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Revenue courts in India

All about revenue courts in India

May 15, 2022

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This article has been written by Oishika Banerji of Amity Law School, Kolkata. This article discusses revenue courts in India (state-wise), their jurisdiction, powers, functions, and other related aspects, in detail.

This article has been published by Sneha Mahawar.

Table of Contents

Introduction

In each district of India, there are various types of subordinate or lower courts. Subordinate courts have a very consistent structure and operation across the country. The names of the courts denote their functions. Civil courts, criminal courts, and revenue courts are the three types of such courts. These courts consider civil, criminal, and revenue cases, respectively.

As per the powers bestowed on them, these courts deal with civil and criminal matters. These Courts were primarily derived from two significant Codes regulating, namely, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and were further enhanced by local statutes. A revenue court is one that has original jurisdiction under this Code to try suits or proceedings relating to the rent, revenue, or profits of land used for agricultural purposes. It does not include a civil court that has original jurisdiction under this Code to try such suits or proceedings as civil suits or proceedings.

Revenue courts in India

Revenue courts deal with cases of land revenue in the state. The Board of Revenue is the district’s highest revenue court, followed by the Commissioners’, Collectors’, Tehsildars’, and Assistant Tehsildars’ Courts. The Board of Revenue is in charge of hearing final appeals from the lower revenue courts. The primary goal of these courts is to address all issues relating to land revenue, as well as issues affecting agricultural land boundaries and tenancy. Suits referred to here include succession, land transfer, the partition of holdings, demarcation of boundaries, removal of encroachments, eviction of trespassers, and declaratory suits (specifically in Uttar Pradesh) in several states. In any case, such lawsuits do not fall under the jurisdiction of civil courts.

The different types of revenue courts are provided hereunder;

Board of Revenue
Commissioner’s Court
Collectors’ Court
Tehsildar’s Court

A uniform designation has been brought about in the subordinate judiciary’s Judicial Officers all over the country, by means of:

District or Additional District Judge, Civil Judge (Senior Divisions) and Civil Judge (Junior Division) on the Civil side, and
On the criminal side, Sessions Judge, Additional Sessions Judge, Chief Judicial Magistrate and judicial magistrates made in existing posts by indicating their equivalent with any of these categories by all state Government/Union Territories Administrations.

The administrative control over members of the subordinate judicial service is vested in the concerned high court under Article 235 of the Indian Constitution. In addition, in the execution of the powers entrusted to the appropriate designated individual, the state government shall create rules and regulations in consultation with the high court exercising jurisdiction in connection to Article 309 read with Articles 233 and 234 of the Constitution.

Constitution of revenue courts

The constitution of revenue courts varies from one state with another other. The general composition of revenue courts has been listed hereunder:

Board Members (Both admin and judicial): This board usually consists of a Chairman and any other members are chosen by the state government. The principal duty of this board is to act as the ultimate decision-maker in instances involving disposition, appeals, or modification. Also, in all other issues provided in separate state codes, subject to the supervision, direction, and control of the state Government.
Commissioners or Additional Commissioners: Each division will have a commissioner nominated by the State Government. One or more extra commissioners may be appointed by the State Government in one or more divisions.
Collectors or Additional Collectors: The person in charge of revenue administration is known as a collector. As a result, a state government must appoint a commissioner in each district, as well as one or more additional commissioners in one or more districts.
Assistant Collectors: The state Government has the ability to appoint as many people as it sees fit for the positions of first and second-class assistant collectors. In addition, if necessary, the state government may designate an assistant-collector first class to serve as extra sub-divisional officials for one or more tehsils in a district.
Chief Revenue Officers: A revenue inspector’s job is to ensure that village records are properly maintained, supervised, and corrected, among other things. Each district’s collector has the authority to designate one or more tehsils.
Settlement Officers and Assistant Settlement Officers: They have generally involved settling disputes between parties to a suit.
Record Officers and Assistant Record Officers: These officers are responsible for maintaining all official records that are required in day to day activities of the revenue board or courts in general.
Tahsildars and Tahsildar (Judicial): A tax officer accompanied by revenue inspectors is known as a tehsildar. They are responsible for collecting taxes on land revenue from a tehsil. A tehsildar is often referred to as the tehsil’s Executive Magistrate.
Naib Tahsildar: The state Government has the authority to appoint as many Naib Tehsildars as it sees fit in each district.

Powers of revenue courts in India

Although powers of revenue courts in India varies from one state to that of the other taking into account the distribution and subject matter of the concerned work, a list of general powers that are vested on revenue courts in India have been provided hereunder:

Power to ask for records: The board or commissioner has the authority to request any records relating to any kind of suit or proceeding that is being judged by any subordinate revenue court in which no appeal has been filed, or even if an appeal has been filed, it is to be deemed that the same has not been filed yet. The purpose behind the same is to ensure the satisfaction of board members, legality or propriety, of any such order passed in a particular suit or proceeding referred to by the Board member.
Power to review: A revenue board has the power to review any of the order passed by itself or pass any such order as it may think fit on the basis of any applications made to it by an interested party or board can do so, of its own motion.
Power to transfer cases: A revenue board has the authority to transfer cases from one revenue court to another revenue court of a higher or equivalent rank, in the same district or any other district, but only if it is convenient and practicable for the goals of justice.

