#THE CANTONMENTS (HOUSE-ACCOMMODATION) ACT, 1923 
_______ 

##ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
______ 

###CHAPTER I 

###PRELIMINARY 

SECTIONS 

1.  Short title, extent and commencement. 
2.  Definitions. 

###CHAPTER II 

###APPLICATION OF ACT 

3.  Cantonments or parts of cantonments in which Act to be operative. 
4.  Saving of written instruments. 

###CHAPTER III 

###APPROPRIATION OF HOUSES 

5.  Liability of houses to appropriation. 
6.  Conditions on which houses may be appropriated. 
7.  Procedure for taking house on lease. 
8.  [Repealed.]. 
9.  Sanction to be obtained before a house is occupied as a hospital, etc. 
10.  Houses not to be appropriated in certain cases. 
11.  Time to be allowed for giving possession of house. 
12.  Surrender of house when to be enforced. 
13.  Option in certain cases for owner on whom notice is issued under section 7 to call upon the 
Government to purchase. 
14.  Provision where house is held on long lease by a tenant. 
15.  Power for owner to refer to civil court on question of rent. 
16.  Power for owner to refer to civil court on question of repairs. 
17.  Power to have repairs executed and recover cost. 
18.  Notice to be given of devolution of interest in house in cantonment. 

###CHAPTER IV 

###PROCEDURE IN REFERENCES 

19.  Jurisdiction in references. 
20.  Procedure and powers of the Court. 
21.  Restriction of scope of inquiry. 


###CHAPTER V 

###APPEALS 

29. Appeal to High Court. 

###CHAPTER VI 

###SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS 

30.  Appeal to Officer Commanding the District. 
31. Petition of appeal. 
32. Order in appeal final. 
33. Suspension of action pending appeal. 
34. Service of notice and requisitions. 
34A. Computation of periods of limitation. 
35. Power for Central Government to make rules. 
36. Further provisions respecting rules. 
37. Inapplicability of section 556 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, to trials of offences.
38. Protection to persons acting under Act. 
39. [Repealed.]. 

THE SCHEDULE. [Repealed.]. 



#THE CANTONMENTS (HOUSE-ACCOMMODATION) ACT, 1923 

##ACT NO. 6 OF 1923

[5th March, 1923.] 

AN Act further to amend and to consolidate the law relating to the provision of house-
accommodation for military officers in cantonments. 

WHEREAS  it  is  expedient  further  to  amend  and  to  consolidate  the  law  relating  to  the  provision  of 
house-accommodation for military officers in cantonments; It is hereby enacted as follows:— 

##CHAPTER I 

###PRELIMINARY 

1. **Short title, extent and commencement.**—(1) This Act  may  be  called the  Cantonments (House-
Accommodation) Act, 1923. 

It extends’ to the whole of India.

(3) It shall come into force on the first day of April, 1923, but it shall not become operative in any 
cantonment  or  part  of  a  cantonment  until  the issue,  or  otherwise than  in  pursuance,  of  a  notification  as 
hereinafter provided by section 3: 

Provided  that  any  notification  made  under  section  3  of  the 5Cantonments  (House-Accommodation) 
Act,  1902  (2  of  1902),  which  is  in  force  at  the  commencement  of  this  Act,  shall  be  deemed  to  be  a 
notification made under section 3 of this Act. 

2. **Definitions.**— (1) In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,— 

  (a) “Brigade  area”  means one  of  the  Brigade areas, whether  occupied by  a  brigade  or  not, into 
which  India  is  for  military  purposes  for  the  time  being  divided,  and  includes  any  area  which  the 
Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a Brigade area for all 
or any of the purposes of this Act; 

  (b) “Cantonment Board” means a Cantonment Board constituted under the Cantonments Act, 
1924 (2 of 1924);

“Command” means one of the Commands into which India is for military purposes for the time 
being  divided,  and  includes  any  area  which  the  Central  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the 
Official Gazette, declare to be a Command for all or any of the purposes of this Act; 

