GUJAPPA BALA MANE Vs. DATTU DHYANU POWAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, arises under the provisions of the Maharashtra Debt relief Act, 1975(for short, the Act), and is directed against the order passed by the Tahsildar Karvir directing restoration of possession of the agricultural lands bearing survey nos.162/3, 6 and 11 to the respondent nos.1 and 2.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the facts giving rise to this petition are :- The lands, in dispute, viz. R.S.Nos.162/23, 6 and 11, admeasuring 34 Gunthas situated at village Kerale, are admittedly in possession of the petitioner. The petitioner claims that his father had purchased the said lands in auction held by the then Mamalatdar about 50 years back. Since then, according to the petitioner, the petitioners's family is in possession of the suit lands as owner. On the other hand, according to the respondent nos.1 and 2, the said lands originally belonged to their father Dnyanu who mortgaged them to one Koyanabai Shivram Chaugule under a document of possessory mortgage dated April 5, 1926. Further it is the case of the respondent nos.1 and 2 that the said Koyanabai assigned her rights under the mortgage to the father of the petitioner on 16th June 1932. In short, therefore the case of the respondents is that the petitioner is in possession of the lands only as a mortgagee.

(3.) THEREAFTER , the respondent nos.1 and 2 again made an application dated July 5, 1976, before the Tahasildar, Karvir invoking the provisions of the Act and contending, inter alia, that their father mortgaged the said lands to Koyanabai on or about April 5, 1926 and then the said Koyanabai, in turn, assigned her rights to the father of the respondent nos.1 and 2 on June 16, 1932 and since the respondents are debtors within the meaning of the Act, their debt stands extinguished by virtue of the provisions of section 4 of the Act and, therefore, they are entitled to restoration of possession of the said lands which were mortgaged with the creditors.