ALLADIN DIED Vs. LAKSHMIKAN RAMASWAMY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this Civil Revision Petition under section 91 of the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act Mr. Srirama Sastry for the petitioner contends that the question regarding the maintainability of an application under section 98 of the Act which had been previously decided against the petitioner as a preliminary point by the Revenue Divisional Officer was not permitted to be raised by him before the Collector in the appeal preferred by him against the final order of eviction of the petitioner passed by the Revenue Divisional Officer. He urges that the matter should be remitted to the Collector for consideration of this question. According to Mr. Sastry the application should have properly been filed under section 32 of the Act before the Revenue Divisional Officer. On the other hand Miss Lakshmi Devi argues that section 32 applies only to cases where the tenant seeks possession from a landholder or other person claiming under him and that section 98 is the proper provision applicable to a case like the present where possession is sought from a person unauthorisedly occupying or wrongfully inpossession of the land to the use and occupation of which he is not entitled under the Act. It is now common case that the petitioner is not the landlord or a person claiming under him.

(2.) The Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act as stated in the preamble is an Act meant to regulate the relations of landholders and tenants of agricultural land. Chapter I contains the definitions, Chapter II deals with specification of local areas and family holdings and Chapter III deals with the rights of tenants. Section 5 refers to the perrons who are deemed to be tenants. Sections 6, 7 and 8 deal with the terms of tenancy. Sections 11 to 18 deal with questions relating to rent, fixation of fair rent, remission of rent etc. Section 19 deals with the topic of termination of tenancy. Section 20 prohibits eviction of a tenant from a dwelling house on the site belonging to his landholder and which is in the possession of the tenant. Section 23 entitles the tenant to the produce and fruits of lands and trees planted by him on the land leased. Section 27 and 28 provide for relief against termination of tenancy in certain cases. Section 32 which is entitled ' procedure of taking possession' enables a tenant or an agricultural labourer or artisan entitled to land or dwelling house under any of the provisions of this Act to apply to the Tahsildar in writing in the prescribed form for such possession. Section 33 saves all other rights and privileges which a tenant may have under any other law. It can thus be seen that Chapter III of the Act deals with and regulates rights of the tenants against the landholder. The context in which section 32 appears makes it clear that it is meant to apply to cases where a tenant seeks possession from a landholderorsome other person claiming through or under the landholder.

(3.) Section 98 occurs in Chapter XI which is a chapter containing miscellaneous provisions. Section 98 reads as follows.