  (d) “Officer Commanding the station” means the officer for the time being in command of the 
forces in a cantonment or, if that Officer is the Officer Commanding the District, the military officer 
who would be in command of those forces in the absence of the Officer Commanding the District: 

  (e) “District”  means  one  of  the  Districts  into  which  India  is  for  military  purposes  for  the  time 
being divided; it includes a Brigade area which does not form part of any such District and any area 
which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a District 
for all or any of the purposes of this Act; 

  (f) “house”  means  a  house  suitable for occupation by  a  military  officer or  a  military  mess,  and 
includes the land and buildings appurtenant to a house; 

  (g) “military  officer”  means  a  commissioned  or  warrant  officer  of 2[the  Indian]  military  or  air 
forces on military or air force duty in a cantonment, 3***, 4[an officer of the Cantonments Department] 
and any person in Army departmental employment whom the Officer Commanding the District may at 
any time, by an order in writing, place on the same footing as a military officer for the purposes of this 
Act; 

  (h) “owner”  includes  the  person  who  is receiving,  or is  entitled  to  receive, the  rent  of  a  house, 
whether on his own account or on behalf of himself and others or as an agent or trustee, or who would 
so receive the rent, or be entitled to receive it, if the house were let to a tenant; and 

  (i) a house is said to be in a state of reasonable repair when— 

       (i) all floors, walls, pillars and arches are sound and all roofs sound and watertight, (ii) all 
doors and windows are intact, properly painted or oiled and provided with proper locks or bolts or 
other secure fastenings, and 

       (iii) all  rooms,  out-houses  and  other  appurtenant  buildings  are  properly  colour-washed  or 
whitewashed. 

(2) If any question arises whether any land or building is appurtenant to a house, it shall be decided 
by the Officer Commanding the station whose decision thereon shall, subject to revision by the 
Collector, be final. 

(3) In the application of this Act to the territories which immediately before the 1st 
November 1956, were comprised in any Part B State, any reference to an enactment not in force 
in those territories shall be construed as a reference to the corresponding law in force in those 
territories.

##CHAPTER II 

###APPLICATION OF ACT 

3. Cantonments or parts of cantonments in which Act to be operative.—(1) The Central 
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare this Act to be operative in any 
cantonment or part of a cantonment, other than a cantonment situate within the limits of a 
presidency-town. 

(2) Before  issuing  a  notification  under  sub-section  (1)  in  respect  of  any  cantonment  or  part  of  a, 
cantonment, the Central Government shall cause local inquiry to be made with a view to determining 
whether  it  is  expedient  to  issue  such  notification,  and  what  portion  (if  any)  of  the  area  proposed  to  be 
included therein should be excluded there from. 

4. **Saving of written instruments.**—Nothing in this Act shall affect the provisions of any written 
contract with the Government unless all the parties to that contract consent in writing to be bound by 
the terms of this Act.

##CHAPTER III 

###APPROPRIATION OF HOUSES 

5. **Liability of houses to appropriation.**—Every  house  situate  in  a  cantonment  or  part  of  a 
cantonment in respect of which a notification under sub-section (1) of section 3 is for the time being in 
force shall be liable to appropriation by the Central Government on a lease in the manner and subject to 
the conditions hereinafter provided. 

6. **Conditions on which houses may be appropriated.**—(1) Where— 

  (a) a military officer who is stationed in or has been posted to the cantonment, or a President of a 
military mess in the cantonment, applies in writing to the Officer Commanding the station stating that 
he is unable to secure suitable accommodation in the cantonment for himself or the mess on reasonable 
terms  by  private  agreement,  and that-no suitable house or quarter belonging to the Government is 
available for his occupation or for the occupation of the mess, and the Officer Commanding the station 
is satisfied on inquiry of the truth of the facts so stated; or 

  (b) the Officer Commanding the station is satisfied on inquiry that there is not in the cantonment a 
sufficient and assured supply of houses available at reasonable rates of rent by private  agreement to 
meet  the  requirements  of  the  military  officers  and  military  messes  whose  accommodation  in  the 
cantonment is in his opinion necessary or expedient, 

the Officer Commanding the station may, with a view to enforcing the liability under section 5, serve a 
notice on the owner of any house which appears to him to be suitable for occupation by a military officer 
or a military mess, as the case may be, within the cantonment, or, if this Act is in force in part only of the 
cantonment,  within  that  part,  requiring  the  owner  to  permit  the  house  to  be  inspected,  measured  and 
surveyed  by  such  person  and  on  such date,  not  being  less than three clear  days from  the service  of  the 
notice, and at such time between sunrise and sunset, as may be specified in the notice. 

