Government of India Act 1935

PART VI The Punjab.

General requirements as to residence.

1 No person shall be qualified to be included in the electoral roll for a territorial constituency unless he is resident in the constituency.

For the purposes of this Part of this Schedule proof that a person owns a family dwelling-house or a share in a family dwelling-house in a constituency and that that house has not during the twelve months preceding the prescribed date been let on rent either in whole or in part shall be sufficient evidence that that person is resident in the constituency.

Qualifications dependent on taxation.

2 Subject to the provisions of Part I of this Schedule and to any overriding provisions of this Part of this Schedule, a person shall be qualified to be included in the electoral roll for a territorial constituency if during the previous financial year either—

(a) he was assessed to income tax, or was in the Province assessed in respect of any direct municipal or direct cantonment tax to an amount of not less than fifty rupees; or

(b) he was in the Province assessed to haisiyat or profession tax to an amount of not less than two rupees, or, in districts in which no such tax exists, to any other direct tax imposed under the Punjab District Boards Act to an amount of not less than two rupees.

Qualifications dependent on property, &c.

3 Subject as aforesaid, a person shall also be qualified to be included in the electoral roll for any territorial constituency if he either—

(a) is the owner of land in the Province assessed to land revenue of not less than five rupees per annum; or

(b) is a tenant with a right of occupancy as defined in Chapter II of the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887, in respect of land in the Province assessed to land revenue of not less than five rupees per annum; or

(c) is an assignee of land revenue in the Province amounting to not less than ten rupees per annum; or

(d) is a tenant of not less than six acres of irrigated land in the constituency, or of not less than twelve acres of unirrigated land in the constituency; or

(e) has throughout the twelve months immediately preceding the prescribed date owned immovable property in the Province of the value of not less than two thousand rupees or of an annual rental value of not less than sixty rupees, not being land assessed to land revenue; or

(f) has throughout the twelve months preceding the prescribed date occupied as tenant in the constituency immovable property of an annual rental value of not less than sixty rupees, not being land assessed to land revenue; or

(g) is a zaildar, inamdar, sufedposh or lambardar in the constituency :

Provided that the provisions of sub-paragraph (d) of this paragraph shall be deemed to be complied with in the case of a person who is the tenant of both irrigated and unirrigated land in the constituency if the sum of the area of that irrigated land and half the area of that unirrigated land is not less than six acres.

Educational qualification.

4 Subject as aforesaid, a person shall also be qualified to be included in the electoral roll for any territorial constituency if he is proved in the prescribed manner to have attained the primary or an equivalent or higher educational standard.

Qualification by reason of service in His Majesty's forces.

5 Subject as aforesaid, a person shall also be qualified to be included in the electoral roll for any territorial constituency if he is a retired, pensioned or discharged officer, non-commissioned officer or soldier in His Majesty's regular military forces.

Additional qualification for women.

6 Subject as aforesaid a person who is a woman shall also be qualified to be included in the electoral roll for any territorial constituency if she is the pensioned widow or the pensioned mother of a person who was an officer, non-commissioned officer or soldier of His Majesty's regular military forces, or if she is shown in the prescribed manner to be literate or if her husband possesses the qualifications requisite for the purposes of this paragraph.

7 A husband shall be deemed to possess the qualifications requisite for the purposes of the last preceding paragraph if he either—

(a) during the previous financial year was assessed to income tax, or was assessed in the Province in respect of any direct municipal or cantonment tax to an amount of not less than fifty rupees; or

(b) is a retired, pensioned or discharged officer, non-commissioned officer or soldier of His Majesty's regular military forces; or

(c) has throughout the twelve months preceding the prescribed date owned immovable property in the Province of the value of not less than four thousand rupees or of an annual rental value of not less than ninety-six rupees, not being land assessed to land revenue; or

(d) has throughout the twelve months preceding the prescribed date occupied as a tenant immovable property in the constituency of an annual rental value of not less than ninety-six rupees, not being land assessed to land revenue; or

(e) is the owner of land in the Province assessed to land revenue of not less than twenty-five rupees per annum; or

