HARSHADRAI RAGHUNATHJI DESAI Vs. BALUBHAI MAGANLAL BATLIWALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition under Article 227 of the Constitution and it raises an interesting question under the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948.

(2.) THE applicant filed a civil suit in the Court of the Civil Judge, Junior Division, Navsari, to recover possession of a field bearing Survey No. 46 situate in a village called Kabilpur in the Navsari Taluka of the Surat District. The applicant's case was that the first opponent was a trespasser. The trial Court gave the applicant a decree for possession. The matter was taken in appeal in the District Court at Surat and in appeal the learned Assistant Judge who heard the appeal, directed the first opponent to get decided two points: (1) whether the disputed land was agricultural land; and (2) whether the first opponent was a protected. tenant or not.

(3.) ACCORDINGLY, the first opponent filed an application (No. 64 of 1954-55) before the Mamlatdar of Navsari. The applicant filed a written statement raising various contentions, one of which was and which is material to the determination of the question raised that in view of Section 83 (1) (b) of the Tenancy Act, the Mamlatdar of Navsari had no jurisdiction to decide the question whether the suit land was leased out for an industrial or commercial undertaking. Upon the evidence adduced before him, the Mamlatdar decided the application in favour of the first opponent. The matter was then taken before the Supernumerary Assistant Collector, Navsari Taluka, and that authority held that the Mamlatdar had no jurisdiction to decide the question whether the first opponent was a tenant of the suit land. Feeling aggrieved by that order, the first opponent went before the Bombay Revenue Tribunal and a Bench of that Tribunal reversed the order of the appellate authority and remanded the case to him with a direction that he should dispose of the matter in accordance with law. The applicant, feeling aggrieved by that order, has filed this petition under Article 227.