1971 Supreme(Guj) 89
Gujarat High Court
Judgename :B.K.MEHTA, J.B.MEHTA
JANKHAN KALUKHAN - Appellant
Versus
STATE - Respondent
S.C.A. 85 of 1971
Decided On : 10/06/1971
Headnote:
Constitution of India – Articles 226 and 227 - Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 - Sections 5a, 32g, 32p (2), 32p (4), 32p (9) – Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950 – Section 24 – Tenure – Abolished – Tenants – Cultivators - The petitioners who are the extaluqdar of the villages in District have challenged the right of State Government to file an appeal under sections as well the order made by the second opponent which is to the petition passed - Preferred by the tenants of the petitioner Taluqdar remanding the matters involved in the Appeals to determine again whether the appellants in the said appeals were permanent tenants of the petitioners Taluqdar or not - Held, In view of these two decisions it will be futile for the petitioners herein to contend that the Government will not be a person entitled to file an appeal under sections of course the definition of person - Subject to the contrary which can be inferred from the context of the statute or a particular section of the statute - As a matter of fact in the appeals which have been preferred by the State Government against the order of the authority - Determining the compensation the State Government has made a grievance that the compensation has been fixed by the authority without any opportunity to the State Government to lead or adduce any evidence or without examining any officer of the Government and thereby without any necessary material which would be helpful for the determination of the question of compensation - Petition dismissed
( 1 ) IN this petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India the petitioners who are the extaluqdar of the villages Rani and Ranod in District Mehsana have challenged the right of State Government to file an appeal under sec. 32p (9) of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act 1948 as well the order made by the opponent No. 2 herein who is a Special Secretary in Revenue Department of the Government of Gujarat dated 2nd November 1970 which is Ex. L to the petition passed in Appeal No. 449 of 1966 and Appeal No. 2 of 1968 preferred by the tenants of the petitioner Taluqdar remanding the matters involved in the Appeals to the Mamlatdar to determine again whether the appellants in the said appeals were permanent tenants of the petitioners Taluqdar or not. Shortly stated the facts leading to this petition are as under :-
( 2 ) ON enactment of the Bombay Taluqdari Tenure Abolition Act of 1949 which came in force from 15th August 1950 the tenure of the petitioners Taluqdar in the villages Rani and Ranod were abolished and on abolition of the said tenure the respondent No. 3 who is the Mamlatdar Patan by his order of 1st June 1962 decided the status of the tenants of the petitioners Taluqdar under sec. 5a of the said Act and he held that except two cultivators of village Rani and five cultivators of village Ranod the other tenants were merely tenants at will of the petitioners Taluqdar and the said seven tenants were the permanent tenants. It appears that after this order some of the cultivators viz. V. Sultanbhai and 27 others who were held to be merely the tenants at will filed an appeal and in the said appeal the order of the respondent No. 1 of 1st June 1962 was set aside by the order of the State Government of 26th July 1963 It appears that the second batch of the cultivators viz. Laxmanbhai and 34 others who were held to be tenants at will by the aforesaid order of Mamlatdar Patan of 1st June 1962 preferred a similar appeal to the State Government and in that appeal also the aforesaid order of the Mamlatdar Patan was set aside on 9th August 1966 It appears further that the petitioners Taluqdar being aggrieved with the said orders of the State Government in the two appeals setting aside the aforesaid order of the Mamlatdar of 1 June 1962 moved the High Court of Gujarat under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution by their Special Civil Applications Nos. 995 of 1963 and 1370 of 1966. The said Special Civil Applications were rejected by the High Court of Gujarat. It appears further that a 3rd batch of 20 cultivators viz. Koli Juha Dajibhai and others the respondents Nos. 4 to 23 herein and a 4th batch of 5 cultivators preferred appeals to the Government of Gujarat against the aforesaid order of Mamlatdar of 1st June 1969 being Appeals Nos. 449/66 and 2/68 respectively. Both the appeals were heard by the respondent No. 2 herein and he by his order of 2nd November 1970 allowed the appeals and set aside the aforesaid order of the Mamlatdar Patan of 1st June 1962 and remanded the case to him for a fresh inquiry and decision on the grounds suggested by the respondent No. 2 in his order. It appears that consequent to the aforesaid order of Mamlatdar Patan of 1st June 1962 the Agricultural Lands Tribunal Patan started proceedings under sec. 32g of the Tenancy Act and in those proceedings the Agricultural Lands Tribunal Patan started proceedings under sec. 32g of the Tenancy Act and declared the purchase of lands to be ineffective and thereafter conducted inquiries under sec. 32p of the Tenancy Act. In the proceedings under sec. 32p the Agricultural Lands Tribunal decided that the tenancy in question in respect of the tenants of the petitioners Taluqdar including respondents 4 to 23 stood terminated and that the lands in question should be disposed of under sec. 32p (2) (c) of the Tenancy Act. It appears further that in those proceedings under sec. 32p (2) (c) of the Tenancy Act no person