JUDGMENT - D.R. DHANUKA, J.:---By this petition filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners have impugned the judgment and order dated 10th February 1981 passed by the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal, Kolhapur, in Revision Application No. MRK-KP-1 of 1980 dated 2nd November, 1980 against the order dated 10th October, 1979 passed by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Gandhinglaj, in Tenancy Appeal No. 6 of 1979. The dispute concerns the proceedings for fixation of purchase price in respect of agricultural lands in question in proceedings adopted at the instance of the tenant-purchaser for the said purpose under section 32-G of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 ("the Tenancy Act", for short) (petition lands being lands situate at Village Kagani, R.S. No. 182/4, area 1 acre and 18 gunthas, assessment O-47-(0-8-0 share). The said land was Patilki inam land, i.e., watan land, till the date of its re-grant to the petitioners and respondent No. 2 sometime in the year 1972. The principal question arising for the consideration of the Court is as to whether the section 32-O of the Tenancy Act is applicable to a case like the present one. Section 32-O of the Tenancy Act is applicable only to cases where tenancy is created by the landlord after the tillers' day, as more particularly set out therein, and not to the cases where the tenancy of agricultural land was subsisting on 1st April 1957 i.e., the tillers' day. The connected question arising for consideration of the Court is as to whether a fresh lease is deemed to have been created by the landlords in favour of the old tenant from the date of 're-grant' within the meaning of section 32-O of the Tenancy Act so as to oblige the tenant to send intimation of statutory purchase to the landlords and the Tribunal within on year from the date of the re-grant. This petition also raises the question of interpretation of section 8 of the Maharashtra Revenue Patels (Abolition of Office) Act, 1962 ("the Patels Abolition Act", for short).

2. In the above-referred proceedings under section 32-G of the Tenancy Act, the following orders were passed by the learned authorities below :---

(a) By his order dated 16th October 1978, the Additional Tahsildar and Agricultural Lands Tribunal, Chandgad, held that the statutory purchase of the land bearing R.S. No. 182/4 was ineffective, as the 1st respondent, tenant had failed to serve notice on the landlords (the petitioners and respondent No. 2) exercising his right to purchase the said land as required by section 32-O of the Tenancy Act. The said order was passed in Tenancy Case No. 9/104.

(b) By his order dated 10th October 1979, the Sub-Divisional Officer allowed the appeal of the 1st respondent-tenant and directed the Additional Tahsildar and Agricultural Lands Tribunal to fix the purchase price in favour of the petitioners. It was also observed in the said order that the petitioners had no knowledge of re-grant of the land bearing R.S. No. 182/4 in favour of the landlords i.e., the petitioners and respondent No. 2 at the material time.

(c) By his order dated 10th February 1981, the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal dismissed Revision Application No. MRT-KP-1/80. By the impugned order dated 10th February 1981, the Tribunal held that section 32-O of the Tenancy Act was not applicable to a lease subsisting on the tiller's day. The Tribunal held that sections 32-O of the Tenancy Act was applicable only where lease was created by the landlord after 1st April 1957. The Tribunal held that section 8 of the Patels Abolition Act clearly provided that lease of watan land continued throughout and was governed by the Tenancy legislation subject to postponement of compulsory purchase to date of re-grant and no fresh lease was created or deemed to have been created in favour of the tenant concerned after 1st April 1957.

3. The material facts emerging from the record are as under :---

(a) At all material times, the respondent No. 1 was the tenan

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