(2) On the date and at the time so specified the owner shall be bound to afford all reasonable facilities 
to the person specified in the notice for the purpose of the inspection, measurement and survey of the house 
and, if he refuses or neglects to do so, such person may, subject to any rules made under this Act, enter on 
the  premises  and  do  all  such  things  as  may  be  reasonably  necessary  for  the  said  purpose.

7. **Procedure for taking house on lease.**—(1) If, on the report of such person as aforesaid, the 
Officer Commanding the station is satisfied that the house is suitable for occupation by a military 
officer or a military mess, lie may by notice — 

  (a) require the owner to execute a lease of the house to the Central Government for a specified 
period which shall not be less than five years; 

  (b) require the existing occupier, if any, to vacate the house; and 

  (c) require the owner to execute within such time as may be specified in the notice such repairs as 
may, in the opinion of the Officer Commanding the station, be necessary for the purpose of putting 
the house into a state of reasonable repair. 

(2) Every notice issued  under  sub-section  (1)  shall  state  the  amount  of  the  annual  rent  proposed  as 
reasonable for the house, calculated on the assumption that the owner will carry out the required repairs, if 
any. It shall also contain an estimate of the cost of such repairs. 

(3) The following shall be deemed to be conditions of every lease executed under sub-Section (1), 
namely:— 

  (a) that the house shall, on the expiration of the lease, be redelivered to the owner in a state of 
reasonable repair, and 

  (b) that  the  grounds  and  the  garden,  if  any,  appertaining  to  the  house  shall  be  maintained  in  the 
condition in which they are at the time at which the lease is executed: 

Provided  that  nothing  in  this  sub-section  shall  be  deemed  to  affect  the  right  of the Central 
Government to  avoid  the  lease  in  any  such  event  as  is  specified  in  clause  (e)  of  section  108  of  the 
Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882).

8. *[Procedure  to  be  observed  before  taking  a  house  on  lease.]  Rep.  by  the  Cantonments  (House-
Accommodation Amendment*) Act, 1930 (9 of 1930), s. 5. 

9. **Sanction to be obtained before a house is occupied as a hospital, etc.**—No  house  in  any 
cantonment or part of a cantonment in which this Act is operative shall, unless it was so occupied at the 
date of the issue of the notification declaring this Act or the 5Cantonments (House-Accommodation) Act, 
1902 (2 of 1902), as the case may be, to be operative, be occupied for the purposes of a hospital, school, 
school hostel, bank, hotel, or shop, or by a railway administration, a company or firm engaged in trade or 
business or a club, without the previous sanction of the Officer Commanding the District given with the 
concurrence of the Commissioner or, in a State where there are no Commissioners, of the Collector. 

10. **Houses not to be appropriated in certain cases.**— No notice shall be issued under section 7 if 
the house— 

  (a) was, at the  date of the issue  of the  notification declaring this  Act  or the Cantonment (House-
Accommodation) Act, 1902 (2 of 1902), as the case may be, to be operative in the cantonment or part of 
the  cantonment,  or  is,  with  such  sanction  as  is  required  by  section  9,  occupied  as  a  hospital,  school, 
school  hostel,  bank,  hotel  or  shop,  and  has  been  so  occupied  continuously  during  the  three  years 
immediately preceding the time when the occasion for issuing the notice arises, or 

  (b) was, at the date of such a notification as is referred to in clause (a), or is, with such sanction as 
aforesaid, occupied by a railway administration or by a company or firm engaged in trade or business 
or by a dill), or 

  (c) is occupied by the owner, or 

  (d) has been appropriated by the State Government with the concurrence of the Officer 
Commanding the District, or by the Central Government, for use as a public office or for any other 
purpose. 

