Evolution of Land Transfer Regulations under the Karnataka PTCL Act

Furthermore, with the repeal of Rule 30 of the Karnataka Land Grant Rules, 1968, and Rule 93-A of the Karnataka Land Revenue (Amendment) Rules, 1967, and the introduction of Rule 29A on September 17, 1974, a new legal framework was established, stipulating that no alienation of granted land could occur without prior permission or sanction from the government¹. In line with this development, the Legislature enacted the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978 (PTCL Act) on January 1, 1979. This act was designed to protect the interests of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes grantees, ensuring that the purpose of the land grants was upheld and that these communities were safeguarded from exploitation.

The statute came into force on January 1, 1979, with a succinct 12 sections that comprise an array of provisions pertaining to the transfer, alienation, resumption and restoration of lands granted to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities, hereinafter referred to as SC/ST communities.

A Few Key Provisions of the PTCL Act:

Definition of grant land under the PTCL Act:

Section 3(b) of the PTCL Act defines “Granted Land” as any land provided by the government to an individual belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. This definition also includes land allocated or granted under existing laws related to agrarian reforms, land ceilings, or the abolition of inams, excluding those related to hereditary offices or rights. The term “granted” is to be understood in this context. 

Prohibition on Transfer of Grant Lands under Sections 4 and 5 of the PTCL Act:

Section 4 reinforces the grantee’s right to hold the land by imposing a restriction on transferring the granted land without prior government permission. Section 5 grants the Assistant Commissioner the authority to take possession of any such land that has been transferred, including evicting those in possession if necessary, and to declare the transfer null and void. In essence, the Assistant Commissioner is empowered to reverse the transfer and restore the land to the original grantee.

A Slew of Circulars by the Government of Karnataka on Alienation, Transfer and Sale Permission:

The Government of Karnataka, through a circular dated February 21, 1989² directed the Deputy Commissioner to provide appropriate recommendations for grantees seeking to alienate their land, provided that the non-alienation period had been completed. Additionally, a condition was imposed on the grantees to use the sale proceeds to purchase agricultural land. Further, in a circular dated January 11, 1990, the Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, and Tahsildar were instructed to ensure that purchasers were not disqualified from holding agricultural land under the existing land reform laws.

In 2006, the following guidelines for granting sale permission were implemented through a circular:

• Applications within the first 5-year period were to be rejected, as land granted within this duration was not eligible for alienation.
• For granted lands held between 5 and 25 years, each case was to be evaluated individually, taking into account the grantee’s family needs. If the Deputy Commissioner decided to permit the alienation, the grantee was required to pay an amount equal to fifty percent of the market value of the land, as determined by the Deputy Commissioner, to the government on the date of sanction, in accordance with Section 9(1)(i) of the Karnataka Land Grant Rules, 1969.
• For cases where the stipulated time had been fulfilled, permission to alienate could be granted, considering the grantee’s family needs. However, such alienation was to be conditioned upon the grantee purchasing agricultural land using the proceeds from the sale. Granting permission in these cases was at the discretion of the Competent Authority and not mandatory.

Subsequently, a checklist was issued through a Circular dated December 27, 2010, outlining over 20 criteria for landowners seeking permission to sell land under the provisions of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Transfer of Certain Lands) Act, 1978. Following this, a Circular dated March 10, 2011, bearing No. RD880 LGP 2010, was issued, requiring the proper documentation of the non-agricultural income of landowners seeking sale permission and mandating the rejection of applications that did not meet the specified criteria.

Additionally, a Circular dated January 1, 2020, introduced new conditions, which included:

• Mandatory land purchase: The grantee was required to use the sale proceeds to purchase land.
• Submission of Sale Deed: The grantee had to submit the Sale Deed for the purchased land, after which the Sub-Registrar would permit the registration of the sale of the grant land.
• Khata transfer: The Revenue Inspector or Village Accountant was responsible for transferring the khata of the grant land to the prospective purchaser, following verification of the Sale Deed for the land purchased by the grantee.

Furthermore, on the directions of the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka, the following advisory was issued:

• The grantee or their legal heirs were required to submit applications before the competent authority.
• The advance payment made during the Agreement to Sell needed to be verified as part of the sale process.
• It was mandated that all transactions during the sale process be conducted via Account Payee Cheque or Demand Draft.
• Pursuant to the Order dated August 12, 2021, and the Order in W.P. 14746/2020 (SCST) by the Hon’ble High Court, the State Government was directed to ensure that an updated list of granted lands be provided to registering officers under the Indian Registration Act, 1908².

