Judgment

SUBBA RAO, J. : This appeal by special leave raises the question of the applicability of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 (Bom. Act No. 67 of 1948), hereinafter called the 1948 Act to the tenancy of the land in dispute.

2. The appellants are the legal representatives of one Parbhubhai Ratanji. The suit property is agricultural land situated within two miles of the limits of the Surat Municipal Borough. It was part of the erstwhile Sachin State. On May 7, 1946, Nagindas Atmaram Khatri, the respondent herein, who was the owner of the said land, gave a lease of the same in favour of the said Parbhubhai Ratanji for a period of six years. On July 28, 1948, Sachin State became part of the State of Bombay. From that date the Bombay Tenancy Act, 1939, hereinafter called the "1939 Act", was made applicable to the said area. On April 23, 1951, Nagindas Atmaram Khatri, the landlord, gave a notice to the defendant terminating the lease from march 31, 1952. After giving the said notice, he filed Reg. Suit No. 403 of 1952 in the Court of the Subordinate Judge, Surat, for eviction of the lessee Parbhubhai Ratanji. The suit was contested on various grounds, the main con