# V ALLABHAI NA TIIABHAI v. BAI JIVI & ORS

- **Citation:** [1969] 3 S.C.R. 309
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1969-01-10
- **Case number:** Civil Appeal No. 104 of 1966
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/v-allabhai-na-tiiabhai-v-bai-jivi-ors-4870
- **Pages:** 11

## Headnote

A
B
·C
D
E
F
·G
H
V ALLABHAI NA TIIABHAI
v.
BAI JIVI & ORS.
January 10, 1969
109
[J. M. SHBLAT, V. BHAROAVA AND C. A. VAIDIALINGAM, JI.)
Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act 51 of 1948, ••· 29(1)
and 8.~Nature of remedies under-Remedies whether alternative.
Reapondent No. I waa owner of two ~
numben situate in the
Dilltriet of Panchmahals in Gujarst to which the Bombay Tenancy and
Aaricultural Lands Act 57 of 1948 was applicable.
On May IS, 1956
the appellant voluntarily handed over possession of the said
lands
to
respondent 1.
The surrender was not, however, in writing and the
procedure of inquiry and vorillcation required by 1. 1$ of the aforesaid
Aet was not gone through. Respondent 1 thereafter personally cultivated
the said lands.
On January 16, 1961 the appellant applied to the Deputy
Collector under s. 84 of the Act for summary eviction of respondent 1.
The Deputy Colleetor dismissed the application holding that the tenant's
remedy 1ay under s. 29(1) of the Aet. The Gujarat Revenue Tribunal,
however, in a revision by the tenant held that s. 84 and not s. 29(1)
applied. The High Court in a petition under s. 227 of the Constitution
set aside the Tribunal's order holding that s. 84 did not apply. In appeal,
by special leave, the question was as to the nature of the remedies under
ss. 29(1) and 84 and whether a tenant who had remedy under&. 29(1)
could stilt apply to the Collector under s. 84.
HELD : The appeal must be dismissed.
(i) In the case of a surrender which is not valid and binding on the
tenant there is no termination of tenancy, and thei'efore, the landlord is
DOI entitled to retain the land even though possesoion thereof has been
handed over to him or has been voluntarily taken by him. The Jl""ilion
in such a case is that the tenant has a right to apply to the Mamlatdar
for restoration of possession to him claiming that there has been no termination of tenancy, that his possession continues to be protected by the
provisions of the Aqt and that therefore, the possession should be restored
to him. Such an application lies under s. 29(1) and, when so made, it
becomes the duty of the Mamlatdar .under s. 70, ·ct. (o) read with s.
29 ( 1) to put the tenant in possession of tho land in question "under the
Aet". In such a case the tenant is claiming possession unde'r the provision•
of the Act and not on the strength of his own title as when he applies for
possession ai:ainst a trespasser. [314 E-0]
.
(ii) The words "any person unauthorisedly occupying or wl"ongfully
tn possession of any land" in s. 84, no doubt, are words of wide import
and would include a landlord who is in unauthorised occupation or is
wrongfully in possession.
But then s. 84 in express terms limits
its
application to three types of cases only, namely, of a person unauthorisedly
occupying or wrongfully in possession of the land (a) the transfer or
acl!uisition of which etc. is invalid under the Act, or (b) the mana~ment
of which has been assumed under the Aet, cir ( c) to the use and occupation of which he is not entitled under the provisions of the Act and the
said provisions do not provide for the eviction of such person. [314 H-315B]
In the present case cl. (b) obviously could not apply as the land in
question was not one, the management of which was assumed under the
provisions of the Act. Clause (a) applies only to transfers or acquisitions
310
SUPREME COURJ: REPORTS
[1969] 3 S.C.R ..
which are in breaq]J of the provisions of Ch. y and possession or occupat!OD whereof h£l:S been obtained under such invalid transfers and acquisitions.
That bemg the position, the instant case would fall only under
cl. ( c) . and therefore the condition that s. 84 would only apply to cases
for which there is no other remedy under any of . the provisions of the
~C! must apply to the present case,
This Condition shows that while
g1v1og drastic powers of summary eviction to ·an administrative officer the
legislature was careful to restrict this power, firstly beca

## Text

A
B
·C
D
E
F
·G
H
V ALLABHAI NA TIIABHAI
v.