(f) is the assignee of land revenue in the Province amounting to not less than fifty rupees per annum; or

(g) is a tenant or lessee under the terms of a lease for a period of not less than three years of Crown land in the constituency for which an annual rent of not less than twenty-five rupees is payable; or

(h) is a tenant with a right of occupancy as defined in Chapter II of the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887, in respect of land assessed to land revenue of not less than twenty-five rupees per annum :

Provided that for the purposes of sub-paragraph (g) of this paragraph, where the amount payable by any tenant or lessee is assessed from harvest to harvest, the annual rent payable by him shall be deemed to be the annual average of the amounts payable by him in the three years preceding that in which the prescribed date falls.

Special qualification for scheduled castes.

8 Subject as aforesaid a person who is a member of the scheduled castes shall also be qualified to be included in the electoral roll for any territorial constituency if he either—

(a) is shown in the prescribed manner to be literate; or

(b) has throughout the twelve months preceding the prescribed date owned immovable property in the Province of a value of not less than fifty rupees, not being land assessed to land revenue, or has throughout that period owned malba of a house in the Province of not less than that value; or

(c) has, throughout the twelve months preceding the prescribed date, occupied as tenant immovable property in the constituency of an annual rental value of not less than thirty-six rupees.

Application necessary for enrolment in certain cases.

9 No person shall, by virtue of paragraph four, paragraph six or sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph eight of this Part of this Schedule, be included in the electoral roll for any territorial constituency unless application is made by him in the prescribed manner that he should be so included.

Interpretation, &c.

10 (1) In this Schedule, in relation to the Punjab—

• " annual rental value " in relation to immovable property means the amount for which the property together with its appurtenances and furniture, if any, is actually let, or may reasonably be expected to let, from year to year;

• " land revenue " means land revenue as defined in subsection (6) of section three of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887, and, in the case of fluctuating land revenue or land revenue assessed on land subject to river action, the annual amount thereof shall be taken to be the average amount of land revenue paid during the three agricultural years preceding that in which the prescribed date falls;

• " land records " means attested records of rights or attested annual records of rights maintained under Chapter IV of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887, and includes an order finally sanctioning a mutation duly passed under that Chapter;

• " agricultural year " means a year ending on the thirtieth day of September;

• " owner " does not include a mortgagee;

• " tenant " in relation to agricultural land means a tenant as defined in the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887, and in relation to other property means a person who holds that property by lease and is, or, but for a special contract, would be, liable to pay rent therefor, and in relation to a house not situate in military or police lines includes any person occupying the house rent free by virtue of any office, service or employment;

• " zaildar, " " inamdar, " " sufedposh " and " lambardar " mean respectively persons appointed as such in accordance with rules for the time being in force under the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887, and do not include a substitute appointed temporarily for any such person.

(2) In computing for the purposes of this Part of this Schedule the period during which a person has owned any immovable property, any period during which it was owned by a person from whom he derives title by inheritance shall be taken into account.

(3) Any reference to immovable property, not being land assessed to land revenue, includes a reference to any building situated on land assessed to land revenue.

(4) Where property is held or payments are made by, or assessments are made on, the members of a Hindu joint family, and the respective shares of the members of the family are not specified in the land records or in any municipal or cantonment record or in a decree of a civil court, as the case may be, the family shall be adopted as the unit for deciding whether the requisite qualification exists, and, if it does exist, the person qualified shall be the manager of the family.

(5) Subject to the provisions of the last preceding sub-paragraph, any reference in this Schedule to land assessed to land revenue, to other immovable property, to a tenancy or lease of land assessed to land revenue or to assigned land revenue shall, in relation to any persons who are co-sharers in such land, property, tenancy or lease, or land revenue, be construed as a reference to the respective shares of those persons :

Provided that the share of any person under the age of twenty-one years shall, if his father is alive and a co-sharer, be deemed to be added to the share of his father, and, if his father is dead and his eldest surviving brother is a co-sharer, be deemed to be added to the share of that brother.

(6) Not more than one person shall be qualified in respect of the occupation of a building occupied in common by two or more persons and any question which of those persons is to be qualified shall be determined in the prescribed manner.