27. Place of holding enquiries.—

Except for reasons to be recorded in writing, no Revenue Officer shall enquire into, or hear, any ease at any place outside the local limits of his jurisdiction.

Provided that a Sub-Divisional Officer may enquire into, or hear, any case at any place within the district to which he is appointed.

28. Power to enter upon and survey land.—

All Revenue Officers, Revenue Inspectors, measurers and patwaris and when under their observation and control, their servants and workmen when so directed, may enter upon and survey land and demarcate boundaries and do other acts connected with their duties under this Code or any other enactment for the time being in force and in so doing shall cause no more damage than may be required for the due performance of their duties :

Provided that no person shall enter into any building or upon any enclosed Court or garden attached to a dwelling house, unless with the consent of the occupier thereof, without giving such occupier at least twenty-four hours' notice, and in making such entry due regard shall be paid to the social and religious sentiments of the occupier.

29. Power to transfer cases.--:

(1) Whenever it appears to the Board that an order under this section is expedient for the ends of justice, it may direct that any particular case be transferred from one Revenue Officer to another Revenue Officer of an equal or superior rank in the same district or any other district.

(2) The Commissioner, on an application made to him in this behalf may, if he is of opinion that it is expedient for the ends of justice, order that any particular case be transferred from a Revenue Officer to another Revenue Officer of an equal or superior rank in the same district or any other district in the same division.

30. Power to transfer cases to and from subordinates-

(1) 2A Collector or a Sub-Divisional Officer], may make over any case or class of cases arising under the provisions of this Code or any other enactment for the time being in force, for• decision from his own file to any Revenue Officer subordinate to him competent to decide such case or class of cases, or may withdraw any case or class of cases from any such Revenue Officer and may deal with such case or class of cases himself orrefer the same for disposal to any other Revenue Officer subordinate to him competent to decide such case or class of cases.

(2) A Commissioner, a Collector, a Sub-Divisional Officer, or a Tahsildar may make over for inquiry and report any case or class of cases arising under the provisions of this Code or any other enactment for the time being in force from his own file to any Revenue Officer subordinate to him.

31. Conferral of Status of Courts on Board and Revenue Officers.-

The Board or a Revenue Officer, while exercising power under this Code or any other enactment for the time being in force to enquire into or to decide any question arising for determination between the State Government and any person or between parties to any proceedings, shall be a Revenue Court.

32. Inherent power of Revenue Courts.-

Nothing in this Code shall be deemed to limit or otherwise affect the inherent power of the Revenue Court to make such orders as may be necessary for the ends of justice or to prevent the abuse of the process of the Court.

33. Powers of Revenue Officers to require attendance of persons and production of documents and to receive evidence.-

(1) Subject to the provisions of Sections 132 and 133 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 1908) and to rules made under Section 41, every Revenue Officer acting as a Revenue Court shall have power to take evidence, to summon any person whose attendance he considers necessary either to be examined as a party or to give evidence as a witness or to produce any document for the purposes of any inquiry or case arising under this Code or any other enactment for the time being in force.

(2) No person shall be ordered to attend in person, unless he resides —

(a) within the limits of the tahsil if the Revenue Officer acting as a Revenue Officer is a Naib-Tahsildar and in the case of any other Revenue Officer, within the local limits of his jurisdiction; or

(b) without such limits but at a place less than fifty, or where there is a railway communication or other established public conveyance for five-sixths of the distance between the place where he resides and the place where he is summoned to attend, less than two hundred miles distant from such place.

(3) Any person present may be required by any such Revenue Officer to give evidence or to produce any document then and there in his possession or power.

(4) Every such Revenue Officer shall have power to issue a commission to examine any person who is exempted from attending Court or who cannot be ordered to attend in person or is unable to attend on account of sickness or infirmity.

34. Compelling attendance of witness.—

If any person on whom a summons to attend as witness or to produce any document has been served falls to comply with the summons, the officer by whom the st1111111011s has been issued under Section 33 may —

(a) Issue available warrant of arrest;

(b) Order him to furnish security for appearance;

(c) or Impose upon him a fine not exceeding rupees [one thousand].

35. Hearing in absence of party.—

(1) If on the date fixed for hearing a case or proceeding, a Revenue Officer finds that a summons or notice was not served on any party due to the failure of the opposite party to pay the requisite process fees for such service, the case or proceeding may be dismissed in default of payment of such process fees.

(2) If any party to a case or proceeding before a Revenue Officer does not appear on the date fixed for hearing after due service of a notice or summons on him the case may be heard and determined in his absence or may be dismissed in default, as the case may be.

(3) The party against whom any order is passed under sub-section (1) or (2) may apply along with his affidavit] within thirty days from the date of such order or knowledge of the order in case the notice or summons was not duly served to have it set aside on the ground that he was prevented by any sufficient cause from paying the requisite process fees for service of a summons or notice on the opposite party or from appearing. at the hearing and the Revenue Officer may, after notice to the opposite party which was present on the date on which such order was passed and after making such inquiry as he considers necessary, set aside the order passed.