Jurisdiction of revenue courts in India

Generally, the revenue codes of respective states expressly provide that revenue courts or the board have complete jurisdiction on the matters that they are empowered to deal with and that no civil court would have such jurisdiction to entertain suits related to such subject matters. If a civil court is allowed to entertain, the same will be provided in the state code itself.

Jurisdiction of civil courts vis-a-vis revenue courts

The question of whether a civil court has jurisdiction over suits challenging agricultural land transfer deeds on the grounds that they are defective or voidable and seeking cancellation has been a difficult one. Section 49 of the U.P. Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1954 deals with res judicata, both actual and constructive, and the bar of civil or revenue court jurisdiction (could or ought). If a claim could be made during consolidation operations but it was not done then thereafter it cannot be raised in any court including a civil court.

Where any revenue court is governed by the provisions of any state code in those matters of procedure where no special enactment applicable to them is silent, the State Government may declare, by notification in the Official Gazette, that any portions of those provisions not expressly made applicable by the state code shall not apply to those courts, or shall only apply to them with such modifications as the state government may prescribe. A revenue court means, a court vested with the original jurisdiction to try suits or proceedings relating to the rent, revenue, or profits of land used for agricultural purposes, as have been mentioned before as well, but not a civil court with original jurisdiction to try such suits or proceedings as civil suits or proceedings.

In the case of Jai Prakash Singh v. Bachchu Lal (2019) which appeared before the Allahabad High Court, the issue related to the jurisdiction of the civil court and revenue court.

The question that the Court had framed to be answered was “in which court, civil or revenue, would the suit reside if the prayer in the suit is for the cancellation of a sale deed of agricultural property?” In another form, the question before the Court, in this case, was “under what conditions would a suit for cancellation of a “sale deed” of agricultural property sit in the civil court or the revenue court?”. The Court opined that the averments stated in the plaint revealed that the plaintiff had sought for the cancellation of the sale deed by the non-executants of the sale deed and therefore the same was involving declaration of right/title/interest. Taking this into account, the Court held that as the civil court had no jurisdiction to grant the main relief of declaration of title and coparcenary right of agricultural land, it was the revenue court who had jurisdiction in this matter.

Appeals in revenue courts

In order to understand appeals in revenue courts, it is necessary to know the highest and the lowest revenue courts in India. It is to be noted that the highest revenue court in the district is the Board of Revenue. Under it are the Courts of Commissioners, Collectors, Tehsildars and Assistant Tehsildars. The Board of Revenue hears the final appeals against all the lower revenue courts under it. Further, the Tehsildar’s Court which handles the cases that deal with the assessment of land revenue and property tax is the lowest revenue Court in India. Along with this, we need to also take into account different state codes concerning revenue courts which lays down provisions for appeals in revenue courts in their own way. The same has been discussed in the latter part of this article.

A common query that can arise when we talk about appeals in revenue courts is whether high courts of respective states can have appellate jurisdiction to try appeals that originated from revenue courts or not. In this regard, we must consider an early case of Burla Appanna And Anr. v. Anala Latchayya And Ors (1923), where the Madras High Court had opined that “subordination of courts is determined according to Section 195 of the Criminal Procedure Code, by the fact that appeals ordinarily lie from one court to another. In no case does an appeal lie to the High Court from the decision of the Board of Revenue.”

A state-wise list of revenue courts and their functioning in India

As revenue courts, their structure, powers, functions and jurisdiction is different for each state, a state-wise list of revenue courts and their associated aspects have been discussed in detail hereunder.

Revenue courts in Uttar Pradesh

Revenue Court means all or any of the following authorities in Uttar Pradesh, as defined by Section 4(16) of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2016;

The Board and all members thereof,
Commissioners,
Additional Commissioners,
Additional Collectors,
Assistant Collectors,
Settlement Officers,
Assistant Settlement Officers,
Record Officers,
Assistant Record Officers,
Tehsildar and Naib Tahsild

The primary goal of these courts is to address all issues relating to land revenue, as well as issues affecting agricultural land boundaries and tenancy. Suits referred to here include succession, land transfer, the partition of holdings, demarcation of boundaries, removal of encroachments, eviction of trespassers, and declaratory suits in several states, including Uttar Pradesh. In any case, such lawsuits do not fall under the jurisdiction of civil courts.

