SHAH JITUBHAI KESHAVLAL Vs. BABUBHAI BHAIJIBHAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein is the owner and the respondent is his tenant in respect of S. No. 648 of Samiyala village of Baroda Taluka of Baroda District. In respect of this land of the petitioner a certificate under sec. 88C of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) Was issued and the respondent became the excluded tenant in respect of this S. No The petitioner applied under sec 32T of the Act for possession as he wanted the land for his own personal cultivation. The Mamlatdar granted possession of half the land viz. 37 gunthas to the petitioner. Against the decision of the Mamlatdar there was an appeal and the Special Deputy Collector Baroda who heard the appeal dismissed it. Thereafter the petitioner took the matter in revision to the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal. The Revenue Tribunal remanded the matter on merits but the Revenue Tribunal observed that the respondent with whom the moiety of the land was left after the landlord is given possession of half of the land under sec. 32T becomes a deemed purchaser of the moiety of the land that has remained with him and in arriving at that conclusion the Revenue Tribunal relied upon the earlier decision of the Full Bench of that Tribunal and it is against the conclusion of the Revenue Tribunal that the respondent had become the deemed purchaser of one half of the S. No. that was not given to the petitioner that the present application under Art. 227 of the Constitution has been filed.

(2.) In order to appreciate the view taken by the Revenue Tribunal it is necessary to refer to sec. 32T and to analyse the provisions of the Act. Under sub-sec. (1) of sec. 32T notwithstanding anything contained in sec. 31 to 31B but subject to the provisions of sec. 32T a certified landlord may after giving a notice and making an application for possession as provided by sub-sec. (3) terminate the tenancy of an excluded tenant if the landlord bona fide requires such land for cultivating it personally. Under sub-sec. (5) the right of a certified landlord to terminate the tenancy under sec. 32T is subject to certain conditions. We are not concerned with clause (a) of these conditions but under clause (b) notwithstanding anything contained in the Bombay prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act 1947 a landlord shall be entitled to take possession of the land leased to the extent of half the area thereof provided that if at the date on which the application for possession is made by the landlord to the Mamlatdar in accordance with sub-sec. (3) or (4) (i) the landlord has not been cultivating personally any other land or has been cultivating personally other land less than half an economic holding; and (ii) the tenant has been cultivating and is entitled to continue to cultivate personally other land exceeding half an economic holding the landlord shall be entitled to take possession of the whole of the land leased. Sub-secs. (6) and (7) of sec. 32T provide:-

(3.) I therefore allow this Special Civil Application and set aside the order of the Revenue Tribunal in so far as it purports to hold that the tenant the respondent herein is to become the deemed purchaser of the moiety of the land which will remain with him. The rest of the order of the Revenue Tribunal is correct and no grievance is made before me on behalf of the landlord regarding the remaining portion of the order of the Revenue Tribunal. Rule is made absolute accordingly. There will be no order as to costs.