PAYGONDA SURVGONDA PATIL Vs. JINGONDA SURGONDA PATIL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE petitions raise a short question of law relating to the scope of the appellate and revisional powers exercisable under Ss. 203 and 211 respectively of the Bombay Land Revenue Code. The petitioners on both the cases are parties to decrees passed by Civil courts for the partition of agricultural lands and other properties. The decrees were transferred as required by S. 54 of the Civil Procedure Code to the Collector for the partition of agricultural land. From the partition effected by the Collector the petitioners went in appeal to the Commissioner on the ground that the partition was inequitable. The Commissioner held that he had no jurisdiction to entertain and dispose of the appeals, since it was "clarified by Government that the Commissioner has no jurisdiction to entertain appeals/application against the order of Collectors in the matter relating to execution of Civil Court decrees. " The orders of the Commissioner are challenged in these petitions under Article 227 of the Constitution on the ground that the Commissioner in rejecting the appeals failed to exercise the jurisdiction vested in him by law.

(2.) SINCE the Commissioner gave no reasons for rejecting the appeals but merely referred to some clarification sent to him by the Government of Maharashtra, notices were issued in these petitions to the learned Government Pleader to appear and assist the Court. We have heard detailed arguments of the learned Government Pleader as well as the learned Advocates who appeared for the parties.

(3.) ACCORDING to the petitioners, the decision of the Collector in effecting a partition of agricultural lands in pursuance of a decree passed by a Civil Court is appealable under S. 203 and revisable under S. 211 of the Land Revenue Code. Section 203 lays down;