The Tamil Nadu Cultivating Tenants (Special Provisions) Amendment Act, 1985
The Government of Tamil Nadu, Law Department, published the Tamil Nadu Legislature's Act 41 of 1985 on 26 August 1985, after it received the President's assent on 21 August 1985. The Act amends the Tamil Nadu Cultivating Tenants (Special Provisions) Act, 1984, mainly by revising the treatment of rent instalments, restricting execution of certain decrees and allowing eligible evicted cultivating tenants to seek restoration of possession. Most provisions are deemed to have come into force on 1 July 1984, but sections 4 and 5 are excluded from that deemed commencement.
What the Act changes
The Tamil Nadu Cultivating Tenants (Special Provisions) Amendment Act, 1985, Act 41 of 1985, was enacted by the Tamil Nadu Legislature and published by the Government of Tamil Nadu, Law Department, on 26 August 1985. It amends the Tamil Nadu Cultivating Tenants (Special Provisions) Act, 1984, concerning cultivating tenants, arrears of rent, court proceedings and restoration after eviction.
The Act declares that it gives effect to the State's policy for securing the principles in clause (c) of Article 39 of the Constitution. Its provisions, except sections 4 and 5, are deemed to have come into force on 1 July 1984.
Who may be affected
The amendments may affect:
- Cultivating tenants who owed instalments of rent arrears under the 1984 Act.
- Cultivating tenants against whom an eviction or recovery decree was passed.
- Cultivating tenants evicted for failure to pay specified instalments.
- Landowners involved in suits or decrees for recovery of those instalments.
- Courts dealing with pending rent recovery suits.
- Competent authorities receiving applications for restoration of possession.
Key provisions
- A decree passed on or after 1 July 1984 and before publication of Act 41 of 1985, based on failure to pay the first three instalments by the earlier deadlines, cannot be executed unless the tenant also fails to pay them by the revised deadlines.
- The revised deadlines stated for those instalments are 15 November 1985, 31 March 1986 and 15 November 1986, respectively.
- For a qualifying recovery suit filed on or after 1 July 1984 and still pending when Act 41 of 1985 was published, the court must base its decree on instalments payable under the 1984 Act as amended.
- An eligible cultivating tenant evicted for failure to pay the relevant instalments may apply to the competent authority for restoration of possession within the period to be prescribed.
- A restored tenant holds the land with the rights and liabilities of a cultivating tenant under the applicable Tenants Protection Act or Public Trusts Act.
The supplied text is partly unclear, so buyers, owners and professionals should consult the authoritative government publication or Gazette text before relying on specific payment or restoration rights.
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Common questions
Does Act 41 of 1985 apply from 1 July 1984?
Most provisions are deemed to have come into force on 1 July 1984. Sections 4 and 5 are expressly excluded from that deemed commencement.
Can an older decree for unpaid rent instalments still be executed?
A qualifying decree passed on or after 1 July 1984 and before publication of the Act cannot be executed unless the cultivating tenant also misses the revised payment deadlines stated in the Act.
Can an evicted cultivating tenant recover possession of the land?
An eligible tenant evicted for failure to pay the relevant instalments may apply to the competent authority for restoration of possession. The application must be made within the period to be prescribed.
What happens to a rent recovery suit that was still pending when the Act was published?
For a qualifying suit filed on or after 1 July 1984, the court must determine the decree using the instalments payable under the Tamil Nadu Cultivating Tenants (Special Provisions) Act, 1984, as amended.