BAI JIVI & ORS.
January 10, 1969
109
[J. M. SHBLAT, V. BHAROAVA AND C. A. VAIDIALINGAM, JI.)
Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act 51 of 1948, ••· 29(1)
and 8.~Nature of remedies under-Remedies whether alternative.
Reapondent No. I waa owner of two ~
numben situate in the
Dilltriet of Panchmahals in Gujarst to which the Bombay Tenancy and
Aaricultural Lands Act 57 of 1948 was applicable.
On May IS, 1956
the appellant voluntarily handed over possession of the said
lands
to
respondent 1.
The surrender was not, however, in writing and the
procedure of inquiry and vorillcation required by 1. 1$ of the aforesaid
Aet was not gone through. Respondent 1 thereafter personally cultivated
the said lands.
On January 16, 1961 the appellant applied to the Deputy
Collector under s. 84 of the Act for summary eviction of respondent 1.
The Deputy Colleetor dismissed the application holding that the tenant's
remedy 1ay under s. 29(1) of the Aet. The Gujarat Revenue Tribunal,
however, in a revision by the tenant held that s. 84 and not s. 29(1)
applied. The High Court in a petition under s. 227 of the Constitution
set aside the Tribunal's order holding that s. 84 did not apply. In appeal,
by special leave, the question was as to the nature of the remedies under
ss. 29(1) and 84 and whether a tenant who had remedy under&. 29(1)
could stilt apply to the Collector under s. 84.
HELD : The appeal must be dismissed.
(i) In the case of a surrender which is not valid and binding on the
tenant there is no termination of tenancy, and thei'efore, the landlord is
DOI entitled to retain the land even though possesoion thereof has been
handed over to him or has been voluntarily taken by him. The Jl""ilion
in such a case is that the tenant has a right to apply to the Mamlatdar
for restoration of possession to him claiming that there has been no termination of tenancy, that his possession continues to be protected by the
provisions of the Aqt and that therefore, the possession should be restored
to him. Such an application lies under s. 29(1) and, when so made, it
becomes the duty of the Mamlatdar .under s. 70, ·ct. (o) read with s.
29 ( 1) to put the tenant in possession of tho land in question "under the
Aet". In such a case the tenant is claiming possession unde'r the provision•
of the Act and not on the strength of his own title as when he applies for
possession ai:ainst a trespasser. [314 E-0]
.
(ii) The words "any person unauthorisedly occupying or wl"ongfully
tn possession of any land" in s. 84, no doubt, are words of wide import
and would include a landlord who is in unauthorised occupation or is
wrongfully in possession.
But then s. 84 in express terms limits
its
application to three types of cases only, namely, of a person unauthorisedly
occupying or wrongfully in possession of the land (a) the transfer or
acl!uisition of which etc. is invalid under the Act, or (b) the mana~ment
of which has been assumed under the Aet, cir ( c) to the use and occupation of which he is not entitled under the provisions of the Act and the
said provisions do not provide for the eviction of such person. [314 H-315B]
In the present case cl. (b) obviously could not apply as the land in
question was not one, the management of which was assumed under the
provisions of the Act. Clause (a) applies only to transfers or acquisitions
310
SUPREME COURJ: REPORTS
[1969] 3 S.C.R ..
which are in breaq]J of the provisions of Ch. y and possession or occupat!OD whereof h£l:S been obtained under such invalid transfers and acquisitions.
That bemg the position, the instant case would fall only under
cl. ( c) . and therefore the condition that s. 84 would only apply to cases
for which there is no other remedy under any of . the provisions of the
~C! must apply to the present case,
This Condition shows that while
g1v1og drastic powers of summary eviction to ·an administrative officer the
legislature was careful to restrict this power, firstly because the result
otherwise would he to deprive the person evicted under s. 84 of his remedy of appeal before the Collector .which !>e would have if the order
we're to be passed under s. 29(1) and secondly, b~ause it would enable
a tenant to by-pass a judicial enquiry by the Mamlatdar under s. 29(1)
by directly applying to the Collector under s. 84.
Such a result could
not have been intended by the
legislature.
