VILLAS SHASHI BONDRE Vs. NARMADEM DATTA BORKAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE challenge in this petition is the judgment of the Administrative Tribunal dated 21st May, 1990 in Mundkar Revision Application No. 27/84 which has affirmed the judgment and order of the Additional Collector of Goa dated 30th June, 1984 in Case No. Mund/ac/apl/61/83.

(2.) BY the aforesaid judgment the learned Additional Collector has unsettled the order of the Mamlatdar dated 8th June, 1983 in Case No. MUND/29/74 whereby the application of respondents Nos. 1 to 5 (hereinafter called the respondents) to be declared as mundkars of the petitioners was dismissed and the said respondents were declared as not mundkars.

(3.) THE brief facts of the case are that in 1973 the petitioner filed a civil suit being No. 98/73 against the respondents for their eviction from a dwelling house allegedly belonging to them and situated at Comba, Margao and recovery of its possession on the ground that the respondents were trespassers. In their written statement the respondents raised the issue of mundkarship. This was at the time the Mundkar Act, 1971 was in force and in terms of that Act when such a plea was raised by the defendant in a civil suit the Civil Judge was bound to frame an issue and refer the matter to Mamlatdar for adjudication by staying the suit till the final decision of the Mamlatdar in terms of its section 3. By order dated 8-6-1983 the Mamlatdar decided this issue against the respondents and held them as not mundkars. Aggrieved by this order the respondents appealed to the Additional Collector who by his judgment and order dated 30-6-1984 allowed the appeal and declared the respondents as mundkars in respect of the dwelling house. Against this decision the petitioners preferred a revision to the Administrative Tribunal which by the impugned judgment and order dated 21-5-1990 rejected the revision and upheld the judgment of the Mamlatdar.