11. **Time to be allowed for giving possession of house.**—(1) If a house is unoccupied, a notice 
issued under section 7 may require the owner to give possession of the same to the Officer Commanding 
the station within twenty-one days from the service of the notice. 

(2) If a house is occupied, a notice issued under section 7 shall not require its vacation in less than 
thirty days from the service of the notice. 

(3) Where  a  notice  has  been  issued  under  section  7  and  the  house  has  been  vacated  in  pursuance 
thereof, the lease shall be deemed to have commenced on the date on which the house was so vacated. 

12. **Surrender of house when to be enforced.**— If the owner fails to give possession of a house to 
the Officer Commanding the station in pursuance of a notice issued under section 7, or if the existing 
occupier fails to vacate a house in pursuance of such a notice, the District Magistrate, by himself or by 
another person generally or specially authorised by him in this behalf, shall enter on the premises and 
enforce the surrender of the house. 

13. **Option in certain cases for owner on whom notice is issued under section 7 to call upon the 
Government to purchase.**—  (1)  If a house, in respect of which a notice is issued under section 7, is 
shown  to  the  satisfaction  of  the Central Government, or is proved by a decree or order of a court of 
competent jurisdiction, to have been erected 

  (a) under any  conditions, rules,  regulations  or  orders which  were  in force in  Bengal  prior to the 
eighth day of December, 1864, and conferred on the owner the option of offering the house for sale to 
the military officer applying for its appropriation for his occupation or to the East India Company or 
the Government, or 

  (c) under any conditions, rules, regulations or orders which were in force in Bombay prior to the 
first day of June, 1875, and conferred such an option as is described in clause (a), 

then the owner shall have the option of either complying with the ‘notice or offering the house for sale 
to the Central Government.

(2) If the owner elects to sell the house, and the Central Government is willing to purchase it, the 
question of the amount of the purchase-money to be paid shall, in the event of disagreement, be referred 
to a civil court, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter IV. 

14. **Provision where house is held on long lease by a tenant.**— (1) If a house, in respect of which a 
notice  is  issued  under  section  7,  is  occupied  by  a  tenant  holding  in  good  faith  and  for  valuable 
consideration under a registered lease for any term exceeding one year, the Central Government shall, for 
the term of one year from the date on which the house is vacated in pursuance of the notice, or for the 
unexpired  term  of  the  lease  whichever  is  the  shorter,  be  liable  to  the  owner  for  the  rent  fixed  by  the 
registered  lease  instead  of  for  the  rent  payable  under  this  Act  if  the  rent  so  fixed  exceeds  the  rent  so 
payable. 

(2) If a house, in respect of which a notice is issued under section 7, is occupied by a tenant holding in 
good  faith  and  for  valuable  consideration  under  a  registered  lease  from  year  to  year,  the  Central 
Government shall be liable as aforesaid for the term of six months from the date on which the house is 
vacated in pursuance of the notice. 

(3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed— 

  (a) to render the Central Government so liable unless an application in writing in this behalf is 
made by the owner to the Officer Commanding the station within fifteen days from the service of 
the notice; or 

  (b) to limit or otherwise affect any agreement between the Government and the owner. 

15. **Power for owner to refer to civil court on question of rent.**—(1) If the owner considers that the 
rent stated in a notice issued under section 7 is not reasonable, he may, within a period of thirty days 
from the  service  of  such  notice, refer  the  matter to a civil court, in accordance with the provisions of 
Chapter IV: 

Provided  that  where  an  appeal has been made to the Officer Commanding the District under 
section 30, the period of thirty days shall be reckoned from the date on which the owner received notice of 
the result of the appeal under sub-section (2) of section 32.

(2) If the owner does not make such a reference within the said period, he shall be deemed to have 
accepted the rent so offered. 

