PRANAB KUMAR CHATTOPADHYAY, J.

Both the writ petitions have been filed assailing the common judgment and order dated 30th March, 2011 passed by the West Bengal Land Reforms and Tenancy Tribunal in

O.A. No. 2576 and 2577 of 2009. In these writ petitions several important issues relating to the concept of Thika Tenancy have been raised for consideration and adjudication by this Court. We have heard the writ petitions analogously since both the writ petitions arise out of a common judgment and order passed by the learned Tribunal.

From the records, we find that one Biswanath Pal was the owner of 14 Cottahs of land in respect of the premises in question. Out of the aforesaid 14 Cottahs, 5 Cottahs of land on the eastern portion of the premises in question was in occupation of K. C. Ghosh & Company. The balance 9 Cottahs of land on the western portion of the said premises was let out to one Sripada Mitra in the year 1937. The said K. C. Ghosh & Company left the aforesaid 5 Cottahs of land on the eastern portion of the premises in question which was thereafter developed by the successor of Biswanath Pal namely, Ambar Nath Pal. The said owner namely, Ambar Nath Pal sold the remaining portion of the premises in question measuring about 8 Cottahs 12 Chittaks 20 Square feet to the petitioner Kolay Properties (P) Ltd. by executing Deed of Conveyance.

In the year 1971, Sripada Mitra died and thereafter a Partition Suit was filed being Title Suit No. 20 of 1972. The aforesaid partition suit was decreed in preliminary form on 8th March, 1975 and one Santosh Kumar Mitra was appointed as Receiver in respect of the property in question. Said Santosh Kumar Mitra, one of the sons of Late Sripada Mitra, being appointed as Receiver in the Partition Suit, being Title Suit No. 20 of 1972, filed a return on 26.06.1984 under the Calcutta Thika and Other Tenancies and Lands (Acquisition and Regulation) Act, 1981 (hereinafter referred to as ‘1981 Act’), alleging that Sripada Mitra was a tenant since 1937 of bare land measuring about 8 Cottahs 5 Chittaks and 4 Square feet being the Western part of premises No. 4, Paul Street, Shyampukur, Kolkata and by erecting structure on the said plot of land Sripada became a Thika Tenant under the owner landlord Ambar Nath Pal.

Subsequently, one Sitangshu Mitra, one of the sons of the deceased Sripada Mitra, in or about 2008 filed an application before the Controller under the said 1981 Act claiming thika tenancy in respect of the properties under the State of West Bengal consequent upon the vesting of the same under the provisions of the said 1981 Act.

In view of such application the Thika Controller initiated Misc. Case No. 48 of 2008. In the said Misc. Case one Krishna Mitra, claiming to be a Co-sharer, filed a petition on 18.04.2008 alleging that the Kolay Properties (P) Limited claiming to be a purchaser from Ambar Nath Pal under a Sale Deed dated 07.10.2005 had forcibly entered into the subject premises and made construction on 07.04.2008.

The learned Thika Controller finally disposed of the aforesaid Misc. Case being no. 48 of 2008 upon specifically declaring that the legal heirs of Late Sripada Mitra represented by the Receiver Santosh Kr. Mitra, since deceased, were Thika Tenants in respect of the premises in question being western portion of 4, Paul Street with effect from 18th January, 1982. The learned Thika Controller further directed the Kolay Properties (P) Ltd. to handover vacant possession of the premises in question to the applicants before the learned Thika Controller within 60 days from the said order failing which the said Kolay Properties would be treated as trespasser.

Challenging the aforesaid order of the learned Thika Controller, two applications being O.A. No. 2576 of 2009 and O.A. No. 2577 of 2009 were filed before the West Bengal Land Reforms and Tenancy Tribunal. The application being O.A. 2576 of 2009 was filed by Ambar Nath Pal (Successor of Biswanath Pal) and the other