The goal of computerising all of the state’s revenue courts is to ensure 100 percent transparency in the revenue courts’ proceedings and to make information related to cases, such as due dates, court orders, and all information about the court’s proceedings, available to litigants, advocates, and the general public.

Presently, 15.58 million cases have been adjudicated by the revenue courts across Uttar Pradesh, among which 13.82 Million have been disposed of, while 1.76 million cases are pending. The revenue court list with the level and name of the court located in the largest State of Uttar Pradesh are listed hereunder:

Name of the District: Mau

Magistrates
Additional District Magistrate, Finance and Revenue
Additional District Magistrate (Judge)
Chief revenue officer
Assistant Inspector General, Stamp
Town magistrate
Additional deputy collector

Name of Tehsil: Maunath Bhanjan

Sub-collector Tehsildar
Tehsildar, judicial
Naib Tehsildar
Naib Tehsildar, Maunath Bhanjan

Name of Tehsil: Ghosi

Sub-collector Tehsildar
Tehsildar, judicial
Naib Tehsildar

Name of Tahsil: Madhuban

Sub-collector Tehsildar
Naib Tehsildar

Name of Tahsil: Mohammadabad Gohana

Sub-collector Tehsildar
Naib Tehsildar.

Revenue Court Computerised Management System

Revenue Court Computerised Management System is a website developed by the NIC Uttar Pradesh State Unit to facilitate transparency in all proceedings of computerised revenue courts in the state by providing vital information to litigants and advocates such as hearing dates, court orders, and other court proceedings. There are 2275 courts in the state, ranging from the Nayab Tehsildar Court to the Board of Revenue Courts. All revenue case proceedings, such as the next hearing date, court order, cancellation, and filing, can be easily viewed ‘online’ using this web portal. It is no longer necessary for plaintiffs and their other beneficiaries to seek information on the status of their cases.

Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006

To consolidate and update the law relating to land tenures and land revenue in the State of Uttar Pradesh, the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code, 2006 was enacted. Amendments to the said Code were required in order to ensure smooth availability of land for the purpose of industrialisation, to reduce the amount of fine for regularisation of an acquisition or purchase done without obtaining prior approval of the state government, to promote investment in the state, remove difficulties in the establishment of industries, and for better implementation of government schemes. It was determined to revise the aforementioned Code to include the aforementioned changes. Since the state legislature was not in session and immediate legislative action was necessary to implement the aforesaid decision, the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (UP Ordinance no. 22 of 2020) was promulgated by the Governor on December 28, 2020.

Powers of the revenue courts in Uttar Pradesh

Under U.P. Revenue Code, 2006 following powers are available to revenue courts:

Power to call for the records (Section 210): According to this Section, the board or commissioner has the authority to request any records relating to any kind of suit or proceeding that is being judged by any subordinate revenue court in which no appeal has been filed or, if an appeal has been filed, it has not been filed yet. The purpose of this is so that board members can satisfy themselves as to the legality or propriety of any such order passed in a particular suit or proceeding being referred to them and if such subordinate courts appeal to have:

Exercised any such jurisdiction not empowered to it by law; or
Failed to exercise any such power vested by law;
Also, if it is discovered that such jurisdiction has been exercised illegally or involves material irregularities of any kind, the appropriate commissioner or board member, whoever appears fit to the situation, may issue whatever order they deem or agree to be valid in the particular scenario.

Power to restrict applicants from applying(Section 210): If a person has already filed an application with the board of directors or the commissioner, that person will not be allowed to file another application with any of the revenue court members.
Power to refuse from hearing (Section 210): No further orders shall be heard under this section after 30 days have passed from the introduction of the Code or from the date of the order sought to be changed.
Boards power of review (Section 211):

This clause gives the court the authority to examine any of its own orders or to make any other order it sees fit on the basis of any applications submitted to it by an interested party or on its own motion.
Only those orders that fall under the following grounds will be reviewed under subsection 1 of Section 211:

If any new or significant information or evidence is discovered;
Any type of error or omission seen on the act of record; and
Any other justification is sufficient.

Orders that have been passed on review will not be reviewed again.

Power to transfer cases (Section 212):

Under this provision, a board has the authority to transfer cases from one revenue court to another revenue court of a higher or equivalent rank, in the same district or any other district, but only if it is convenient and practicable for the goals of justice.
It also gives the Commissioner, the Collector, or the Sub-Divisional Officer the authority to delegate any case or class of cases arising under the provisions of this Code or any other enactment in force, for a decision from his own file, to any revenue officer subordinate to him and competent to decide such case or class of cases, or to withdraw any case or class of cases from any such revenue officer and deal with such case or class of cases himself.

Members of the Uttar Pradesh Board of Revenue

The Board of Revenue is made up of a Chairman and two administrative members, as well as seven judicial members. It is in charge of overseeing and controlling all administrative and judicial land records, settlement, and revenue proceedings in the state.

