Judgment (Per R.C. Chavan, J.) : 1. This appeal raises the following questions : (i) Could a partition between father and daughters effected before 26-9-1970 be questioned in proceedings to determine surplus lands of the father ? (ii) Could the Appellate Authority entertain a cross-objection without the objector paying requisite court fees ? (iii) Could the Appellate Authority allow a cross-objection affecting the rights of daughters, who were not parties in the proceedings before the Authority ? (iv) Could a gift, which had not been actually acted upon, be considered for including the properties gifted to the wife in the holding of the family of her husband ?

2. These questions arise under the following set of facts : (i) The appellant held the lands substantially in excess of the ceiling on holdings of agricultural lands enforced by the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961 as amended up to the year 1976 (For short, hereinafter referred to as .the Act.). (ii) In 1955, there was a registered partition between appellant Vitthaldas and his father Jagannath. Around the same time, Jagannath gifted three fields including field survey no.106 admeasuring 21 acres and 24 gunthas of Village Sawangi Gaoli to Kamaladevi, wife of Vitthaldas, who is appellant No.2 before us. (iii) Respondent Nos.6 and 7, the appellants' daughters, were born respectively on 3-11-1955 and 28-8-1957. (iv) On 31-1-1970, appellant Vitthaldas effected registered partition of his properties between himself, his son Anilkumar and daughters . respondent Nos.6 and 7, whereby field survey no.12 of Village Babhulgaon, admeasuring 17 acres and 20 gunthas, was given to respondent No.6, and 14 acres and 6 gunthas from field survey no.14 of Village Babhulgaon, admeasuring 37 acres and 6 gunthas, was given to respondent No.7. (v) Section 10 of the Act prescribes that all transfers made after 26-9-1970 but before the commencement date, i.e. 2-10-1975, shall be deemed to have been made in order to avoid or defeat the object of the Act, unless the contrary is proved. (vi) In 1976, the Surplus Land Determination Tribunal held that the appellants had 60 acres and 27 gunthas of surplus land. Appeal bearing No.2176 of 1976 before the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal was dismissed on 16-2-1977. (vii) On 2-3-1982, the appellants' Writ Petition 348 of 1977 challenging the decision of the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal was allowed and the matter was remanded to the Surplus Land Determination Tribunal to conduct a fair and proper enquiry by giving adequate opportunity to the land holders, since the principles of natural justice were held to have been breached. (viii) On 7-5-1984, upon remand, the Surplus Land Determination Tribunal excluded the land bearing survey no.106 of Village Sawangi Gaoli as not held by Kamaladevi, the donee, and eventually found after excluding potkharab land, that the appellants' family had surplus land of 59 acres and 35 gunthas. The appellants and their family members appealed to the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal. The appellants' daughters Shakuntala and Durga, respondent Nos.6 and 7 herein, were not parties to the appeal, as their lands had till then not been touched. (ix) On 29-10-1984, the State filed a cross-objection challenging exclusion by the Surplus Land Determination Tribunal of land bearing survey no.106 of Village Sawangi Gaoli gifted to appellant No.2 Kamaladevi and lands of Shakuntala and Durga, respondent Nos.6 and 7, i.e. survey nos.12 and 14 of Village Babhulgaon. The appellants replied to the cross-objection and challenged its tenablity. (x) On 3-12-1984, the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal dismissed the appeal and allowed the cross-objection by the State, including the land of appellant No.2 Kamaladevi as well as that of respondent Nos.6 and 7 in the holding of the appellants. It, therefore, concluded that the appellants' family had 111 acres

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