State Act

The Gujarat Land Revenue Code, 1879

3. In this Act, unless there be something repugnant in the subject or context– (1) “revenue officer” means every officer of any rank whatsoever appointed under any of the provisions of this Act, and employed in or about the business of the land revenue or of the surveys, assessment, accounts, or records connected therewith 8[and for the purposes of sections 25 and 26 includes village-officer appointed or officiating under any of the provisions of the Bombay Hereditary Offices Act or the Matadars Act, 1887]; (2) “Survey officer” means an officer appointed under, or in the manner provided by section 18 1[* * * ]; 2[(3) “Survey settlement” includes a settlement made under the provisions of Chapter VIIIA]; (4) “Land” includes benefites to arise out of land, and things attached to the earth, or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth, and also shares in or charges on, the revenue or rent of villages, or other defined portion of territory; (5) “estate” means any interest in lands and the aggregate of such interests vested in a person or aggregate of persons capable of holding the same; (6) “survey number” means a portion of land of which the area and 3[assess-ment] are separately entered, under an indicative number in the 4[land records] 5[* * * * *]; (7) 6[“division of a survey number” means a portion of a servey number of which the area and assessment are separately entered in the land records under an indicative number subordinate to that of the survey number of which it is a portion;] 7[(8) “chavdi” means in any village in which there is no chavdi, such place as the Collector may direct shall be deemed to be the chavdi for the purposes of this Act;] (9) “building site” means a portion of land held for building purposes, whether any building be actually erected thereupon or not, and includes the open ground or court-yard enclosed by, or adjacent to, any building erected thereupon; (10) “boundary mark” means any erection, whether of earth, stone, or other material, and also any hedge, 8[unploughed ridge, or] strip of ground, or other object whether natural or artificial, set up, employed or specified by a survey officer, or other revenue officer having authority in that behalf, in order to designate the boundary of any division of land; 9[(11) “to hold land” or to be a “landholder” or “holder” of land means to be lawfully in possession of land, whether such possession is actual or not]; 1[(12) “holding” means a portion of land held by a holder]; 2[(13) “superior holder” means a land holder entitled to receive rent or land revenue from other landholders (hereinafter called “inferior holders”) whether he is accountable or not for such rent or land revenue, or any part thereof, to 3[the 4[State] Government]: Provided that where land has been granted free of rent or land revenue, subject to the right of resumption in certain specified contingencies, by a Jagirdar, Inamdar or other such holder of alienated land whose name is authorizedly entered as such in the land records, such Jagirdar, Inamdar or holder shall, with reference to the grantee, be deemed to be the superior holder of land so granted by him and the grantee shall, with reference to the grantor, be deemed to be the inferior holder of such land and for the purposes of section 8 of the 5Bombay Local Funds Act, 1869, shall notwithstanding anything herinafter contained in the definition of the word “tenant”, be deemed to be the tenant of such grantor]; 6[(14) “tenant” means a lessee, whether holding under an instrument, or under an oral agreement, and includes a mortgagee of a tenant’s rights with possession; but does not include a lessee holding directly under the 7[Government]; 6[(15) “landlord” means a lessor]; 8[(16) “occupant” means a holder in actual possession of unalienated land, other than a tenant: Provided that where the holder in actual possession is tenant, the landlord or superior landlord, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be the occupant]; 9[(17) “occupy” means a portion of land held by an occupant;] 9[(18) “to occupancy land” means to possess or take possession of land]; 9[(19) “occupation” means possession]; (20) “alienated” means transferred in so far as the rights of 3[the 4[State Government] to payment of the rent or land revenue are concerned, wholly or partially, to the ownership of any person; 10[(21) “village” includes a town or city and all the land belonging to a village, town or city]; (22) the words “revenue year” or “year” means the period from, and exclusive of, the thirty-first July of one calendar year untill and inclusive of, the thirty-first July in the next calender year; (23) [Definition of “section”] Rep. by Bom. III of 1886. (24) [Definition of “this Chapter”] Rep. by Bom. III of 1886. 1[(25) The term “joint holders”, or “joint occupants”, means holders or occu-pants who hold land as co-sharers, whether, as co-sharers in a family undivided, according to Hindu law or otherwise, and whose shares are not divided by metes and bounds; and where land is held by joint holders or joint occupants, “holder” or “occupants”, as the case may be, means all of the joint holders or joint oc-cupants;] 1[(26) “land records” means records maintained under the provisions of, or for the purposes of, this Act;] 1[(27) “certified copy” or “certified extract” means a copy or extract, as the case may be, certified in the manner prescribed by section 76 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872;] 2[(27A) In this Act, where there is any refernece to any other enactment of a provision thereof, such enactment or provision shall not merely by reason of such refernce be deemed to extend to the Kutch area of the State Gujarat but if there be any law corresponding to such enactment or provision in force in the said area, the refernce to the enactment or provision as aforesaid shall include a reference to such corresponding law.] 3[(28) “disignated officer” means any revenue officer appointed by the State Government from time to time for carrying out the functions as specified in Chapter X-A; (29) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act.]