Therefore,
the · contention
that ss. 29(1) and 84 provide _alternative remedies and a choice to the
tenant cannot possibly be correct. [3 I 5D-3 l 6B]
Shankar Raoji v. Mahdu Go'vind, 57 Born. L.R. 65 Ddrgaben v. Bav/a
58 Bom. L. R. 451, Trambaklal v. Shankerbhal 62 Born.
L. R.
261;
Shanker/al v. Harfo· V<Jgha, Sp!. C.A. No. 8161, decided by High Court
of Gujarat on 22-8-1961 and Krishna Mahar v. Hussain Miya Sp!. C.A.
No. 20.711956, decided by Shah & Vyas, JJ. in the High Court of Bombay
on June 19, 1956, considered.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 104 of
1966.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated
July 3, 8, 1964 of the Gujarat High Court in Special Civil Application No. 330 of 1962.
M. C. Bhandare, Anja/i K. Verma, J. B. Dadachanji
and
0. C. Mathur, for the appellant.
S. T. Desai, M. N. Shroff for /. N. Shroff, for respondent
No. 1.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Shelat, J. The facts relevant to th.is" appeal are short and
no longer in dispute. Respondent I is the owner of Survey Nos.
974/2 and 975/4 situate in the village Delo! in districts Panchmahals and the appellant at the material time was
the tenant
thereof. On May 15, 1956 the appellant voluntarily handed over
possession of the said lands to respondent. !. It is, however, an
admitted fact that the said surrender was not in writing and the
procedure of inquiry and verification required by s. 1 S of the
Bombay . Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 57 of 1948
(hereinafter called the Act) was not gone thrqugh.
The
surrender though volunltary thus was not in accordance with s. 15
and therefore was not valid and binding on the appe!Jant.
It
is not in dispute that respondent l thereafter personally cultivated the said lands. On January 16, 1961 the appellant applied
to the Deputy Collector. under s. 84 of the Act for summary
eviction of respondent 1.
The Deputy Collector dismissed the
application holding that the tenant's remedy lay under s. 29 (1)
I
A
c
D·
E
F
G
H
NATHABHAI v. BAI JIVI (She/at, J.)
311
A
of the Act.
The Gujarat Revenue Tribunal,
however,
in
a.
revision by the te,nant set aside that order holding that s. 84 an?
not s. 29( 1) applied. Respondent 1 thereupon filed
a wnt
petition under Art. 227 in the High Court of Gujarat and the
High Court held, on interpretation of ss. 29 (1) and 84, that
s. 84 did not apply in such cases ·and set aside .the
Trib~'s
B
order.
What is the scope of s. 84 of the Act is the quesuon,
therefore, arising in this appeal which is filed by the tenant after
obtaining special leave front this Court.
c
D
E
F
G
H
On behalf of the appellant Mr. Bhandare raised the following
contentions :
!. that a surrender of tenancy contrary to s.
15
is an invalid surrender and does not terminate the
tenancy;
2. that on such invalid surrender, if the landlord
takes possession such possession is wrongful and
unauthorised and therefore the laind must be said to be
in unauthorised occupation and
wrongful
possession
of the landlord;
3. that when the tenant on such dispossession files
an application his right does not arise under any of the
provisions ol the Act as he has given up possession in
breach of his right and title;
4. that in such a situation the tenant does uot seek
to enforce a right arising under the provisiQlls of the
Act but claims possession relying on his title as a tenant;
5. that such an application therefore falls
under
s. 84 and not under s. 29 ( 1); and
6. that s. 84 directed against a person who is in unauthorised occupation and wrongful possession and
therefore there is
no warrant for any distinction
between unauthorised occupation or wrongful possession
arisi.ng under an invalid surrender and
that arising
under an invalid sale or transfer.
Mr. Desai for the respondents supported, on the other hand the
High Court's judgment and relied on certain decisions of ' the
High Courts of Bombay and Gujarat on the interpretati<ll!I of
ss. 29( I) and 84 of the Act. Before we proceed to examine these
contentions it is necessary first to read the relevant sections.
Section 15 reads as under :
"A tenant may terminate the tenancy in respect of
a:ny land at any time by surrendering his interest therein in favour of the landlord;
312
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1969] 3 S.C.R.
