DHANRAI KACHRULAL MALPANI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in the above two Special Civil Applications, claimed to be the heirs of one Onkar, who admittedly died in 1963. The petitioners are related as follows Godavaribai and Govarjabai, petitioners Nos. 1 and 2 in Special Civil Application 4134 of 1976, are the widow and married daughter resnectively, of deceased Onkar, and Dhanraj, petitioner in Specil Civil Application No. 4133 of 1976, is the adopted son of Kachrulal, who was the pre-deceased son of Onkar. Special Civil Application No. 4133 of 1976, is filed by Dhanraj, who is the heir of deceased Onkar, as the son of predeceased son Kachrulal. Special Civil Application No. 4134 of 1976 is filed by Onkar's widow, Godavaribai and her daughter Govarjabai, both of whom claimed to have equal shares with Dhanraj in the estate left by Onkar.

(2.) In the return filed by petitioner Dhanraj, he had shown Godavaribai and Govarjabai as entiled to equal shares; but the surplus Land Determination Tribunal, Taluka Partur, in parbhani district, by its order dated March 20, 1976 relied merely on VII-XII extracts of Record of Rights and linding the names of Godavaribai and Govarjabai absent from the said records, considered all the lands to be of the ownership of the petitioner, Dhanraj and declared Dhanraj to be the surplus holder to the extent of 20 acres 25 gunthas.

(3.) The order was confirmed in two appeals, one filed by Dhanraj and the other filed by Godavaiibai, by the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal, ou June 29. 1976, The coucurrent findings of the two learned Tribunals are challenged under Article 227 of the constitution on the ground that the Tribunals ignored the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act, Under which Godavaribai and Govarjabai had equal shares in the estate of Onkar and also ignored the provisions contained in Section 3(3)(c)(ii) of the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act 1961.