VASANT HARIBA LONDHE Vs. JAGANNATH EAMGHANDRA KULKARNI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition has been referred to a Full Bench because it involves consideration of the provisions of Section 37 of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act as amended and because the Division Bench before whom it came up for hearing considered that there was a conflict of decisions between Khandubhai Gulabbhai v. Maganlal Ranchhodji (1958) Special Civil Application No. 2517 of 1958, decided by Chainani Actg. C.J. and Shelat J., on October 25,1958 (Unrep.) and Kisan Sampat Bonge v. Dhondy Ramchandra (1961) Special Civil Application No. 309 of 1961, decided by Patel and Chandrachud JJ., on July 14, 1901 (Unrep.) on the one hand and the decisions in Bajaram Sakharam Pattil v. Ganpati Shripati Kadam (1957) Special Civil Application No. 2189 of 1957, decided by Dixit and Badkas JJ., on November 22, 1957 (Unrep.) and Suryakant Bhanudas Jadhav v. Ganpat Shankar Rajmane (1962) Special Civil Application No. 1063 of 1961, decided by Tambe and Chandrachud JJ., on January 16, 1962 (Unrep.). The case had initially come up before Mr. Justice Chandrachud sitting singly and in view of the importance of the point involved and the conflict of decisions he had referred it to a Division Bench. The Division Bench in its turn felt that some of the earlier decisions of the Division Bench would have to be reconsidered and, therefore, has referred it to a Full Bench.

(2.) THE brief facts upon which the; questions involved in this Special Civil Application arise are as follows:

(3.) ON May 10, 1956, the landlord put in his application under Section 34 read with Section 29 of the Tenancy Act as it then existed prior to the amendments thereof in 1956 and 1961. Before this application could be considered the Amending Act XIII of 1956 came into force on August 1, 1956. We will presently deal with the amendments thus made. The proceeding which the landlord had commenced under Section 29 read with the old Section 34, however, continued and on October 8, 1956, the Mamlatdar ordered that possession should be delivered to the landlord under Section 34. The landlord took actual physical possession of the land on April 21, 1957. After taking possession he cultivated the land personally for over three years and then on August 8, 1960, he sold the said land for a sum of Bs. 5,000 to respondent No. 2 Khandagale and gave him possession on that date. The present application under Section 37 of the Act read with Section 39 was filed not by the original tenant who had by that date passed away, but by the son of the tenant who is the petitioner. He applied for possession under Section 37 on the ground that the landlord who had acquired the land for his personal cultivation had ceased to cultivate it personally and, therefore, the land should be restored to the tenant under Section 37. After this application was filed the Act came to be further amended on February 9, 1961 by Section 19 of Act IX of 1961. On July 24, 1962, the Mamlatdar decided the application of the tenant (the son of the former tenant) and awarded possession to him.