Provided that such surrender shall be in writing
and verified before the Mamlatdar in the prescribed
manner."
The relevant pait of s. 2 9 (1 ) reads as under :
"A tenant-entit;!ed to possession of any land-
~r any of the provisions of this Act may apply in
wntmg for such possession to the Mamlatdar."
Sub-sectiqn 2 of s. 29 provides that no landlord shall obtain
possession of any land held by a tenant except under an order
of the Mamlatdar. Section 84 reads as under :
"Any person u!lauthorisedly occupying or wrong·
fully in possession of any land-
( a) the transfer or acquisition of which either by
the act of parties or by the operation of law is
invalid under the proVJSions of this Act,
(b) the management of which has ~
assumed
under the said provisions, or
( c) to the use and occupation of which he is not
entitled under the said provisions and the said
provisions do not provide for the eviction of
such persqns, may be summarily evicted by the
Coilector."
Section 15 (1) was inserted in the Act by s. 11 of Bombay Act 13
of 1956.
Even before 1956 there was in the Acts. 5(3) the
proviso of which required a surrender of tenancy by a teinant to
be in writing and verified by the Mamlatdar. There is, howevec.
no dispute before us that the proviso to s. 15 (1) applies to the.
present case and that the surrender under which respondel)t l
obtained, possession of the land in question was neither in writing
nor was verified in any inquiry before the Mamlafdar.
Under s. 15 (1 ) a tenant, as defined by s. 2 ( 18) of the Act,
can tenninate the tenancy in respect of. the land held by him as
a tenant by surrendering his interest in favour of his landlords
and as provided by sub-section 2 on such surrender of the
tenancy the landlord becomes entitled to retain the land so
surrendered by the tenant in the same manner as when the tenancy
is terminated under ss.
31
and 31A of the Act. The
tenancy on such surrender comes to an end and thereupon
the relationship between them of a landlord and a tenant and the
rights arising out of that relationship terminate. · The legislature,
however, was aware of the possibility of landlords taking advantage over the tenants and therefore to safeguard the tenants
against such a possibility it laid down through the proviso that a
A
B
c
D
F
G
H
A
B
NATHABHAI v. BAI JIVI (She/at, /.)
31 3
surrender by a tenant could only be valid apcl binding on him
if it was in writing and was verified by the Mamlatdar. Belore
the Mamlatdar would verify such surrender it would be his duty
·to ascertain whether the surrender was voluntary and was not
under pressure or unclue iinfiuence of the landlord.
But once
the surrender satisfied these two conditions it bas the same effect
as the termination of tenancy the tenancy comes to an end and
the landlord becomes entitled to retain the land of which possession is delivered to him by the tenant surrendering his interest
as a tenant therein. In cases, however, where the surrender has
not satisfied the two conditions, even if it is voluntary, it is no
surrender and therefore there is no termination of relatiO)IShip
of a landlord and tenant. Consequently, even if the tenant has
C
voluntarily surrendered possessiO)l and the landlord has taken
it over, since the tenancy still continues the tenant obviously is
entitled to retain possession and therefore
to its restoration.
Though, therefore, s. 15 does not in so ma,ny words provide that
in such a case the tenant is entitled to restoration of possession,
there being no volid surrender where the two conditions arc not
D
satisfied, the tenancy co,dtinucs and the tenant can claim possession from the landlord as the tenant of tlre land in question,
such claim being based on his right as such tenant to be in possession of such land and tlre landlord's disability to terminate the
tenancy under the provisions of the Act. It is true tlrat s. 3 7 exE
F
G
H
pressly provides for restoration of possession to the tenants in the
eventuality provided therein while s. 15 does not so provide. But
the right to restoration had to be provided for in s. 37 as there
would be termination of tenaincy which becomes revived and on
revival thereof tlre tenant becomes entitled to restoration
of possession.
In a case under s. 15, however, if the
surrender is not valid it i3 no surrender at all and tlrere is no
question of termination of ten~y. The tenant continues to be
entitled to jl09llmion and therefore there is no question of the
section having to provide for restoration of possession.
