BHAGWANDAS PARSOTTAMBHAI PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has challenged orders passed by the Revenue Authorities pertaining to land bearing block No. 1218 of village Adalaj, District Gandhinagar. Orders passed by the lower Revenue Authorities came to be upheld by the Joint Secretary (Appeals) by his impugned order dated 17. 2. 1998.

(2.) SHORTLY stated facts of the case are the father of the petitioner was holding ancestral agricultural land. The petitioner and his other brothers had share in the said land. As per the petitioner, partition of this property took place between the brothers on 17. 5. 1977. The petitioner purchased the suit lands by a registered sale deed dated 21. 5. 80. He applied for his name being mutated in the revenue record. Revenue Authorities however, did not certify the entries on two grounds. Firstly, that mutation of the partition between brothers of the ancestral property took place subsequent to purchase of the land and that two lands were at a distance beyond 8 kms. The authorities also ordered initiation of eviction proceedings under Section 84c of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act ("the Tenancy Act" for short ).

(3.) LEARNED advocate Shri J. M. Patel for the petitioner submitted that though mutation entry of partition came to be made subsequent to purchase of the suit land, partition had taken place in the year 1977. In any case, the petitioner had a share in the ancestral agricultural property. He further submitted that requirement of different agricultural lands to be situated within the radius of 8 km. was deleted from Section 2 (6) of the Tenancy Act by virtue of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Gujarat Amendment) Act, 1995 Gujarat Act No. 4 of 1995. He further pointed out that by subsequent enactment namely Gujarat Act 3 of 2001, the amendment made pursuant to Act 4 of 1995 has been given retrospective effect so as to apply on all pending proceedings. He relied on decision of Learned Single Judge of this Court in case of Meruben D/o. Sorabji Pestanji Bhatporiya and W/o. Late Peshi Morena and anr. V, Additional Special Secretary, Revenue Department, (Disputes) and ors. reported in 2002 (1) GLR 640.