#THE BENGAL LAND HOLDER’ ATTENDANCE ACT, 1848 

##ACT NO. XX OF 1848 

*Passed by the Governor General of India in Council on the 23d September 1848.*

An  Act  for  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  field  boundary  marks  in  the  Presidency  of 
Bombay. 

WHEREAS by sundry Regulations of the Bengal Code, provision is made for the imposition of a daily 
fine, by the Board of Revenue or other authority exercising the powers of that Board, on any proprietor or 
farmer  of  land  subject  to  the  provisions  contained  in  the  said  several  Regulations,  who,  when  duly 
summoned  by  the  Collector  or  other  Officer  exercising  the  power  of  Collector,  shall  omit  or  refuse  to 
attend, or to cause his Officer or Agent to attend, or to furnish the accounts or documents required, and 
shall not shew sufficient cause for such omission ; and it is further provided that the fine, when confirmed 
by Government, is to be levied by same process as is prescribed for the recovery of arrears of revenue ; 
and  whereas  in  many  cases,  by  the  delay  thus  occasioned,  the  whole  burden  of  the  penalty  is  greatly 
increased  beyond  what  would  be  necessary,  if  summary  power  were  given  to  the  Officer  by  whom  the 
requisition  is  made,  to  impose  and  levy  reasonable  fines,  subject  to  review  by  the  Commissioner  of 
Revenue and other superior authority, It is enacted as follows:

I. If any proprietor or farmer of land shall omit or refuse to attend, or to cause his Officer or Agent to 
attend, when duly summoned by the Collector, in any case specified in any of the said Regulations, by the 
time  prescribed in the  notice  issued  by  the  Collector,  or  shall  omit  or refuse to furnish the accounts  or 
documents required, and shall not shew sufficient cause for such omission, the Collector may impose of 
his  own authority  such  daily  fine, to  be  payable  daily  until  compliance  with  the  requisition, as  he  may 
think adequate to the situation and circumstances in life or the defaulter, not exceeding in any case the 
daily  fine of fifty  Rupees: and  the  amount  of  such  fine,  accruing  due from  time  to time  may  be  levied 
without further confirmation, by the same process as is prescribed for the recovery of arrears of revenue. 

II. The Collector shall forthwith report the imposition of every such fine, and the amount thereof, and 
also from time to time the amount levied, to the Commissioner of Revenue, who shall report the same for 
the information of the local Government. 

III. Every order passed by a Collector under this Act shall be appealable in the usual manner to the 
Commissioner  of  Revenue,  and  other  superior  authority  ;  but  no  such  appeal  shall  avail  to  prevent  the 
levy of any fine so imposed pending the appeal. 

IV.  Whenever  the  amount  levied  under  any  such  order,  issued  for  any  default  by  authority  of  a 
Collector  under  this  Act,  shall  have  exceeded  five  hundred  Rupees,  the  Collector  shall  report  the  case 
specially to the Commissioner of Revenue ; and no further levy for such default shall be made otherwise 
than by authority of the Commissioner of Revenue. 

V. Nothing in this Act contained shall be deemed to repeal the power of imposing daily fines and of 
levying the fines so imposed in the manner prescribed by the said several Regulations. 

VI. The word “Collector” used in this Act shall be taken to mean any person lawfully exercising the 
powers of a Collector. 

VII. This Act shall not extend to the North West Provinces of the Presidency of Bengal.