16. **Power for owner to refer to civil court on question of repairs.**—(1) If  the  owner  fails  to 
execute  any  repairs  to  a  house  as  required  by  a  notice  issued  to  him  under  section  7,  the Officer 
Commanding the station may by notice require the owner to execute the repairs within such period, not 
being less than thirty days, as maybe specified in the notice. 

(2) If the owner objects to any requisition contained in a notice issued under sub-section (1), he may 
within thirty days from the service of the notice refer the matter to a civil court in accordance with the 
the provisions of Chapter IV:

Provided that where an appeal has been made to the Officer Commanding the District under section 
30, the period of thirty days shall be reckoned from the date on which the owner received notice of the 
result of the appeal under sub-section (2) of section 32.

(3) Every reference under sub-section (2) shall be accompanied by an estimate of the repairs, if any, 
any, which the owner considers necessary in order to put the house into a state of reasonable repair.

17. **Power to have repairs executed and recover cost.**—  If  the  owner  fails  to  comply.  with  a 
notice  issued  under  sub-section  (1)  of  section  16,  the  Military  Engineer  Services  or  the  Public  Works 
Department may, with the previous sanction of the Officer Commanding the station and notwithstanding 
any right of reference conferred by that section, cause the repairs specified in the notice to be executed at 
the expense of the Central Government, and the cost thereof, or, where a reference has been made, the 
amount finally determined by the civil court, may be deducted from the rent payable to the owner.

18. **Notice to be given of devolution of interest in house, in cantonment.**—Every person on whom 
devolves, by transfer, by succession or by operation of law, the interest of an owner in any house, or in 
any part of any house, situate in a cantonment or part of a cantonment in respect of which a notification 
under sub-section (1) of section 3 is for the time being in force, shall be bound to give 
notice  of  the  fact  to  the Officer  Commanding  the  station within  one  month  from  the  date  of  such 
devolution, and, if he, without reasonable cause, fails to do so, he shall be punishable with fine which may 
extend to fifty rupees. 

##CHAPTER IV 

###PROCEDURE IN REFERENCES 

19. **Jurisdiction in references.**— All references under this Act shall be made by application to, and 
tried by, the Court of the District Judge. 

20. **Procedure and powers of the Court.**— References  under  this  Act  shall  be  deemed  to  be 
proceedings within the meaning of section 141 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), and in 
the trial thereof the Court may exercise any of its powers under that Code. 

21. **Restriction of scope of inquiry.**— The scope of the inquiry in a reference under this Act shall be 
restricted to a consideration of the matters referred to the Court in accordance with the provisions of this 
Act.

##CHAPTER V 

###APPEALS 

29. **Appeal to High Court.**— (1) An appeal shall lie to the High Court against the decision of the 
Court of the District Judge upon a reference tried by it. 

(2) No appeal under this section shall be admitted unless it is made within thirty days from the date of 
the decision against which it is preferred. 

(3) An appeal preferred under this section shall be deemed to be an appeal from an order within the 
meaning of section 108 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908).

30. **Appeal to Officer Commanding the District.**— The owner of any tenant of a house in respect 
of which a notice has been issued under section 7 may, within a period of ten days from the date of the 
service  thereof,  appeal  to  the  Officer  Commanding  the  District  against  the  decision  of  the  Officer 
Commanding the station to appropriate the house.

31. **Petition of appeal.**—  (1) Every petition of appeal under section 30 shall be in writing and 
accompanied by a copy of the notice appealed against. 

(2) Any such petition may be presented to the Officer Commanding the station, and that officer shall 
be bound to forward it to the authority empowered by section 30 to hear the appeal, and may attach thereto 
any report which he may desire to make in explanation of the notice appealed against. 

(3) If any such petition is presented direct to the Officer Commending the District and an immediate 
order on the petition is not necessary, the Officer Commanding the District may refer the petition to the 
Officer Commanding the station for report.

