SHAMRAO NANA ASWALE Vs. ATMARAM NANA ASWALE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE above Special Civil Application is directed against a rather extraordinary decision of the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal, Kolhapur, dated June 17, 1975, confirming the order passed by the Special Deputy Collector, Tenancy Appeals, Sangli, on January 28, 1974, without discussing the merits, holding that no appeal lay against a finding under Section 70(b) of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948, of the Court of Taluka Aval Karkun, Walwas, Islampur, dated November 29, 1972, by which he held that both the petitioner and the respondents were joint tenants who are brothers and were joint tenants in the disputed suit lands.

(2.) THE learned tribunal and the Deputy Collector relied on a decision of a single Judge of this Court in Shantabai Ramchandra v. Pandurang (1972) 75 Bom. L.R. 79, where a view was taken that every decision on the status of a person under the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948, cannot be treated to be a decision under Section 4 of the Act, and, therefore, appealable under Section 74(1)(a) of the Act.

(3.) APART therefore from orders under chap. XIII of the Bombay Land Revenue Code, there can be no doubt that an appeal lies against other decisions of the Mamlatdar under Section 203 of that Code, which runs as follows; In the absence of any express provision of this Act, or of any law for the time being in force to the contrary an appeal shall lie from any decision or order passed by a revenue officer under this Act or any other law for the time being in force, to that officer's immediate superior, whether such decision or order may itself have been passed on appeal from a subordinate officer's decision or order or not.