JUDGMENT - KHANWILKAR A.M., J.: - This petition takes exception to the judgment and order dated 29th October, 1987 passed by the Designated Member, Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal Pune in Revision Application No. MRT.-SH-I-12-86 (TNC.B.21/86) Pune.

2. Briefly stated, the land in question is agricultural land bearing Survey Nos. 959/3-A and 959/5-A situated at Mangalwedha, District Sholapur. The petitioners claim to be the landlords and the respondents claim to be the tenants in respect of the suit land. The predecessor of the petitioners Yellavabai Malkappa Mali and Anjubai Mahadu Mali were the owners. They were disabled landladies being widows on the tillers' day i.e. 1st April, 1987. Accordingly, the tillers' day stood postponed. The landladies, however, filed application purported to be under section 29 read with sections 32-G, 33-P, 35-A of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), requesting the authority to hold that the tenant was holding land in excess of the ceiling area and on that basis, resume the suit land. Suffice it to observe that the authority has eventually held that the holding of the tenant on the date of application i.e. 21st June, 1971 was in excess of ceiling area as they had already purchased land, which was earlier owned by Smt. Ganpati Maharaj Panchayat. The authorities have found that the land held by the tenants in addition to the present land was admeasuring 21 acres and 19 gunthas out of Gat No. 635 and 641 which was in excess of ceiling area. The finding so reached by the tenancy authority has been affirmed by the Appellate Authority. That finding has not been disturbed. However, the Tribunal, by the impugned judgment, at the instance of the respondents, was pleased to set-aside the concurrent view taken by the two authorities and also dismissed the original application preferred by the petitioners on the sole reasoning that the application as filed, was not maintainable. It has taken the view that as the tillers' day was postponed, the question of purchase having become ineffective does not arise, as the right to purchase would accrue to the tenants/respondents only on crystallisation of the tillers' day. Accordingly, it proceeded to hold that the application as filed on behalf of the landladies was premature. This view taken by the Tribunal is subject-matter of challenge in the present writ petition.

3. Before I proceed to examine the matter further, it will be appropriate to advert to relevant sections of the Act. Section 32 provides for the date on which the tenants are deemed to have purchased the land being the tillers' day. Right to purchase the land held by the tiller is not absolute, but is restricted by section 32-A of the Act. The same reads thus :

"32-A. Tenants deemed to have purchased upto ceiling area. - A tenant shall be deemed to have purchased land under section 32, -

(1) In the case of a tenant who does not hold any land as owner but holds land as tenant in excess of ceiling area upto the ceiling area;

(2) In the case of a tenant who holds land as owner below the ceiling area, such part of the land only as will raise holding to the extent of the ceiling area."

4. In other words, the right to purchase the suit land by the tenant is limited by the provisions of section 32-A of the Act as referred to above and in a given case, if it is found that holding of the tenant is in excess of ceiling area, namely, in excess of holding provided in section 5 of the Act, then the tenant to the extent of excess holding, is not entitled to purchase the land and the statutory purchase with regard to such area will have to be assumed to have become ineffective. The other relevant provision that needs to be adverted to, is section 32-G of the Act, which provides that the Tribunal will follow necessary procedure in determination of purchase price for the land, which is deemed to have purchased by the tenant by operation of law under section 32 of the Act. S

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