Jurisdiction of revenue courts

Section 206 of the U.P. Revenue Code, 2006 discusses the jurisdiction of civil courts and revenue courts in the State of Uttar Pradesh. It states the following:

No civil court shall entertain any suit, application, or proceeding to obtain a decision or order on any matter which the state government, the Board, any revenue court, or any revenue officer is empowered to determine, decide, or dispose of by or under the 2006 Code, notwithstanding anything contained in any law currently in force, but subject to the provisions of the aforementioned Code.
Except as otherwise specifically allowed by or under this Code, and without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (1):

Any of the matters listed in the Second Schedule is outside the jurisdiction of a civil court; and
Any suit application or procedure indicated in Column 3 shall be heard by the revenue Court or the revenue officer specified in Column 4 of the Third Schedule.

Any appellate, revisional, or executing court shall not entertain an objection that a Court or an officer mentioned in sub-section (2)(b) had or had no jurisdiction with respect to any suit, application, or proceeding, unless the objection was brought before the court or officer of first instance, at the earliest opportunity, and in all cases where issues are settled at or before such settlement, and unless there has been a finding of fact.

First appeal (Section 207)

If a party is dissatisfied with a judgement or decree entered in a suit or proceeding specifically mentioned in Column 3 of the III Schedule, it may file a first appeal with the court or the officer specified against it in Column 5, provided that such an order or decree is entered by the court or the officer specified against it in Column 4.
First appeal may also be filed against the order of the nature specifically mentioned:

In Section 47 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908;
In Section 104 of the U.P. Revenue Code, 2006;
Also, in Order XLIII of the I Schedule of U.P. Revenue Code, 2006

Second appeal (Section 208)

If a party is aggrieved by a judgment or decree entered in a first appeal filed under Section 207 of the said Code in any suit, application, or action listed in Column 3 of the III Schedule, that party may file a second appeal in the court listed in Column 6.
The appellate court will only hear a second appeal if they consider there is a special reason or if they are persuaded that the issue raises a serious point of law.
There is a time restriction for filing an appeal, according to this provision, the time limit is 90 days from the date of the order or decree being appealed against.

Bar against certain appeals

No appeal can be made against an order or decree, regardless of what is stated in Sections 207 and 208:

Enacted under Chapter V of the U.P. Revenue Code, 2006.
Granting or denying a request for a delay condonation under Section 5 of the Limitation Act of 1963.
An application that has been turned down for evaluation.
When a request for a delay is granted or denied.
Transferring the case to a lower court.
Where the nature of order or decree is interim.

Revenue court in Chhattisgarh

All the courts from Collector to Naib Tehsildar are registered in the revenue courts in Chhattisgarh. Provision for online uploading of all proceedings from registration of cases to final disposal such as the writing of order letter, marking of evidence and passing of final order etc, are available in the official website itself. Other facilities that can be availed through this website are:

Arrangement to give acknowledgment to the applicant by registering all the applications received in the revenue court online.
Updates on the proceedings being conducted in their cases are available to the parties online.
Information on the case under consideration and measles available.
Provision of communication of information to the parties through SMS of the date of the next hearing after the hearing.
Provision to make the litigation list of each court available online.

The Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code, 1959

The Chhattisgarh Land Revenue Code, 1959 which received assent from the President on 15th September, 1959 is an Act to consolidate and alter the law of Chhattisgarh related to land revenue, Revenue Officers’ powers, landholders’ rights, and responsibilities to the state government, agricultural tenures, and other matters relating to land and liabilities incidental thereto.

The Act extends to the whole of Chhattisgarh. But nothing in this Code, except the provisions relating to the liability of land for payment of land revenue, assessment of land revenue with reference to the use of land, realisation of land revenue, and all provisions ancillary thereto, shall apply to such areas as may be constituted as reserved or protected forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, from time to time.

Powers of revenue officers and Revenue Board

Powers of Superintendence of Board (Section 8)
Power to alter, create or abolish divisions, districts, sub-divisions and tehsils (Section 13)
Power to appoint commissioners of division and Additional Commissioner(Section 14 and Section 15)
Power to appoint Collector and Additional Collector (Sections 16 and 17)
Powers exercisable on transfer (Section 25)
Power to enter upon and survey land (Section 28)
Power to transfer cases (Section 29)
Power to transfer cases to and from subordinates (Section 30)
Powers of Revenue Officers to require the attendance of persons and production of documents and receiving evidence (Section 33)
Compelling attendance of witness (Section 34)
Power to award costs (Section 37)
Power of Board to make rules (Section 41).

Jurisdiction of revenue officers, boards and courts

Section 7 of the 1959 Code provides that the Revenue Board shall exercise the powers and perform the functions conferred on it by or under this Code, as well as such functions of the state government as the state government may specify by notification in that regard and such other functions as have been conferred or may be conferred on the Chief Revenue Authority or the Chief Controlling Revenue Authority by or under any Central or State Act.