There
is, therefore, no force in the conte.ntion t!rat in the case of an
invalid surrender the tenant is not entitled to possession under the
provisions of the Act He is in fact entitled
tc;>
cl:aim back
possession under s. 15 itself for under sub-section 2 of the landlord becomes entitled to retain the land only if the surrender
is in accordance with the provisions of s. 15.
.
Section 29 ( 1) confers a right on a tenant to apply to the Mamlatdar for possession and s. 29(2) gives a right to a landlord to
apply to the Mamlatdar to obtain possession of land held by a
tenant. In both the cases it is the duty of the Mamlatdar to restore possession to the tenant or to the landlord, as the oose may
be. It will be noticed that whereas sub-section 2 is confined to
an application by a !andford for possession from his tenant,
314
SU~REME COURT REPORTS
[!969] 3 S;C.R.
sub-seetion) is n~t so confined. and therefore a tenaint can apply
for possess10':1 ~amst any m~e. mclud:ing the landlord.
.aut for
such. an application the cond1r1QI1 is that he must 1;>e one who is
"ent~tl~ to possession" of the land in question "under any of the
provmons of this Act".
Thus, in all cases where a tenant
is entitled to possession of land under any of the provisions of the
Act he has a right under s. 29 ( 1) to apply to the Mamlatdar
for restoration of possession against any one including the landlord and it is the duty of the Mamlatdar, if satisfied that the tenant
is entitled to such possession uinder any of the provisions of the
Act, to restore possession to him.
Cls. (b) and (n) of s. 70
lay down the duties and functions of the Mamlatdar in the following words:
"(b) to decide whether a person is a tenant or a protected tenant or a permanent tenant."
"(n) to take measures for putting the tenant .or
landlord-into the possession of the land-under (his
Act."
B
c
.Section,74 provides for an appeal to the Collector against the
D
orders of the Mamlatdar in cases therein set out and cl. (m) provides such an appeal against an order passed by the Mamlatdat
under s. 29.
In the case of a surrender which .is not valid and bind~ng on
the tenant there is, as aforesaid, no termination of tenancy, and
therefore, the landlord is not entitled to retain the land even
E
though possession thereof has been handed over to him or has .
been voluntarily taken by him.
The position in such a case is
that the tenant has a right to apply to the Marnlatdar for restoration of possession to him claiming that there has been no termination of te!llllncy, that his possession continues to be protected by the
provisions of the Act and that, therefore, possession should be
restored to him.
Such an application lies under s. 29 (I) and,
when so made, it becomes the duty of the Mamlatdar under s. 70,
·Cl. (n) read withs. 29(1) to put the tenant in possession of the
land in question "under this Act". In such a case the tenant is
claiming possession under the provisions of the Act a'!ld not on
the strength of his own title, as when he applies for possession
against a trespasser. That clearly being the position, propositions
3, 4 and 5 of Mr. Bhandare cannot be sustained.
The question then is whether a tenant who has a remedy
under s. 29 ( 1) can still apply to the Collector under s.
84.
In other words, whether the legislature has provided alternative
remedies under both the sections to such a tenant ? The words
"any person unauthorisedly occupying or wrongfully in possession
·of any land" in s. 84, no doubt, are words of wide import and
would include a landlord who is in unauthorised occuptaion or is
F
G
H
NATHABHAI v. BAI JIVI (She/at, J.)
315
Ji.
wrongfully in possession. A landlord who under an invalid surren·
der is in possession of the land is, no doubt, a person in
unauthorised occupation or is wrongfully in possession.
But
then s. 84 in express terms limits its application to three types
of cases only, namely, of a person unauthorisedly occupying or
wrongfully in possession of the land (a) the transfer or acquisiB
tion of which etc. is invalid under the Act, or (b) the management of which has been assumed under the Act, or ( c) to the
use and occupation of which he is not entitled under the pro·
visions of the Act and the said provisions do not provide for the
eviction of such person.
c
Mr. Bhandare's argument, however, was that the present case
falls under els. (a) and (c) of s. 84, that the condition of the
other provisioru; of the Act providing for eviction of such a person
applie§ only to cases falling under cl. (c) and not to those falling
under cl. (a).
