Pre-emption Right under WBLR Act

Right of purchase for co-sharers and contiguous tenants under the West Bengal Land Reforms Act

Sec-8 of Land Reforms Act 1955

Provisions (Section 8)

1. Who Can Apply for Purchase?
   • If a portion or share of a raiyat’s land is transferred to someone other than a co-sharer, then the following people can apply to purchase it:
     • Bargadar (sharecropper) – within three months of the transfer.
     • Co-sharer of the raiyat – within three months after receiving a legal notice.
     • Neighboring raiyat (adjoining landowner) – within four months of the transfer.
2. Priority in Purchase:
   • If multiple eligible persons apply, priority is given in the following order:
     1. Bargadar (Sharecropper)
     2. Co-sharer of the Raiyat
     3. Neighboring Raiyat (among them, the one with the longest common boundary gets priority).
3. Procedure for Purchase:
   • The applicant must apply to the Munsif (civil judge) with territorial jurisdiction.
   • They must deposit the full consideration money plus 10% extra.

Exceptions (When This Right Does Not Apply):

• Transfers by exchange or partition.
• Transfers by gift, will (bequest), or hiba-bil-ewaz (Islamic conditional gift).
• Mortgages as per Section 7.
• Transfers for charitable or religious purposes without personal monetary benefit.
• Transfers to a bargadar, provided the total land they own remains ≤1 acre after the transfer.

Pending Cases Transfer:

• Applications pending before a Revenue Officer at the time of the 1972 amendment were transferred to the Munsif for disposal.

Deposit of the entire sale consideration with additional 10% of the sale consideration alongwith the pre- emption application is a statutory and mandatory requirement and it is a pre-condition before any further enquiry as contemplated under Section 9 of the Act

Note:

In Bishan Singh [Bishan Singh v. Khazan Singh, AIR 1958 SC 838] , the right of pre-emption is “a very weak right”. That being the character of the right, any provision to enforce such a right must, thus, be strictly construed. [Barasat Eye Hospital [Barasat Eye Hospital v. Kaustabh Mondal, (2019) 19 SCC 767 : (2020) 4 SCC (Civ) 810] ] The submission/contention on behalf of the pre-emptee that, as in the present case, along with the pre-emption application, the pre- emptors did not deposit the entire sale consideration with 10% additional sale consideration, and therefore their pre-emption application was not required to be further considered and no further enquiry as contemplated under Section 9 of the 1955 Act would be maintainable is concerned, identical question came to be considered by this Court in Barasat Eye Hospital [Barasat Eye Hospital v. Kaustabh Mondal, (2019) 19 SCC 767 : (2020) 4 SCC (Civ) 810] wherein at paras 23 to 33, it is observed and held as under :

Therefore, deposit of the entire sale consideration with additional 10% of the sale consideration along with the pre-emption application is a statutory and mandatory requirement and it is a precondition before any further enquiry as contemplated under Section 9 of the Act is held. In the present case, admittedly, the pre-emptors had not deposited the entire sale consideration with additional 10% of the sale consideration along with the pre-emption application. The aforesaid aspects have not been considered either by the first appellate court or even by the High Court in this case.