By notification, the State Government may confer upon or entrust to the Board or any member of the Board additional powers or tasks entrusted to the State Government by or under any enactment currently in force, subject to such restrictions as it may judge reasonable.

Procedure of revenue courts

Chapter IV of the 1959 Code deals with the procedure of revenue officers and revenue courts. The chapter is spread over from Sections 27 to that 43. Important takeaways about the procedure adopted by the revenue courts of Chattisgarh are listed hereunder:

Section 27 provides that no Revenue Officer shall enquire into, or hear, any case at any place outside the local limits of his jurisdiction.
Section 28, 29, and 30 vests the power to enter upon and survey land, power to transfer cases, power to transfer cases to and from subordinates, on revenue officers and revenue inspectors.
Section 31 clarifies that the jurisdiction to decide any question arising for determination between the state government and any person or between parties to any proceedings, solely vests on revenue courts.
Section 32 lays down the inherent power of the revenue courts to make such orders as may be necessary for the ends of justice or to prevent the abuse of the process of the court.
Section 38 lays down the manner of executing an order to deliver possession of the immovable property, the same involves:

Serving notice on the person or persons in possession, or
By removing or deputing a subordinate to remove any person who refuses vacation of property,
The Revenue Officer shall hold a summary inquiry into the facts of the case if the officer who is on duty to carry out a vacation of property, is obstructed.
Section 43 provides that the Code of Civil Procedure,1908 is to be applicable for implementation of the Code of 1959, unless otherwise expressly prohibited.

How to submit an application in the revenue court of Chhattisgarh

The link to submit an application to the revenue court online in Chhattisgarh is available here. The steps involved in the same have been provided hereunder:

Give the correct information of Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively.
Be sure to create a PDF of the required documents related to the application that you have available and upload it in Section 1.
Fill in the applicant and non-applicant information correctly.
Select mobile number to get OTP Clicking on the Get OTP button will get 4-digit revenue OTP.
Enter the OTP received on the mobile and click on the Save button
View the status of your application through a computer-generated number

What does the monthly progress reports of revenue courts in Chhattisgarh have to say

The highest number of cases that has been disposed of (as of March 2022) is 2349 by the revenue court of district Fort, Chhattisgarh. Whereas, the lowest number of cases that has been disposed of (as of March 2022) is 1 in Surguja divisional level, Chhattisgarh.
The highest number of pending cases that have been restored till date has been 180 in both Raipur and the Fort districts of Chhattisgarh. An interesting thing to note in this regard is that both these districts have a huge number of pending cases as of the current revenue year. While Raipur stands with 14814 pending cases, Fort district embraces 9547 pending cases. If the number of pending cases existing and those restored in these two districts are viewed parallelly, it is quite clear that the same is not proportionate and therefore more work is required in the same.
The Raipur district revenue court champions in the number of cases registered with it till January in the current revenue year as the same reached 14003.
While Raipur divisional level and Narayanpur have restored only 6 out of 1596 pending cases, Bilaspur divisional level with 2974 pending cases have restored none till the current date.

Revenue courts in Madhya Pradesh

The Board of Revenue was established by ordinance in 1948 in the former Madhya Bharat State. Similarly, the Board of Revenue in Vindhya Pradesh was established by order in 1948. Madhya Pradesh Board of Revenue was established through the Central Provinces Board of Revenue Ordinance,1949. The state of Rajasthan, from which the Sironj region had migrated to Madhya Pradesh, had its own revenue board. Only Bhopal was such a state, with no such institution and the state government was exercising all appeal and review powers. These powers were thereafter transferred to the Assistant Chief Commissioner by the State Government.

The Board of Revenue was established shortly after the creation of the State of Madhya Pradesh by Rajpatra Extraordinary dated November 1, 1956, which exercised power under several regional acts. The State Government ceded appellate and revisional powers of the Assistant Chief Secretary to the newly formed Board of Revenue by Notification no. 12-1-A dated November 1, 1956. By amending the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959 (MPLRC) in 2011, the Government of Madhya Pradesh vested all revisional powers with the Board of Revenue.

The State Government has appointed Gwalior as the Principal Seat of the Board of Revenue. In Addition to this circuit courts of revenue board are being held at Rewa, Indore, Jabalpur, Bhopal, Ujjain & Sager Divisional headquarters. Revenue Board has been constituted under Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code 1959. It is the highest court of appeal/ revision in revenue cases. In addition to this, under Acts like M.P. Excise Act, 1915 and Indian Stamp Act, 1899, etc. separate Revenue Boards have also been appointed to act as the Chief Revenue Controlling Authority.

Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959

An Act to consolidate and alter the law of Madhya Pradesh related to revenue, the jurisdiction of Revenue Officers, the rights and responsibilities of holders of land from State Government agricultural tenures, and other subjects relating to land and liabilities incidental thereto.

