Section 42 of The Punjab Land-Revenue Act, 1887
- (1)When in any record-ofrights completed before the eighteenth day of November, 1871, it is not expressly provided that any forest, quarry, unclaimed, unoccupied, deserted or wasteland, spontaneous produce or other accessory interest in land belongs to the landowners, it shall be presumed to belong to the Government.
- (2)When in any record-of-rights completed after the date it is not expressly provided that any forest or quarry or any such land or interest belongs to the Government, it shall be presumed to belong to the landowners.
- (3)The presumption created by sub-section (1) may be rebutted by showing—
- (a)from the records or report made by the assessing officer at the time of assessment, or
- (b)if the record or report is silent, then from a comparison between the assessment of villages in which there existed, and the assessment of villages of similar character in which there did not exist, any forest or quarry, or any such land or interest, that the forest, quarry, land or interest was taken into account in the assessment of the land-revenue.
- (4)Until the presumption is so rebutted, the forest, quarry, land or interest shall be held to belong to the Government.
Summary
- Section 42 sets rules for guessing who owns uncultivated areas like forests and quarries based on old land records.
- A person can disprove the Government's presumed ownership by showing that the land's natural resources were taxed during the official assessment.
- Until someone proves otherwise, the area is legally held to belong to the Government.
Practical examples
FAQ
1. Can a landowner challenge the Government's claim under Section 42 of the Punjab land revenue law?
Yes, under Section 42 of the Punjab land revenue law, a landowner can rebut the claim by showing the assessing officer took the forest or quarry into account when calculating land revenue.
Test yourself
Q1.What date divides the two different rules for presuming ownership of waste lands under Section 42 of The Punjab Land-Revenue Act, 1887?
Q2.Under Section 42 of the 1887 land law, how can a landowner prove the Government does not own a forest presumed to be state property?
Q3.If a record-of-rights was completed in 1880 and does not expressly state that a quarry belongs to the Government, who is presumed to own it under Section 42 of the Punjab land rules?
Q4.Until a landowner successfully rebuts the presumption created for older records under Section 42 of The Punjab Land-Revenue Act, 1887, who holds the rights to the spontaneous produce of the land?