We do not have to decide in the present case
whether the sai<I condition of there being no other provision in
the Act Jiroviding for eviction of a person in unauthorised occuD
pation or wrongful possession applies only to cases falling under
cl. (c) or to all cases under els. (a), (b) or. (c), as in our
opinion the present case is clearly one falling under cl. ( c) and
not els. (a) or (b) of s. 84. Clause (b) obviously cannot apply
as the land in question was not one, the managemem.t of which
was assumed under the provisions of the Act, namely, ss. 44, 45
E
F
·G
and 61.
So far as cl. (a) is concerned, it applies to cases in
respect of the land, the transfer or acquisition of which either
by the act of parties or by operation of Jaw is invalid under the
provisions of the Act. Clause (a) clearly refers to Ch. V of the
Act which lays down certain restrictions on transfers of agricultural lands and acquisition of estates and lands. Sections 63, 64
and 65 in that chapter prohibit transfers of agricultural land to
non-agriculturists and recognize only sales to persons and at prices
specified therein.
Clause (a), therefore, applies to transfers or
acquisitions which are in breach of the provisions of Ch. V and
possession or occupation whereof has been obtained under
such invalid transfers or acquisitions.
That being the position
the instant case would fall only under cl.
( c) and not under
cl. (a) as contended by Mr. Bhandare, and therefore, the cqn·
dition that s. 84 would only apply to cases for which there is no
other remedy under any of the provisions of the Act must apply
to the present case. This condition shows
that while giving
drastic powers of summary eviction to a.n administrative officer
the legislature was careful to restrict this power firstly because
the result otherwise would be to deprive the person evicted under
H
s. 84 of his remedy of appeal before the Collector which he
would have if the order were fa be passed under s. 29 (1) and
secondly, because it would enable a tenant to by-pass a judicial
316
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969] 3 S.C.R.
inquiry by the Mamlatdar under s. 29 (1) by directly applying
A
!O the Collector un~er s. 84. Such a result could ·not have been
mtended by the legislature. Therefore, the contention that ss.
29 ( 1) and 84 provide alternative remedies and a choice to the
tenant cannot possibly be correct.
'
We now tum to the decisions to which our attention was
d~awn by counsel. In Shankar Raoji v. Mahadu Gavind(') the
Htgh Court of Bombay observed that s. 29 ( 1) gave a right to the
tenant to obtain possession through the Mamlatdar in every case
where he was entitled to possessiQn under any of the provisions
of the Act and that the clear object of s. 29 ( 1) was that if the
Mamlatdar was satisfied that the tenant was entitled w possession
by reason ot his tenancy it was his duty to protect that possession
and order any one who had dispossessed him to re8tore possession
to him. Section 29 ( 1) thus assumed that the tenant must claim
possessiOtDi as such under the provisions of the Act. In Durgaben
v. Bav/a(2 ) the landlord obtained possession from the tenant
under s. 29.(2) on the ground that the tenant had surrendered the
lease.
The tenant applied under s. 84 alleging that notwithstanding the order of the Mamlatdar under s. 29 (2), he had
continued in possession and that the landlord had forcibly dispossessed him.. It was held that the Collector had )1lO jurisdiction under s. 84 and that the remedy, if any, of the tenant was
under s. 29(1).
In holding so, the High Court observed that
it was only in the absence of a provision in the Act for eviction
of an UillillUthorised person that the Collector had jurisdiction
under s. 84 to order summary eviction. The High Court held
that ss. 29 ( 1) and 84 did not provide alternative remedies to
the tenant, for, under s. 29(1) he oould claim possession on
his title as a tenant under the provisions of the Act and not under
s. 84. The High Court also further observed $at if it were to
construe the two sections as providing alternative remedies, such
a construction would result in a curious consequence, viz., that
in a case where a landlord has obtained possession after obtaining
an
order
from
the
Mamlatdar
such
possession
would obviously be under a title. If the tenant in such a case
were to allege that the landlord's poss~ssion was unauthorised
or wrongful and were to apply under s. 84, the Collector would
have to decide the question whether the landlord's possession
was wrongful or Ulllauthorised or not.
But in that case the
Collector would decide it and set aside the Mamlatdar's order
under his original jurisdiction under s. 84 and not under his
appellate jurisdiction under s. 7 4 and s. 7 4 would thus be
rendered superfluous. In Trambaklal v. Shankerbhai(') the High
Court of Bombay held that in order that there may be a valid
(I) 57 Born. L.R. 65.