Constitution of Board of Revenue

Section 3 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959 provides that there shall be a Board of Revenue for Madhya Pradesh which will be composed of a President and two or more other members as the state may deem appropriate from time to time. The provision further states that the existing Board of Revenue for the various regions of this State immediately before the coming into force of the Code, referred to as the existing Board, shall be deemed to be the Board of Revenue for Madhya Pradesh constituted under this section, with effect from the date of coming into force of the Code. The current Board’s President and members will be the first President and members of the Madhya Pradesh Board of Revenue, respectively.

Jurisdiction of the Board

Section 7 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959 provides that the Board shall exercise the powers and perform the functions conferred on it by or under the 1959 Code, as well as such functions of the State Government as the State Government may specify by notification in that regard, and such other functions as have been conferred or may be conferred on the Chief Revenue Authority or the Chief Controlling Revenue Authority by or under any Central or State Act. Further, by notification, the State Government may confer upon or entrust to the Board or any member of the Board additional powers or tasks entrusted to the State Government by or under any enactment currently in force, subject to such restrictions as it deems appropriate.

Powers of Superintendence of Board

A. The powers conferred by the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959

Powers of superintendence (Section 8): On all subjects subject to its appellate or revisional jurisdiction, the Board shall have supervisory authority over all authorities insofar as such authorities deal with such matters and may issue returns.
Power to make rules (Section 9 & 41): The Board may establish rules for the exercise of its powers and functions by benches made up of one or more of its members, and all decisions made by such benches in the exercise of such powers or functions are deemed to be Board decisions. The Board may create regulations governing the Board’s practice and procedure, as well as the procedure approved by other revenue courts, from time to time, in accordance with the requirements of this Code.
Power to transfer cases [Section 29(1)]: The Board may direct that any individual matter be transferred from one Revenue Officer to another Revenue Officer of equal or superior rank in the same district or any other district whenever it appears to the Board that an order under this section is necessary for the ends of justice.
Power to hear appeals (Section 44): An appeal shall lie from every original order under the Code or the rules made thereunder and the power to hear such appeals rests solely on the Board, as guaranteed by Section 44.
Revisional powers (Section 50): The Board, on its own motion or on the application of any party, or the collector or the settlement officer, on his own motion, may request the record of any case that has been decided or proceeding in which an order has been issued by any revenue officer subordinate to it or him and to which no appeal lies.
Powers of review (Section 51): The Board and each revenue officer may examine any order passed by itself or any of its predecessors in office and pass such order in reference thereto as it sees suitable, either on its own initiative or on the application of any person concerned.

The remaining powers that have been mentioned here are self-explanatory and therefore have not been explained in detail.

B. The powers conferred by the Indian Stamp Act, 1899

Power to hear appeals (Section 47)
Power of review (Section 56)

C. M.P. Excise Act, 1915

Power of appeals, revision, review (Section 62)

D. The powers conferred by the M.P. ceiling on Agricultural Holdings Act -1960

Power to hear appeals (Sections 4(3) and 41)
Revision power (Section 42).

Revenue courts in Jharkhand

The revenue department interacts with the general public on a regular basis. Every individual is required to visit the revenue office on a regular basis for a variety of reasons. The departments, which serve as a planning, monitoring, and administrative apex level organisation, are based in Jharkhand’s state capital. The revenue department’s goal is for every landlord to be able to use their land peacefully, as well as for those who impede landlords from doing so.

The State of Jharkhand has 24 districts where revenue courts are located. The district of Ranchi ranks highest when it comes to the total number of cases being attained by it (43914), the total number of cases disposed of and pending (23986 and 19928 respectively). Revenue court in Hazaribagh district has a striking difference between the number of pending cases and those that have been disposed of. While 6606 cases have been disposed of by this revenue court, 5891 still remain pending. Districts like Sahibganj, Latehar, Koderma, West Singhbhum have been entertaining very less revenue cases because of which the rate of pending and disposed cases are comparatively less. As per the CNT 49 Report released by the Jharkhand revenue courts’ website, district Dhanbad has the highest number of cases waiting before it (238 to be precise).

Online filing of cases in revenue courts of Jharkhand

Online case filing has become an everyday activity in revenue courts across the nation. By means of the Revenue Court Monitoring System, the revenue courts of Jharkhand has systematically arranged application received district wise followed by a list of disposed and pending cases and a list of maximum and minimum time of disposal of the cases received have been provided by the website as well. By this means, it becomes easier for individuals to keep track of their case, enjoy the fruits of speedy disposal of cases and get a taste of justice secured by them. The online facilities that are available under the Department of Revenue, Jharkhand are:

All revenue & registry records digitised.
Integration of revenue & registry offices.
Online mutation of lands
Online payment of lagan.