(4) Where an application filed under sub-section (3) is rejected, the party aggrieved may file an appeal to the authority to whom an appeal lies from an original order passed by such officer.

(5) Except as provided in sub-section (4) or except where a case or proceeding before any Revenue Officer has been decided on merits, no appeal shall lie from an order passed under this section.

36. Adjournment of hearing.—

(1) A Revenue Officer may, from time to time, for reasons to be recorded and on such terms as to costs, adjourn the hearing of a case or proceeding before him :

Provided that each party may be granted not more than three adjournments during the entire hearing of the case and each such adjournment should be granted only with cost.]

(2) The date and place of an adjourned hearing of a case or proceeding shall be intimated at the time of the adjournment to such of the parties and witnesses as are present.

37.Power to award costs —

A Revenue Officer may award costs incurred in any case or proceeding arising under this Code or any other enactment for the time being in force in such manner and to such extent, as he thinks fit

Provided that the fees of a legal practitioner shall not be allowed as costs in any such case or proceeding, unless such officer considers otherwise for reasons to be recorded by him in writing.

38. Manner of executing order to deliver possession of immovable property. —

Where any person against whom an order to deliver possession of immovable property has been passed under this Code such order shall be executed in the following manner, namely : —

(a) by serving a notice on the person or persons in possession requiring them within such time as may appear reasonable after receipt of the said notice to vacate the land; and

(b) if such notice is not obeyed, by removing or deputing a subor- dinate to remove any person who may refuse to vacate the same; and

(c) if the officer removing any such person is resisted or obstructed by any person, the Revenue Officer shall hold a summary inquiry into the facts of the case, and if satisfied that the resistance or obstruction was without any just cause, and that such resistance or obstruction still continues, may, without prejudice to any proceedings to which such person may be liable under any law for the time being• in force for the punishment of such resistance or obstruction, take or cause to be taken, such steps and use, or cause to be used, such force as may, in the opinion of such officer, be reasonably necessary for securing compliance with the order.

39. Persons by whom appearances and applications may be made before and to Revenue Officers. —

Save as otherwise provided in any other enactment for the time being in force, all appearances before, applications to and acts to be done before any Revenue Officer under this Code or any other enactment for the time being in force may be made or done by the parties themselves or by their recognised agents or by any legal practitioner

Provided that subject to the provisions of Sections 132 and 133 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 1908), any such appearance shall, if the Revenue Officer so directs, be made by the party in person

Provided further that appearance alone may be made by a recognised agent falling under item (ii) of clause (r) of sub-section (1) of Section 2.

40. Effect of rules in Schedule I.—

The rules in Schedule I shall have effect as if enacted in the body of this Code until annulled or altered in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. 

41. Power of Board to make rules. —

(1) The Board may, from time to time, make rules consistent with the provisions of this Code regulating the practice and procedure of the Board and the procedure to be allowed by other Revenue Courts and may by such rules annul, alter or add to all or any of the rules in Schedule I.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by sub-section (1), such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely 

(a) The service of summons, notices and other processes by post or in any other manner either generally or in any specified areas, and the proof of such service; 

(b) The regulation of power of Revenue Officers to summon parties and witnesses and the grant of expenses to witnesses;

(c) The regulation of recognised agents with regard to appearances, applications and acts done by them in proceedings under this Code;

(d)Procedure to be observed in effecting attachment of movable and immovable properties;

(e) Procedure for publishing, conducting, setting aside and confirming sales and all ancillary matters connected with such proceedings;

(f) The maintenance and custody, while under attachment, of live- stock and other movable property, the fees payable for such maintenance and custody, the sale of such live-stock and property and the proceeds of such sale;      

(g) Consolidation of appeals and other proceedings;

(h) All forms, registers, books, entries and accounts which may be necessary or desirable for the transaction of the business of Revenue Courts;  

(i) The time within which, in the absence of any express provision, appeals or applications for revision may be filed;  

(j) The cost of and incidental to any proceedings;

(k) Examination of witnesses on commission and payment of expenses incidental to such examination;

(l) Licensing of petition-writers and the regulation of their conduct.

(3) Such rules shall be subject to the condition of previous publication and approval of the State Government, and after they are so made and approved they shall be published in the Gazette, and shall, from the date of publication or from such other date as may be specified, have the same force and effect as if they were contained in Schedule I.

42. Orders of Revenue Officer when reversible by reason of error or irregularity. —

No order passed by a Revenue Officer shall be reversed or altered in appeal or revision on account of any error, omission or irregularity in the summons, notice, proclamation, warrant or order or other proceedings before or during enquiry or other proceedings under this Code, unless such error, omission, or irregularity has in fact occasioned a failure of justice.

Explanation. —

In determining whether any error, omission or irregularity in any proceedings under this Code has occasioned a failure of justice regard shall be had to the fact whether the objection could and should have been raised at an earlier stage in the proceedings.

43. Code of Civil Procedure to apply when no express provision made in this Code.—

Unless otherwise expressly provided in this Code, the procedure laid down in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V of 1908) shall, so far as may be, be followed in all proceedings under this Code.