of proved loyalty, who have rendered
conspicuous services to the administration.
Those services may include work done in connection with such objects as
the preservation of law and order, the advancement of the Co-operative and panchayat movements, the encouragement
of education, sanitation and medical relief, the popularisation of agricultural
improvements, the breeding of horses and cattle, the planting of trees,
etc. Recommendations should not be made
save in very exceptional cases in favour of persons who have received other
forms of reward, such as grants of land or large jagirs, but there is no objection to the
increase of the value of a special jagir already granted so as to bring
it up to a higher grade (Rs.500, 750, or 1,000). Recommendations that were not previously accepted may, of course,
be repeated at the discretion of the officers concerned.
In order to afford Government some
field of choice, local officers should send up alternative recommendation with
an indication of the order preference.
The
recommendation for each case should be made in the following form:-
(1)
Name,
parentage, tribe and residence of proposed grantee.
(2)
(a) Proposed grantee’s status title and
honorary offices (if any).
(b)Whether he is or has
been an official and whether he is in receipt of a pension.
(3)
Total
area of land owned and land revenue paid.
(4)
How
much of the area in No. 3 was received by way or reward or landed gentry grant,
with details of grants, if any.
(5)
Amount
of revenue assignment already enjoyed (if any) with details.
(6)
Rewards
already received besides those indicated under heads 4 and 5.
(7)
Special
jagir now proposed.
(8)
Has
the proposed grantee a lineal descendant by whom one-half of the grant could
fitly be inherited.
(9)
Grounds
on which the grant is proposed by the Deputy Commissioner.
(10)
Remarks
of the Commissioner.
(3) Punjab
Government circular letter No.3743-R., dated the 15th October, 1938.
Every special jagir is allocated on the revenue of a suitable
estate. The Deputy Commissioners are
authorised to determine, after consulting the grantees, the villages from the
revenue of which such jagirs are to be met, subject to a report being
submitted to the Financial Commissioner, through the Commissioner of the
division. The choice once made by a jagirdar
will be irrevocable.
(4) Punjab
Government letter No.998-R (S.). dated the 3rd August, 1931:- A
special jagir is limited to two lives and is reduced by one-half on the
death of the original grantee. Only a
single descendant in the male line of descent of the original jagirdar
living at the time of his death can be selected as a successor, under the
orders in each case of Punjab Government.
Government reserve full discretion not to select a son adopted after the
grant of a special jagir.
Attached to the grant is a definite condition of “continued good conduct
and steadfast loyalty to his Majesty the King Emperor and active good service
to the public or to the Government established by law in British India,
rendered to the best of the jagirdar’s ability and power”.
(5) Punjab
Government letter no.387-R. (S.). dated the 17th June, 1931. Punjab
Government letter no.3372-R., dated 6th September, 1938. - Every
special jagir is subject to proportionate reduction when the land
revenue of the village to which the jagir is assigned is suspended or
remitted. Special jagirs are
however exempt from liability to
reduction as the result of remission under the sliding scale system of
assessment.
(c)
Jagirs governed by the Punjab Jagirs Act, 1941
4. (1) The jagirs to which the
provisions of the Punjab Jagirs Act, 1941,
apply are detailed in the Punjab Land Administration Acts, volume
II. The history of the legislation in
this regard is given in paragraphs 140 to 159 of the Land Administration
Manual.
(2) Succession:
The Deputy Commissioner should, as
soon as may be , report the death of an assignee governed by the Act to
Government through the Commissioner with proposals for the appointment of a
successor. The report should inter
alia, state the present value of the assignment, the areas assigned, names
of the various members of the family, and the maintenance allowances, if any,
proposed for them.
(3) Financial
Commissioner’s letter no.3198-(R)., dated the 18th September, 1933.
Principles to be observed in fixing maintenance allowances out of the
assignment. The main object
of the Punjab Jagirs Act, 1941, is to maintain the importance of the
family through the principles of primogeniture and impartibility, an object which
the granting of allowances should not be permitted to defeat. The following principles should be borne in
mind when making recommendations:-
(i) Government can under section 8(b) of
the Punjab Jagirs Act, 1941, provide suitable maintenance for the widow or
widows (if any), and other members of the family of any previous holder of the
assignment. The direct descendant of
any previous holder is included in the term “member of the family”.
(ii) Government have full discretion in the matter of allowances and the exercise of its powers must depend on the circumstances of each case which include, inter alia, the allowances already in existence. As a general rule, and subject to principle No. (v) below, no allowance should be made to a member of the family who is not in need of it, having due regard to the standard of living which he may be expected to maintain.
(iii) No hard and fast rules can be laid down in regard to adults, in particular where previous practice is in their favour.
(iv) As a general rule, subject of course to exceptions, there should be good reasons for stopping or reducing on a new succession, allowances already in existence. A ground for reduction, which would, however, require careful consideration, might be the fact that a new succession involved additional allowances constituting serious encroachment on the total value of the jagir, if existing ones were maintained at their full amount.