Process of e-filing of cases

Visit https://erevenuecourt.jharkhand.gov.in/cnt49_report and click on the online portal option in the upper right corner of the website.
If you are new to the online portal, you have to first register yourself by creating a new account with User ID and password.
After submitting your credentials, you have to login to the portal once again to file a case.
For filing CNT49 Act Permission in DC Court, refer here.
To file mutation and demarcation cases in CO/LRDC court, refer here.

Revenue courts in Punjab

The Revenue Court Management System of Punjab (RCMSPB) provides that the Department of Revenue, Rehabilitation & Disaster Management of the Government of Punjab currently has 447 active courts with total cases numbering up to 83545. 46599 cases have been pending so far while 35320 cases have been disposed of. The RCMSPB provides a dashboard for tracking the status and disposition of court matters. The dashboard displays detailed statistics on the overall number of cases, their status, and their disposition. These details can be seen month by month or year by year. The dashboard allows a top-level officer to keep track of the status of all the courts under his authority.

The Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887

The Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887 is an Act to amend and declare the land revenue law of the Punjab. The Act fulfils the necessity to alter and declare the law in force in Punjabi with respect to the creation and maintenance of land records, the assessment and collection of land revenue, and other things connected to land and the obligations that come with it. Section 1 of the Act that provides the title, extent and commencement of the Act, provides that, the legislation extends to the territories administered by the State Government of Punjab, but not so as to affect otherwise than as expressly provided by this Act.

Chapter II of the 1887 Act deals with revenue officers. The classes of officers as have been provided under Section 6 of the Act includes:

The Financial Commissioner.
The Commissioner.
The Collector.
The Assistant Collector of the first grade, and
The Assistant Collector of the second grade.

Section 8 and 9 of the Act states that commissioners, deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners, extra assistant commissioners, tehsildar and naib-Tehsildars, shall be appointed by the state government.

Powers of the revenue officers and financial commissioner under the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887

Powers of revenue-officers (Section 10): The provision states that the state government may, by notification, determine the functions to be executed under this Act by any class of Revenue-officers, except where the class of Revenue-officers to be dismissed is specified in this Act.
Power of superintendence of the financial commissioner (Section 11): Section 11(2) states that The general superintendence and control over all other revenue officers shall be vested in, and all such officers shall be subordinate to the financial commissioner.
Power to distribute business and withdraw and transfer cases (Section 12): By written order, the financial commissioner, a commissioner, or a collector may disperse any business cognizable by any revenue officer under his authority in any manner he sees fit. Any case pending before any revenue officer under his control may be withdrawn by the financial commissioner, a commissioner, or a collector, and either dealt with by himself or referred to another revenue officer under his control by writing order as well.
Power to call for examination and revise proceedings of revenue officers (Section 16): Any revenue officer subordinate to the financial commissioner may request the record of any matter pending before or disposed of by him at any time. Any case pending before, or disposed of by, any revenue official under his control may be requested by a commissioner or collector. If a commissioner or collector has requested a record and believes that the processes or ruling should be amended or overturned, he shall report the case to the financial commissioner with his view.
Power of revenue officer to summon persons (Section 19): A revenue officer has the authority to call any individual whose presence he believes is required for the transaction of any matter before him as a revenue officer. A person who has been called is required to attend in person, or, if the summons allows, by his recognised agent or a legal practitioner, at the time and location specified in the summons. The person who appears in response to the summons is obligated to tell the truth about any subject about which he is interrogated or makes remarks, and to produce any documents or other items relevant to that matter that the revenue officer may require.

Procedure adopted by the revenue courts in Punjab

Sections 17 to 22 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887 lays down the procedure to be adopted by the revenue courts while entertaining cases. The same has been listed below:

Under Section 17, the state government may make rules consistent with the Act for regulating the procedure of revenue officers under the Act.
Section 18 provides that parties themselves or by their recognised agents or a legal practitioner, can appear and apply before and to the revenue officers.
Section 19 which has been discussed previously deals with the power of revenue officers to summon persons.
The modes of service of summon as provided under Section 20 include personally on the person to whom it is addressed or failing him to his recognised agent or an adult male member of his family usually residing with him. If this does not happen then the summons may be served by posting a copy of it at the person to whom it is addressed as usual or last known place of residence, or, if that person does not reside in the district in which the summons relates has to reference to land in that district, by posting a copy of the summons on some conspicuous place.
Section 21 deals with the mode of service of notice, order of proclamation, or copy thereof. The mode prescribed in Section 20 will be applicable in this provision as well.
Section 22 states that when a revenue officer issues a proclamation relating to any land, it shall be published by the beat of drum or other customary methods, as well as by posting a copy of the proclamation in or near the land to which it relates, in addition to any other mode of publication prescribed in any provision of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887.

