SARDA EDUCATION TRUST Vs. NANDULAL VISHWANATH TATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal and C. A. No. 8556/94 involve a common question and they also arise out of a common judgment dated 20-2-1990 of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Writ Petition No. 49/89 and Writ Petition No. 2929/88. Respondent No. 1 in C. A. No. 8556/94 has died and the appellant-trust has, therefore, filed an application for bringing on record the LRs. of respondent No. 1. Civil Appeal No. 8556/94 is, therefore, delinked and only Civil Appeal No. 8555/94 arising out of writ petition No. 49/89 is disposed of by this judgment.

(2.) The appellant-trust is a certified landlord under the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Vidarbha Region) Act, 1958 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). It made an application under Section 120 of the Act for summary eviction of the respondents on the ground that they have no right to remain on the land as legal heirs of the deceased tenant or in any other capacity and thus they are unauthorisedly occupying or wrongfully in possession of its land. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Daryapur allowed that application as he found that the respondents had not even initiated any proceeding for getting the declaration that they are the statutory owners. He also held that as the Trust was holding an exemption certificate, the respondents had no right to remain on the land as legal heirs of the original lessee, Vishwanath and, therefore, they were in unauthorised occupation of the land. Respondent Nos. 1 to 4 filed a revision application before the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal challenging the said order. The Tribunal dismissed it. In the writ petition filed in the High Court, the only point raised on behalf of respondents Nos. 1 to 4 was that the tenancy being heritable, they became the tenants of the Trust and, therefore, their possession cannot be said to be unauthorised or wrongful. The High Court accepted this contention and allowed the writ petition following the Full Bench decision of the High Court in Khangah-Kadria Trust (Wakf) v. Shevantabai, 1989 Mah LJ 891 (Bom).

(3.) It was contended by the learned counsel for the appellant-Trust that the decision followed by the High Court has now been overruled by this Court in Shriram Mandir Sansthan v. Vatsalabai (1999) 1 SCC 657. This court has now held that such tenancy under the Act is not heritable. In view of the decision of this Court in Shriram Mandir Sansthan (supra) this appeal has to be allowed and the judgment and order passed by the High Court will have to be set aside.