AGRICULTURAL LAND LEASE (THEKA)
BETWEEN
__________, of __________, mobile __________ (the "Lessor", which expression includes the co-owners named below, if any);
AND
__________, of __________, mobile __________ (the "Lessee").
The Lessor and the Lessee are each a "Party" and together the "Parties".
RECITALS
B. The Lessor has agreed to let, and the Lessee has agreed to take, the Land on theka — a lease at a fixed cash Rent, not a share of the crop — for the Term and on the Rent stated below.
C. This lease is for agricultural purposes. s.117 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 accordingly takes it outside Chapter V of that Act, and clause 13 of this Deed explains, honestly and without overstating the position, why the Parties do not present it for registration.
NOW THIS DEED WITNESSES as follows.
- 1. GRANT AND TERM
1.2 This lease gives the Lessee the right to cultivate and possess the Land for the Term for the purpose stated in clause 4, and no more.
- 2. RENT
2.5 The Rent stated in clause 2.1 is a single figure for the whole Term and is not expressed, and is not to be read, as a yearly rent; clause 13.2 records why that distinction matters to this Deed.
- 3. THE GIRDAWARI ENTRY
3.1 The Lessee's possession of the Land during the Term is under this Deed and no otherwise. The Lessor may apply to have, and the Lessee shall not object to, the khasra girdawari for the Land recorded during the Term as possession under theka from the Lessor, and not as an entry showing the Lessee as an owner-cultivator or as any tenant other than under this Deed.
3.2 The Lessee shall, if asked, sign or otherwise support any application to the Patwari reasonably necessary to keep the girdawari entry consistent with this clause, and shall not himself apply to have it recorded in any other way.
- 4. PERMITTED USE, CROPS AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE
4.1 The Lessee shall use the Land only for agricultural cultivation and for no other purpose, and shall not erect any permanent structure on it or apply for any change of its land use.
4.3 The Lessee shall comply with the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 where paddy is grown on the Land, and with every other law applicable to cultivation, and shall not burn crop residue or stubble on the Land in breach of any direction, notification or order for the time being in force prohibiting or restricting it. The Lessee shall indemnify the Lessor against any penalty imposed on the Lessor because of the Lessee's own breach of this clause.
- 5. WATER
- 6. LESSEE'S OTHER OBLIGATIONS
6.1 The Lessee shall cultivate the Land in a proper and husbandlike manner, maintain the field bunds, water courses and boundaries in the condition found at the commencement of the Term, and not do anything that permanently reduces the fertility or usability of the Land.
6.3 The Lessee shall permit the Lessor to enter the Land at reasonable times to inspect it.
- 7. LESSOR'S COVENANTS
7.1 The Lessor has the right to let the Land on the basis stated in Recital A, and so long as the Lessee pays the Rent and observes this Deed, the Lessee shall peacefully hold and cultivate the Land for the Term without interruption by the Lessor or anyone claiming through the Lessor.
7.2 The Lessor shall pay the land revenue and every other levy assessed on ownership of the Land, and shall keep the Lessee's possession free from disturbance on that account.
- 8. TAXES
8.1 Rent received by the Lessor for agricultural land used for agricultural purposes is ordinarily agricultural income within the meaning of s.2(1A) and exempt under s.10(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961; the Parties should confirm this treatment against their own facts rather than treat this clause as tax advice.
8.2 No GST is treated as chargeable on the Rent, letting of agricultural land for agricultural use being outside the scope of that levy under the notifications for the time being in force.
- 9. NO OCCUPANCY OR PROTECTED TENANCY
9.1 Nothing in this Deed confers on the Lessee any occupancy tenancy, protected tenancy or other right of continued possession beyond the Term under the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887, the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953 or any other law for the time being in force, and the Lessee, to the extent the law allows a tenant to do so, waives any claim to such status arising out of this Deed or any renewal of it.
9.2 This Deed is not renewed or extended by the Lessee remaining in occupation after the Term, or by any conduct of the Parties, and takes effect afresh only if a new deed is executed in writing; clause 12 governs a standing crop at the end of the Term.
- 10. DEFAULT AND TERMINATION
10.1 If the Lessee fails to pay Rent within thirty days of its due date, or commits a material breach of this Deed not remedied within fifteen days of written notice, the Lessor may terminate this Deed by written notice and recover possession in accordance with law, without prejudice to recovering arrears of Rent and interest.
10.2 The Lessor shall not take forcible possession of the Land, destroy a standing crop, or otherwise recover possession except in accordance with law.
- 11. INDEMNITY
11.1 The Lessee shall indemnify the Lessor against loss caused by the Lessee's breach of this Deed or misuse of the Land.
11.2 The Lessor shall indemnify the Lessee against loss caused by a defect in the Lessor's title or right to let the Land under Recital A.
- 12. EXPIRY AND VACATION OF POSSESSION
12.1 On expiry of the Term, the Lessee shall vacate and hand over peaceful possession of the Land to the Lessor, free of any structure the Lessee was not permitted to leave, save only for a crop standing under clause 12.2.
12.3 This clause does not extend the Term for any other purpose, and the Lessee acquires no right under it to sow a fresh crop after the expiry date.
- 13. STAMP DUTY AND REGISTRATION
13.1 The Term of this lease does not exceed eleven months, and the Rent is fixed for the whole of that Term rather than expressed as a yearly sum. On that footing, the Parties do not present this Deed for registration and treat it as not compulsorily registrable under s.17(1)(d) of the Registration Act, 1908, which reaches a lease from year to year, for a term exceeding one year, or reserving a yearly rent.
13.2 The Parties record, and do not attempt to resolve as a matter of law, an open question: whether a theka at a fixed sum, entered afresh season after season on broadly the same figure, could on some future occasion be characterised as "reserving a yearly rent" within the second limb of s.17(1)(d) regardless of its stated Term. That phrase has been read more than one way in the reported cases. The overwhelming majority of agricultural theka in Punjab is entered into on the footing this Deed adopts, on plain paper, and is accepted without registration at the girdawari; the Parties proceed on that footing with that qualification stated rather than hidden.
13.3 s.117 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 excludes a lease for agricultural purposes from Chapter V of that Act, including from s.107's own registration requirement under that Act — but that exclusion answers a question under the Transfer of Property Act, and does not by itself answer the separate question under s.17(1)(d) of the Registration Act, 1908 addressed in clause 13.1 and 13.2. The two are kept apart in this Deed rather than treated as the same question.
13.4 No stamp duty is treated as chargeable on this Deed on the footing stated in the stamping note above. Either Party may nonetheless choose to have this Deed stamped and registered as a lease for its stated Term, in which event the stamp duty and registration fee then applicable becomes payable and shall be borne as the Parties agree at that time.
- 14. DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND GOVERNING LAW
14.3 This Deed is governed by the laws of India as in force at the place where the Land is situated.
- 15. GENERAL
15.1 This Deed is the entire agreement between the Parties about the Land for the Term and supersedes all prior discussions.
15.2 No amendment is effective unless made in writing and signed by both Parties.
15.3 If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, the rest of this Deed continues in effect.
15.4 Clauses 3, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 14 survive expiry or termination of this Deed.
SCHEDULE I — THE LAND
SIGNED by the LESSOR
__________
Signature: ______________________________
SIGNED by the LESSEE
__________
Signature: ______________________________
WITNESSES