Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 – ss.88, 88CA, 29-31, 32-32-R – Maharashtra Hereditary Offices Act, 1874 – ss. 5, 11, 11A – Maharashtra Revenue Patels (Abolition of Offices) Act, 1962 – s.8 – Applicability of the 1948 Act to the subject Watan lands – After the Abolition Act that came into effect from 01.01.1963, lawfully leased Patel Watan land whose lease was subsisting as on 01.01.1963, if was covered by the Tenancy Act and the tenant of such Watan land if had the right to purchase such land:

Held: All Watan lands were not to be treated as Government lands – Subject Watan lands were not covered by s.88(1)(a), Tenancy Act and could not be treated as Government lands – By virtue of the ‘Explanation’ to s.88(1)(a) of the Tenancy Act, all other Watan lands, including the subject Watan lands, were covered by all the provisions of the Tenancy Act – However, s.88CA thereof, introduced in July, 1958, granted such Watan lands exemption from ss.32 to 32-R, 33-A, 33-B and 33-C – Therefore, ss.29 and 31, Tenancy Act were very much applicable to such Watan lands all through – Thus, the heirs of the original Watandar (appellants) could not have aspired to secure possession without reference to the procedure u/s.29, 31 – Limited exemption from certain provisions of the Tenancy Act, afforded by s.88CA thereof, continued until the Abolition Act came into force on 01.01.1963 – Thereafter, as the very institution of Patel Watan stood abolished, the limited exemption extended to such Watan lands u/s.88CA, Tenancy Act also ceased – Therefore, after the advent of the Abolition Act, Patel Watan land which was lawfully leased, and the lease of which was subsisting as on 01.01.1963, stood covered by the Tenancy Act in its entirety and the tenant of such Watan land was entitled to all the benefits under the provisions thereof, including the right to purchase such land – It was not open to the appellants (legal heirs of the original Watandar) to proceed against the tenants under the provisions of ss.5, 11 & 11A, 1874 Act after the death of the original Watandar, in February/March, 1958 as the provisions of the Tenancy Act were very much applicable to the subject lands by then and more so, ss.29 and 31 thereof – Thus, the appellants could not have taken lawful possession of these lands from the tenants pursuant to the order dtd. 18.04.1961 passed u/ss.5, 11 & 11A, 1874 Act – The same was rightly held to be invalid in the revisionary order and that finding was correctly held to be justified by High Court– Thus, the tenancy was lawfully subsisting on 01.04.1957, i.e., Tillers’ Day, and the tenants were entitled to exercise their right of statutory purchase of these tenanted agricultural Watan lands u/s.32 of the Tenancy Act in terms of s.8 of the Abolition Act, after the exemption afforded by s.88CA ceased to exist – That right became operational on 27.11.1964, when these Watan lands were regranted to the heirs of the original Watandar – Impugned judgment not interfered. [Paras 20-23, 33]

Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 – s.88(1) (a) – Explanation – Merely explained the position and was not substantive in nature – Maharashtra Hereditary Offices Act, 1874 – ss.5, 23:

Held: Insertion of the ‘Explanation’ was not an amendment of the provision which would have prospective effect and not apply to the application filed on 14.06.1958 u/s.5 of the Maharashtra Hereditary Offices Act, 1874 – The ‘Explanation’ merely explained the position and was not substantive in nature – It is, therefore, deemed to have come into operation from the date on which s.88(1) was amended in August, 1956 – Thereby, the limited applicability of the provision to certain Watan lands was clearly delineated – The ‘Explanation’ to s.88 clarified the position w.r.t Watan lands, other than those covered by s.23 of the 1874 Act, as it manifests that only Watan land assigned as remuneration to an officiator performing service u/s.23 of the 1874 Act etc. shall be deemed to be land belonging to the Government – Thus, only Watan lands covered by s.23, 1874 Act were to be treated as Government lands as per s.88(1)(a) – This is further clarified by s.88CA inserted in the year 1958, which stated that ss.32 to 32-R, 33-A, 33-B and 33-C would not apply to land held as Inam or Watan for service useful to the Government, excepting land assigned as remuneration u/s.23 of the 1874 Act etc. – Thus, only Watan lands assigned as remuneration for service u/s.23 of the 1874 Act were to be treated as Government lands and stood excluded from the provisions of the Tenancy Act – Admittedly, predecessor of the appellants was not an ‘officiator’ covered by s.23 of the 1874 Act. [Paras 19, 20]

Maharashtra Revenue Patels (Abolition of Offices) Act, 1962 – s.8 proviso to – Application of existing tenancy law:

Held: The proviso to s.8 indicates that for the purpose of fixing the purchase price under the provisions of the Tenancy Act so as to enable the purchase of such land by the tenant, the lease shall be deemed to have commenced from the date of regrant of the land u/ss.5, 6 or 9, as the case may be – The argument of the appellants that the tenants ought to have challenged the regrant order dated 27.11.1964 is without merit – In fact, the tenants were benefited by the said regrant order as the exercise of their right to purchase the land hinged upon the passing of that regrant order, in terms of the proviso to s.8 – The argument to the contrary is rejected. [Paras 23, 31]