32. **Order in appeal final.**— (1) The decision on any such appeal of the Officer Commanding the 
District shall be final, and shall not be questioned in any court otherwise than on the ground that the 
house is situate in a cantonment, or part of a cantonment, in which this Act is not operative: 
                                                      
Provided  that  no  appeal  shall  be  decided  until  the  appellant  has  been  heard  or  has  had  a  reasonable 
opportunity of being heard in person or through a legal practitioner and in giving a decision the Officer 
Commanding the District shall record briefly the grounds therefor.

(2) Notice of the result of the appeal shall be given to the appellant as soon as may be, and, where the 
appellant is a tenant of the house, to the owner of the house also.

33. **Suspension of action pending appeal.**— Where an appeal has been presented under section 30 
within the period prescribed therein, all action on the notice shall, on the application of the appellant, be 
held in abeyance pending the decision of the appeal. 

##CHAPTER VI 

###SUPLLEMENTAL PROVISIONS 

34. **Service of notice and requisitions.**— Every notice or requisition prescribed by this Act shall be in 
writing, signed by the person by whom it is given or made or by his duly appointed agent, and may be 
served by post on the person to whom it is addressed, or, in the case of an owner who does not reside in or 
near  the  cantonment,  on  his  agent  appointed in accordance with a bye-law made under clause (29) of 
section 282 of the Cantonments Act, 1924 (2 of 1924).

34A. **Computation of periods of limitation.**—The period prescribed for making any reference or 
preferring  any  appeal  under  this  Act  shall  be  computed  in  accordance  with the provisions  of  the  Indian 
Limitation Act, 1908 (9 of 1908).

35. **Power for Central Government to make rules.**—(1) The Central Government may make rules
to carry out the purposes and objects of this Act. 

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, power, such rules may— 

  (b) define  the  powers  of  entry,  inspection,  measurement  or  survey  which  may  be  exercised  in 
carrying out the purposes and objects of this Act or of any rule made hereunder. 

(3) Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it 
is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may 
be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session 
immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any 
modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter 
have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such 
modification  or  annulment  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the  validity  of  anything  previously  done  under 
that rule.

36. **Further provisions respecting rules.**—  (1) The  power  to  make  rules  under  section  35  shall  be 
subject to the condition of the rules being made after previous publication and of their not taking effect 
until  they  have  been  published  in  the  Official  Gazette  and  in  such  other  manner  (if  any)  as  the  Central 
Government may direct. 

(2) Any  rule  under  section  35  may  be  general  for  all  cantonments  or  parts  of  cantonments in 
which this Act is for the time being operative, or may be special for any of such cantonments or parts as 
the Central Government may direct. 

(3) A  copy  of  the  rules under  section 35  for  the time  being  in force in  a  cantonment  shall  be  kept 
open to inspection free of charge at all reasonable times in the office of the Cantonment Board.

(4) In making any rule under clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 35, the Central Government may 
direct that whoever obstructs any person, not being a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of 
the  Indian  Penal  Code  (45  of  1860),  in  making  any  entry,  inspection,  measurement  or  survey,  shall  be 
punishable with fine which may extend to fifty rupees, and, in the case of a continuing offence, with fine 
which, in addition to such fine as aforesaid, may extend to five rupees for every day after the first during 
which such offence continues. 

37. **Inapplicability  of  section  556  of  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure,  1898,  to  trials  of 
offences.**— No Judge or Magistrate shall be deemed, within the meaning of section 556 of the Code of 
Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), to be a party to, or personally interested in, any prosecution for an 
offence constituted by or under this Act merely because he is a member of the Cantonment Board or 
has ordered or approved the prosecution. 

38. **Protection to persons acting under Act.**— No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against any 
person for anything in good faith done, or intended to be done,  under  this  Act  or  in  pursuance  of  any 
lawful notice or order issued under this Act. 

39. *[Repeals.] Rep. by the Repealing Act, 1927 (12 of 1927), s. 2 and  Schedule.*

THE SCHEDULE.—*[Enactments Repealed.] Rep. by s. 2 and Schedule ibid.*