Circular on Period of limitation to invoke PTCL Provisions:

A circular dated February 15, 2022, offering a perspective on applications for restoration made more than 25 years, clarified that the authorities under the PTCL Act, 1978, should deal with the application for resumption according to the facts and circumstances of each case. Given the absence of a prescribed limitation period for such applications, Civil Appeal No. 1390/2009 (Nekkanti Rama Lakshmi vs. State of Karnataka) was decided in favor of the purchaser. The circular also included excerpts from the advisory issued by the Law Department, as outlined below:

“…..Even Hon’ble Apex Court in Nekkanti Rama Lakshmi case has not indicated as to how much time is ‘reasonable time’ to invoke the provisions of PTCL Act. The term reasonable time depends on the facts and circumstances of each case. Hence, fixing a particular period of time so as to apply to all types of matters, irrespective of the facts and circumstances of the case, to invoke the provisions of the PTCL Act may not appear proper. However, if the administrative department wants to fix the limitations/time to invoke the provisions of the PTCL Act, as far as the period of limitation/time to be fixed is concerned, administrative department may take its own decision after going through the above noted materials.” Based on this, the circular directed competent authorities to consider the case explicitly without deviating from the purpose of the provisions of the PTCL Act².

Amendments to PTCL Act

The PTCL Act was amended in 1984, 1992, and most recently in 2023. The 2023 Amendment to the Act introduced changes to Section 5 by adding clauses (c) and (d), which stated that there was no time limitation for invoking the provisions of the Act, regardless of any other law. Further, the provision applied to all cases pending before competent authorities and courts adjudicating under the section. In effect, the amendment specified that there will be no time limit for the grantees to approach courts and reclaim assets transferred to others without the government’s approval.

Although no constitutional challenge to the Amendment has been raised yet, the Karnataka High Court, in its judgment in the case of Jayalakshmamma and Ors. v. Deputy Commissioner, Tumkur and Ors., rejected a request to restore land under the PTCL Act. The rejection was based on the fact that the application was filed more than 25 years after the PTCL Act’s enactment, and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Nekkanti Rama Lakshmi v. State of Karnataka and Anr. as shared above established that proceedings under the PTCL Act must be initiated within a’reasonable time’. The judgment indicates that the Karnataka High Court did not consider the recent amendment to the PTCL Act and dismissed the writ appeal accordingly.

Further, in Basavraj v. Deputy Commissioner, the high court said that once an application filed by the grantee under Section 5 of the PTCL Act is rejected, the only option available is to challenge such an order, and no fresh application can be filed by such a grantee and/or their legal heirs.

Introduction of Rule 6 in the PTCL (Amendment) Rules, 2024

The Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) (Amendment) Rules, 2024³, introduce the addition of Rule 6 to the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Transfer of Certain Lands) Rules, 1979. These amendments will take effect from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

Rule 6 outlines the process for obtaining permission to transfer or acquire grant land under Section 4(2) of the PTCL Act, as follows:

1. Application Submission: The grantee or their legal heirs must submit an application to the Office of the Tahsildar.
2. Tahsildar’s Role: The Tahsildar will investigate, verify the submitted documents, and prepare a report based on their findings, which will then be submitted to the Assistant Commissioner (AC).
3. Assistant Commissioner’s Review: Upon receiving the Tahsildar’s report, the AC may conduct further inquiries to ensure there is no coercion, misrepresentation, fraud, or incorrect valuation of land. The AC will then provide recommendations to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) on whether to approve or deny the transfer request.
4. Deputy Commissioner’s Actions: The DC will review the recommendations and reports, verify the records, and forward the application to the Revenue Commissioner (RC).
5. Revenue Commissioner’s Recommendations: The RC will examine the application and provide recommendations to the Principal Secretary (Revenue). Based on the recommendations from the AC, DC, and RC, the Principal Secretary may approve the transfer. The RC will then issue an order granting permission, and the AC will remove the PTCL tag from the land to facilitate the transfer.
6. Right to Appeal: Sub Rule 10 allows applicants who are aggrieved or denied permission to file representations before the Principal Secretary (Revenue) for a review within 30 days of the order.

Conclusion

The Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prohibition of Transfer of Certain Lands) (Amendment) Rules, 2024, are introduced to address the skepticism and ambiguity surrounding grant lands under the PTCL Act. These rules eliminate the requirement for a No Objection Certificate for the sale of lands covered by the PTCL Act. However, the government has yet to establish digital platforms for the implementation of services outlined in Rule 6 of these amended rules.

Also considering the fact that in the Basavraj case cited above, the revenue authorities were forced to determine the issue of the lack of required documents, the court also issued general directions, including digitisation of records related to land grants. The court said:

“Once the said documents are digitised, all the documents are to be hyperlinked with each other so that all the documents are accessible from any particular document or location, going historically backward or forward. Entries relating to the grant with reference to the grant and concerned documents are to be entered into the RTC, and the documents are to be accessible by way of hyperlinks. A master e-registry is to be prepared in respect of each survey number village-wise, with the documents being accessible by hyperlinking. Search to be capable of, on the basis of the name of the district, village, survey number, grantees name, etc., the facility to apply and obtain e-certified copies of all the documents to be made available.”

To streamline the process, the Government of Karnataka has introduced the Karnataka Land Revenue (Second Amendment) Act, 2024. This Act creates a Revenue Commissionerate at the state level and establishes the position of Revenue Commissioner (Revenue, Land Acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, and Social Security) within the I.A.S. cadre. The objective is to improve efficiency and decentralize administrative powers.