STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. PRATHMESH FARMS PVT LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants, State authorities, have preferred this appeal from the judgment dated 14.3.2000 of learned single Judge of this Court, whereby circular dated 23.11.1998 is quashed and consequently notices at Annexures-I, J and K to the original petition, based on the aforesaid circular, are also quashed.

(2.) Respondent No.1 herein, a private limited company claiming to be in the profession of cultivation of agricultural land by scientific technology, approached this Court on the basis of the fact that somewhere in the year 1994-95 several such farming companies and land-owners had made an application for approval of registered sale of agricultural land; and on 06.02.1995, Deputy Collector had granted the necessary permission under section 63 of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 ( for short, "the Act") on several conditions. Earlier to that, the State Government had, on 20.5.1991, issued a letter to the Collector, Ahmedabad to state that in case of such private limited companies buying agricultural land, income of managing director should not be considered and permission should be granted under section 63 of the Act. Thereafter, by the impugned circular dated 23.11.1998, instructions were issued to all the Collectors to, in effect, hold that permission cannot be granted under the Act for transferring agricultural land to companies as they were not "natural persons".

(3.) Learned single Judge has, in the impugned judgment, culled out the following two issues and pure questions of law for adjudication and resolution: