Challenging decisions within a reasonable time is crucial, and delay may render claims unsustainable.

JUDGMENT

1. For the reasons to be recorded separately, the Writ Petition is dismissed.

2. Set forth hereunder are the reasons.

3. By this Petition fled under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, Petitioners are challenging the impugned order dtd. 8/3/2021, passed by Respondent No.2 Presiding Offcer, Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal, Pune in Revision Application No.P/II/7/2021 under Sec. 13(4) of the Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal Rules, 2013, rejecting the said Revision Application.

4. Petitioners are the legal heirs of the original tenant of the land bearing Survey Nos.99/1, 99/3, admeasuring 5 Acres 33 Gunthas of Village Arvi, Tanajinagar, Taluka Haveli, District Pune (for short 'the said land'). Respondent No.1 is the State of Maharashtra through its Department of Revenue, Respondent No. 2 is the Revenue Tribunal, Respondent No.3 is the SDO, Haveli, Respondent No. 4 is the Tahsildar, Haveli and having jurisdiction over the said land as per the provisions of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 (the 'MLRC') and the Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 (for short 'the Tenancy Act'). Respondents No. 5 to 7 are the original Respondents in Revision Application No.P/II/7/2021 fled before Respondent No.2 Tribunal by Petitioners.

5. The brief facts on behalf of the Petitioners' as stated in the Petition are set out as under :-

(a) One Gopal Joshi, father of Shankar, Dattatraya and Jagannath was the original owner of the said land. Bhiva Arjun Konde Deshmukh, i.e., the Petitioners' grandfather, was the tenant since 1931 and a protected tenant as per Mutation Entry No.958 dtd. 30/7/1949, which was entered on 29/11/1949 under Rit No.3. It is submitted that Rit No. 3 involves cultivation through a person on the basis of Bataee, which means share in crop to the owner/occupant by the person cultivating the land. That this mutation has not been cancelled till date by adopting any proceedings under Sec. 29 of the Tenancy Act.

(b) On Tiller's day i.e. on 1/4/1957, since Bhiva Arjun Konde Deshmukh was in charge and in possession of the said land, he became the owner and/or deemed purchaser in accordance with Sec. 32 of the Tenancy Act. It is submitted that therefore, under the provisions of the Tenancy Act, the Petitioners, viz., his legal heirs automatically became the owners of the said land under Sec. 40 of the Tenancy Act. (c) In the year 1969, after the consolidation of Village Mauje Arvi under the Mumbai Prevention of Fragmentation and Consolidation of Holdings Act, 1947 (the "Mumbai Consolidation of Holdings Act") into a group, the survey numbers got converted to Gat Numbers and accordingly in the 7/12 extract, the property numbers 648, 655, 649 and 647 also changed. Thereafter the division of the Village Arvi got divided into two parts, viz., Tanajinagar and Arvi and the ancestral record of the Petitioners and Respondents No. 5 to 7 in 7/12 extracts were changed to Gat Nos. 6, 8, 9 and 10 and became a part of Tanajinagar. Till 2001, the Petitioners were having common possession and cultivation in Gat Nos. 6, 8, 9 and 10.

(d) Around the year 1996, Nathu Shiva Konde Deshmukh, the ancestor of Respondents No. 5 to 7, fled an application being Case No.232 of 1996 under the Mumbai Consolidation of Holdings Act against the Rambhau Bhiva Konde, father of the Petitioners, for cancellation the mutation (ferfar) or the four parts of the Survey No.99/1 and to further include his name on the 7/12 extract of the said Survey No.99/1. (e) It is submitted by Petitioners that Nathu Shiva Konde Deshmukh, i.e., the ancestor of Respondents No. 5 to 7 played fraud and by Order dtd. 30/12/1997 illegally got the names of the ancestor of Petitioners deleted in the District Superintendent of Land Records ("DSLR") in violation of the rules by adopting the wrong method under the consolidation scheme, without even fling an application for condonation of delay of more than 18 years in challenging the consolidation order. Rambhau Bhiva Konde, viz.