MOTIRAM RAJARAM SHENDE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Does section 56B of the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950, mandate giving of a notice by the Land Acquisition Officer to the Charity Commissioner in respect of enquiry under section 5A of the Land Acquisition Act for acquisition of land belonging to a Public Trust is a crucial point that arises in this petition.

(2.) Section 56B of the BPTAct reads thus:--

(3.) There is yet another angle looked from which it will be clear that in an enquiry under section 5-A of the L.A. Act before the Land Acquisition Officer, section 56-B is not attracted. In this connection, restrictive meaning given to the word "Court" in section 56-B (3) has to be noticed. Bar of section 56 (B)(1) is against a "Court" a term specifically defined for this purpose by section 56-B(3). Obviously Land Acquisition Officer is not a "Civil Court of competent jurisdiction". Even otherwise, the Division Bench of this Court in the case of Prabhakar V. Gadgil v. P.Y. Deshpande AIR1983 Bom 342 has held that Collector acting under section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act is not a "Court". In this connection reliance also can be placed on the case of Ratandasji v. Babubhai, AIR 1972 Guj 216, wherein it has been held that Gujarat Revenue Tribunal constituted under the provisions of section 51(2) of the Act does not answer the description of the term "Court" in view of the special definition under section 56-B(3).