Judgment

K. C. DAS GUPTA, J. : On 22-8-1949, the respondent made an application in the Revenue Court of the Mamlatdar of Sirsi, District Kanara, praying for delivery of possession of property which the appellant was on that date possessing as the tenant under him, on the basis of a "Mulegeni" deed executed by the respondent s predecessor-in-interest in favour of the appellant s predecessor-in-interest. One of the terms of the lease was that if rent for three consecutive years fell in arrears the Mulegeni right will be void and the lessee should hand over possession of the property to the lessor. In the application made in the Mamlatdar s Court the respondent based his claim for possession on this express condition in the lease as also on an alleged termination by him of the tenancy. The Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 (Bombay Act No. LXVII of 1948) hereinafter referred to as the Bombay Tenancy Act, which it is not disputed applied to this tenancy contained provision for termination of tenancy in its S. 14.

2. The defendant-appellant admitted that rent for three successive years had not been paid but contended inter alia that the plaintiff was not entitled to an order for possession of the property as he had not "given notice that he was entitled to obtain possession of the same under the rent agreement and that he had terminated the tenancy." The Mamlatdar overruled this contention and made an order for possession in favour of the plaintiff-respondent subject to the condition that the tenancy of the sub-tenants would not be distrubed.

3. On appeal the Collector of Kanara held that the Mamlatdar who had made the order had no power under the Bombay Tenancy Act and so had no jurisdiction to make such an order. He also held that the plaintiff respondent was not entitled to an order for possession as the tenancy had not been terminated by due notice. Accordingly he allowed the appeal and set aside the order of the Mamlatdar.

4. Against this order the landlord (plaintiff-respondent) appealed to the Bombay Revenue Tribunal. Before that Tribunal the question of the Mamlatdar s jurisdiction does not appear to have been raised. The Tribunal held that the Bombay Tenancy Act was applicable to lands held on Mulegeni tenure but the landlord must fail because he had failed to terminate the tenancy by notice before instituting the action for ejectment. Accordingly he rejected the application for possession.

5. The landlord (plaintiff-respondent) then made an application to the High Court of Bombay and prayed that it may be pleased "to exercise its power of superintendence over the Bombay Revenue Tribunal under Art 227 of the Constitution of India, by calling for the record and proceedings in the case, and on perusal thereof set aside the order of the Tribunal and the Collector and restore the order of the Mamlatdar, by issuing the writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ." The High Court was of opinion that the Tribunal had committed an error which was apparent on the face of the record in holding that an order of possession could not be made unless a notice terminating the tenancy had been given before the institution of proceedings. In that view the Court issued a writ of certiorari, quashed the order of the Tribunal and restored the order of the Mamlatdar.

6. The character and scope of writs of certiorari have been dealt with by this Court in some detail in its decision Hari Vishnu Kamath v. Ahmad Ishaque, 1955-1 SCR 1104. After referring to certain earlier decisions of this Court cited therein this Court observed:

"On these authorities, the following propositions may be taken to be established: (1) Certiorari will be issued for correcting errors of jurisdiction, as and when an inferior Court or Tribunal acts without jurisdiction or in excess of it, or fails to exercise it. (2) Certiorari will be issued when the Court or Tribunal acts illegally in the exercise of its undoubted jurisdiction, as when it decides without giving