The Rent Recovery Act, 1853
The Rent Recovery Act, 1853, identified as Act No. VI of 1853 and passed on 15 April 1853, does not name an issuing authority in the supplied text. It assigns responsibility for summary rent suits and certain land or tenure sales to the appropriate Collector or independent Deputy Collector, particularly when the land extends across more than one Collectorate.
What the law governs
The Rent Recovery Act, 1853 covers summary suits concerning rent arrears or rent exactions, sales of Putnee Talooks and other saleable tenures, and sales of land to satisfy summary rent decrees. It clarifies which revenue officer has jurisdiction and where required sale notices must be displayed.
The law also addresses earlier orders, decisions and sales that might otherwise have been challenged because the wrong district officer acted or notice was displayed at the wrong district office.
Which officer handles the matter
The Rent Recovery Act, 1853 sets out the following jurisdiction rules:
- If all the land is in one Collectorate, that Collector conducts the sale or hears and decides the summary suit.
- If a tenure, lease or land held at one entire rent extends across multiple Collectorates, responsibility belongs to the Collector for the Collectorate containing the greater part of the land.
- If a Collector is unsure whether the land, or its greater part, falls within the Collectorate, the case must be reported to the supervising Board. An instruction from that Board to proceed is conclusive on jurisdiction.
- A Collectorate means the district for which a Collector is appointed. Land outside that district does not become part of the Collectorate merely because it belongs to an estate paying revenue there.
Independent Deputy Collectors
An independent Deputy Collector is an officer appointed by Government to act independently of a Collector. Within the assigned Deputy Collectorate, that officer may exercise the entrusted powers and jurisdiction of a Collector.
For a sale conducted by an independent Deputy Collector, a notice that would normally be displayed at the Collector's Cutcherry may instead be displayed at the Deputy Collector's Cutcherry. The officer may exercise assigned powers in a public Cutcherry anywhere within the Deputy Collectorate.
Sale notices and earlier proceedings
A notice required at the Zillah Court or local Adawlut must be displayed at the court or Adawlut having jurisdiction over the land to be sold, or over the greater part of that land.
Orders, decisions and sales made before 15 April 1853 are not invalid merely because they were handled by an officer of the wrong district or because notice was displayed at the wrong Cutcherry. This protection does not apply where proceedings challenging validity on that ground had already begun before the law was passed.
The Rent Recovery Act, 1853 also extends the identified provisions of Act XXV of 1850 and the Bengal Code to all sales under Act VIII of 1835.
This summary is generated from the source document to help you find what is relevant. The PDF above is authoritative. For advice on your own property, use LandLens One or speak to a qualified professional.
Common questions
Which Collector handles land held under one rent across two Collectorates?
The Collector for the Collectorate containing the greater part of the land conducts the sale and hears any related summary rent suit.
What happens if the Collector is unsure which Collectorate contains most of the land?
The Collector must report the matter to the supervising Board. If the Board orders the Collector to proceed, that decision is conclusive on jurisdiction.
Can an independent Deputy Collector conduct the sale?
Yes. An independent Deputy Collector may exercise the powers entrusted by Government within the assigned Deputy Collectorate, including relevant Collector powers.
Can an earlier sale be invalidated because the wrong district officer handled it?
Not on that ground alone if the sale occurred before 15 April 1853. The protection does not apply if proceedings challenging the sale on that ground had already started before the law was passed.
