BHARAT MORU MAHADIK Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule, with the consent of the learned Counsel appearing for the parties, made returnable forthwith and heard.

(2.) The Writ Jurisdiction of this Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India is invoked against the order dated 18th December, 2012 passed by the Respondent No. 4 and the order dated 14th April, 2013 passed by the Respondent No. 2, by which order, the Appeal filed by the Petitioner before the Respondent No. 2 has been disposed of on the ground that the same is not maintainable.

(3.) The controversy in the above Petition is as regards the election of the Respondent No. 5 as a president of Gramdam Mandal, village Gagode Budruk, Taluka - Panvel, District - Raigad. The Gramdam Villages are constituted under the Maharashtra Gramdan Act, 1964 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act ) pursuant to the movement initiated by Acharya Shri. Vinoba Bhave. The said Act provides for constitution of Gram Mandals and the matters connected therewith. In respect of the Gramdan Villages, the Gram Mandals are established for administering the same and the Gram Mandal is constituted of the President, Vice President and other members, who find mention in the said Act. The said Act prescribes the pre requisites for being elected as a President or as a Vice President. The same is provided for in Section 11 of the said Act, which inter alia provides for the Gram Mandal being presided over by the President who shall be elected by the Mandal from amongst its members. The proviso to the said provision makes an exception inasmuch as by the proviso it is provided that no person shall be elected as a President or Vice President if he has not filed a declaration of voluntary transfer of any land by way of Gramdan under Sub section (1) of Section 5 of this act or if he is disqualified for being chosen as, or for continuing as, a member of a Panchayat under the Panchayats Act. The declaration is to be in terms of Section 5 of the said Act, which provides that any owner of land not being a minor may file a declaration in the prescribed form before the Collector that he donates, that is to say, voluntarily and without consideration agrees to transfer to the Mandal all his land in the village specified in the declaration by way of Gramdan. It further provides that the declaration shall specify the lands which he would like to hold as Gramdan Kisan, and which may be distributed to landless persons under this Act. One can find the definition of owner in clause(f) of Section 2 of the said Act. It defines the owner to mean in relation to alienated land, the occupant, tenure holder, or as the case may be, a person who has permanent and heritable rights of possession of land and in relation to alienated land, the superior holder.