V S CHARATI Vs. HUSSEIN NHANU JAMADAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant is the landlord. He has claimed that in a partition effected in the year 1956 in the joint family of which he was a member, an area admeasuring 1 acre, 19 gunthas out of Revision Survey No. 8 of village Kudnoor in Gadhinglaj Taluka came to his share. This land is agricultural land of which the original respondent was a tenant at the material time.

(2.) On coming into force of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948, the appellant filed an application under Section 31(1) read with Section 29 of the said Act for possession on the ground that he bona fide required the land for personal cultivation. Although the appellant was a minor at the time of the application, he chose to exercise his rights under Section 31(1). This application was ultimately dismissed by the Mamlatdar on 29-5-1957 on the ground that under Section 31-B, there is a prohibition against termination of tenancy if such termination would result in contravention of the provisions of Bombay Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1947. Therefore, by virtue of the dismissal of the appellant's application under Section 31(1), under the provisions of Section 32(1) the respondent became a deemed purchaser of the said land on the postponed date 29-5-1957, the latter being the date on which the application of the appellant was dismissed.

(3.) Thereafter proceedings under Section 32-G were taken for determination of purchase price. These proceedings, however, were dropped by the Agricultural Lands Tribunal on 31-5-1961 on the ground that the appellant was then a minor and the tenant could not purchase the land. The tenant did not take any steps to challenge the decision of the Tribunal dated 31-5-1961.