(v) Government would be reluctant to intervene where family arrangement are proposed and are not clearly unsuitable.
(d) Other Jagirs and Muafis
5. The rules issued by the Government of India from time to time regulating the assignment of land revenue are given in the appendix. The Provincial Government’s powers in this respect are now unrestricted.
Interpretation of the orders of release
6. The
Collector is competent to decide all questions concerned with the
interpretation of orders of assignment of land revenue, provided that his
decision does not involve the grant of a fresh assignment, the continuance of
an expired grant, the resumption of a
grant of which the term has not yet expired or the settlement of any
question of succession or lapse that he has been forbidden to make. It is, therefore, for the Collector to
decide whether an assignment is of fixed amount, or is liable to variation as
the result of reassessment, and whether lapsed muafis in shared villages accrue to the jagirdar or not. In these or similar cases, the Collector’s action is of course, subject to appeal. In
case of importance in which there is a reasonable doubt regarding the proper
interpretation, the Collector should seek the orders of higher authority.*
Sanads
7. Sanads
for the grant of land revenue assignments are given by the Commissioner under
the following rules:-
(i) Grants
of sanads - Grants held by the same party in one district and on the same
tenure should be included in one deed grant.
Great care should be taken in entering the precise conditions of the
grant, and, when a portion only of a large holding is to be continued to heirs,
the nature and extent of the tenure should be clearly defined.
(ii) Punjab
Government No.575, dated 27th August, 1870. By whom to be authenticated - The deed of grant should be signed and
sealed by the Chief Secretary to Government, Punjab, on behalf of Government
after scrutiny in the office of the Financial Commissioners.
(iii) Form
sanctioned in letter above quoted.
Terms of the grant. The
deed of grant for every assignment in perpetuity should state that the grant is
to be held during the pleasure of Government, and is conditional on good
conduct and loyalty.
(iv) Prohibition
of alienation. The deed of
grant should contain an express prohibition of alienation, and declare that the
assignment will lapse to Government on the failure of male legitimate issue in
the line of the original grantee.
(v) Termination
of Succession. The limitation of the
succession prescribed by rule 8 of the Punjab Pension and Revenue Assignment
Rules, 1937, should be inserted in the deed of grant of assignments of land
revenue granted in perpetuity after the 25th November, 1859. In all cases limitation established by the
terms of the grant should be specified.
(vi)
No
sanad need be issued for inams to which the rules under the Punjab Land
Revenue Act, 1887, apply.
Payment of Assignments
8. The payment of assignments is part
of the Collector’s duties in connection with
the administration of land revenue.
His powers are defined in Land Revenue Rules 52 to 57.
9. Payment to non-resident or inform assignees
- The procedure as regards payment to non-resident jagirdars, who
fail to appear for the purpose within one month of the date of collection
through the tehsil agency is given in paragraph 289 of the Sub-Treasury
Manual. To jagirdars who are unable
to appear in person because of bodily illness or infirmity, the Government have
allowed the payment of the jagir money on the production of a life
certificate signed by a reasonable Government official or some other
trustworthy person. The disbursing officer should, however, guard against fraud
and must at least once a year require proof, independent of that furnished by
the life certificate, that the jagirdar is alive. Articles 945 and 947 of the Civil Service
Regulations may be followed as parallel.
Alienation of assignments of land revenue, and their liability to attachment in execution of a decree
10. Government of India
No.2990, dated 27th August, 1852.
Government of India No.109, dated 9th January, 1857. Despatch, Political Department No.51 dated
30th August, 1858. The question of the extent to which
assignments are alienable, and of their liability to attachment, is discussed
in paragraphs 164-170 of the Land Administration Manual. These paragraph deal also with the liability
of perpetual jagirs for the personal debts of the last holder.
11. Section 11 of the Punjab Jagirs
Act, 1941 - Where
the rule of descent under the Punjab Jagirs Act, 1941 involves the devolution
of the assignment of land revenue to a single person as impartible property,
the assignment is not liable to seizure, attachment or sequestration by process
of any court at the instance of a creditor for any demand against the assignee
or his successor for the time being in interest or in satisfaction of any
decree or order.
12. Military jagirs are expressly declared in the Sanads to be
inalienable, any alienation thereof being void. Special jagirs on the other hand are liable to be resumed
by the local Government if they are transferred or hypothecated.
13. Duties of Collector in
connection with attachment of assignments.
Sections 141 and 142 of Land Revenue Act, XVII of 1887. Paragraph 169 of the Land Administration
Manual - Assigned
revenue is an “interest in land”, and an order for its attachment made by any
Civil or Criminal Court must be addressed to the Collector or such Revenue
Officer as the Collector may appoint in this behalf, and must direct the person
by whom the revenue is payable to pay it to the Collector and the Collector to
hold it subject to the further orders of the Court. In execution proceedings the Collector is the agent of the Court,
and must obey its order without demur.
But after attachment has been made, he would be justified in pointing
out to the Court, any reasons, why in his opinion it should be withdrawn. It would then be for the Court to decide
whether the reasons are valid.