PRABHAKAR DIGAMBAR KULKARNI Vs. DAYARAM GOPALJI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision petition has been filed by the petitioners against an order passed by the Additional District Judge, Mandleshwar, maintaining an order of temporary injunction granted in favour of the respondent.

(2.) The facts giving rise to the present revision petition are that this dispute pertains to agricultural land measuring 34.06 acres, situated in Maheshwar. This land stood in the name of Saraswatibai wd/o Digambar Rao as a Pakka tenant under the Madhya Bharat Land Revenue and Tenancy Act, 1950. Applicant No. 1 is the son of applicant No. 2 and applicants 2 and 3 are grandsons of Saraswatibai. Saraswatibai made a gift of this land in favour of applicants 2 and 3 by a registered deed executed by her on 20-6-1960. She died on 25-2-1968. The non-applicant claims to be in possession of this land as a sub-tenant and, therefore, claims to have acquired the rights of an occupancy tenant and eventually a Bhumiswami on coming into force of the M. P. Land Revenue Code, 1959, on 2-10-1959.

(3.) Saraswatibai had granted to non-applicant Dayaram a sub-lease for the said land for the period of five years from Samvat 2010 to Samvat 2014. This was granted by an unregistered document. On expiry of one year Saraswatibai granted a fresh lease to the non-applicant Dayaram for the remaining period of four years and Dayaram executed a registered Kabuliyat in favour of Saraswatibai on Ashwin Sudi 3, Samvat 2011, corresponding to 30th of September, 1954. Dayaram did not restore possession of the land to Saraswatibai even after the expiry of the lease and therefore, she filed a suit for ejectment against him on 18-6-1959 in the Court of the Naib Tahsildar, Maheshwar, under Section 76 of the M. B. Land Revenue and Tenancy Act. This was contested on various grounds. The non-applicant also put up his claim that as during the pendency of these proceedings the M. P. Land Revenue Code had come into force, therefore, on 2-10-1959 he acquired the rights of an occupancy tenant.