Revenue Court Management System of Punjab

RCMS-Punjab is a web-based Revenue Court Handling System that simplifies the management and monitoring of revenue court cases. It was created exclusively for the state’s revenue courts, which include the Financial Commissioner, Divisional Commissioner, Director Land Records, Deputy Commissioner, SDM, Tehsildar, and Naib Tehsildars. The details of properties under litigation, as well as Petitioners and Respondents, are captured by RCMS-Punjab from the land registry database.

Aside from summons notices, the system also generates a date-by-date cause-list for various courts, which is accessible to residents. You can upload any case-related documents, such as interim orders and final judgments. All parties can also receive SMS alerts for significant events such as case establishment, hearing date, and hearing date postponement, among others. Citizens can obtain data of any case, as well as case status, using the portal, which does not require any credentials or registration.

It is a necessary precondition for the implementation of the RCMSPB at any type of Revenue Court. It captures information such as the type of court, the name of the court (in English and Punjabi), the officer’s details, the date from which the officer is holding the charge, the court address, and the authority who will be signing the summons.

How to start the application

The application can be used on any computer that has access to the internet. In order to use the application, go to https://rcms.punjab.gov.in/Index.aspx in your browser.

Features

RCMSPb application is Role-based and is extendable horizontally as well as vertically.
Each user has access to different master data as per their jurisdiction.
Facilitates case institution, capturing the Petitioner/Respondent details.
Details about the property in question, as well as information from a previous case (if any).
Date(s) of hearing and provision for an update.
The ability to keep track of the case’s progress is available (s).
Summons of several types are generated.
The creation of a Cause List and its accessibility to the general public.
It’s possible to construct a cause list based on the parameters you provide.
Various types of documents, such as interim orders, final orders, and so on, can be uploaded.
General documents, summons.
FCR dashboard with state-level parameters.
Senior officers’ dashboard.
Daily cause lists and court orders are available on the website for the convenience of the general public, the department, and advocates.

User management

State-level admin user: Responsible for the overall construction of numerous courts, as well as master details such as Act, capacity details, officer, and designation details, as well as the creation of admin users for various courts. The activity detail include:

Defining Officer details.
Creation of court details for the court for which implementation is to be initiated.
Creation of Administrator user for the court.
Administrator user: It will be in charge of creating users within his jurisdiction and will have access to a dashboard for monitoring courts within his jurisdiction.

Creation of Reader user.
Creation of advocates details.
if it is not already available in RCMSPb.
Reader user: It will be in charge of entering new case information, Petitioner Information, Respondent Information, Property Information, Previous Case Information, and Numberdari/ Chowkidari Candidate Information. It will be in charge of updating the next hearing date, daily procedures, Summons creation, uploading key documents, updating personal information, noting attendance, and postponing hearing dates.

Reader users can start the data entry for revenue court cases.
Can allocate the first hearing date.
Can update the hearing details.
Can upload the various types of documents like interim order/final order, Summons, etc.
Can generate various types of reports like summons to litigants, and summons to the lower court for producing records.

Conclusion

Revenue courts excels in managing suits may be related to succession, transfer of land, the partition of holdings, demarcation of boundaries, removal of encroachments, eviction of trespassers, and declaratory suits. The fact that matters in the jurisdiction of revenue courts are barred from the jurisdiction of civil courts has a lot to speak of in itself. The responsibility of handling matters related to land revenue, and, by extension, into matters of tenancy and boundaries of agricultural land have been solely vested on revenue courts with a two-layer purpose:

The revenue court can execute the given responsibilities successfully as they are dealing with specific matters only.
Revenue courts by executing its functions will reduce the burden of other courts, specifically the high courts when it comes to the matters of appeal.

The keeping of papers in an electronic format is superior for increasing operational convenience. It also cuts down on the time it takes to send a document across institutions. Rather than depending on physical copies, lawyers and judges can easily refer to pleadings and related papers from electronic copies. Payment of court fees, filing fees, and other associated transactions can help the judiciary achieve operational ease at the departmental level if done online. An ODR system provides significantly more transparency and privacy because processes are easily accessible and cannot be tampered with. Most of the revenue courts in the nation have adopted online mode for the application of cases and related judicial works for common individuals. This has helped in the functioning of the revenue courts as well.

Moving to an e-filing system for pleadings would also eliminate the need to visit a notary and/or a court registry. When the document being notarized is in an electronic or digital format, Remote Online Notarization (RON) can be employed. The paper is signed electronically by the notary from a distance. To accommodate the shift to digitization of records and e-filing of pleadings, changes to the procedural legislation governing the filing of pleadings should be made. Blockchain technology can be used to prevent e-evidence from being tampered with, resulting in tamper-proof evidence storage. Revenue courts of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh have already adopted these means for increasing their performance efficiency. Therefore, revenue courts have an immense contribution to the Indian judiciary system and thus should be looked after by means of providing adequate resources for its functioning and infrastructural support system.

References

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