(2) 58 Born. L.R. 451·
(3) 62 Born. L.R. 261.
c
D
E
F
G
H
NATHABHA! v. BAI J!VI (Shelat, J.)
317
A
tr~fer or acquisition through surrender, such surrender must
be a lawful one and made in accordance with the provisions of
the Act. If such a surrender was not verified and recognised
under s. 15 there would be llO cessation
of tenancy right and
therefore if the la:ndlord had obtained possession
under
such
an invalid surrender the tenant retained the right to restoration
B
of possession under the Act. It is clear that these decisions
do not lay down anything contrary to what we have said above
and therefore would not assist the appellant.
c
D
E
There are two unreported decisions, one by the High Court
of Gujarat and the other by the High Court of Bombay to
which also our attention was drawn. In Shanker/al v. Haria
Vagha ( 1 ) the facts were as follows : One Chandrasingh and
his brothers owned Survey Nos. 23/2, 23/3 and 26/5. In 1956-57
opponent 2 surrendered these lands to Chandrasingh who personally cultivated them.
Until 1955-56 opponent 1 cultivated
Survey No.
26/5. He thereafter surrendered that Survey
number to Chandrasingh
and his brothers who
personally
cultivated it thereafter.
The Mamlatdar admittedly
had held
no inquiry in respect of these surrenders under s. 15. On January
28, 1959 Chandrasingh and his brothers sold these lands to the
petitioners and the petitioners thereafter cultivated them in
1959-60. In 1959 opponents 1 and 2 applied to the Collector
under s. 84 and the Collector ordered restoration of possession to
opponent 1 and 2. The Gujarat Revenue Tribunal rejected
a revision applioation filed by the petitioners against the said
order.
In a writ petition under Art. 227 the petitioners raised
two cqntentions before the High Court : (1 ) that they were not
in unauthorised occupation or wrongfolly in possession as they
derive title from the owner, their vendors, and (2) that \II any event
the opponents had a remedy under s. 29 ( 1) and theref9re could
F
\)101: have recourse to s. 84.
As regards the first contention the
High Court held that the surrenders by opponents 1 and 2, not
being in writing and unverified, were not binding on them, the
relationship of tenant and landlord had not, therefore, termimtted and opponents 1 and 2 were entitled to possession of the
lands.
That was the position which obtained on January 28,
G
1959 when Chandrasingh and his brother purported to se11 the
lands to .the petition_ers.
The petitioners,
therefore,
were
in
unauthonsed possession as Chandrasingh and his brothers were
not entitled to possession and could not transfer possession to
the petitioners. The High Court also held that the
said sale
was contrary to s. 64 and therefore invalid and did not create
H
any rights as to ownership or posse;sion in favour of the petitioners.
The possession of the petitioners, therefore was
unauthorised and wrongful and s. 84 applied and the' first contention
(1) Sp!. C.A. 8 of 1961, deed. by the High Court of Gujarat on August 22, 1961.
LS Sup. CI/69---2
318
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1969] 3 S.C.R,
failed.
As to the second contention, the High Court held that
under s. 29 ( 1) a tenant could apply to the Marnlatdar for
possessioa but that required that the right to possession must
arise "under the provisions of .the Act". If the tenant did not
seek to enforce a right arising under any of the provision of the
Act_ but claimed possession on his own title as a tenant, s. 29 ( 1)
would not apply and his remedy would be under s. 84 only.
The High Court held that when a tenant claimed possession not
refying upon any incident of his contract of tenancy nor on llill'Y
provisions of the Act but on his own title to possession, that
is, to protect his possession as a tqnant against a trespasser
s. 84 and not s. 29(1) would apply even though the land the
possession of which he claimed was the land of which he was
a tenant and the trespasser was his landlord.
What the tenant
in such a case was seeking to do. was not to enforce his right
as a tenant under the provisions of the Act but he was en.forcing
his right against third parties, namely, the petitioners in that case
who were in wrongful occupation.
The tenant was
claiming
possession not under the provisions qf the Act but on his own
title, albeit as a tenant, against a person who had. no title to
ow,ne~ship or possession in the land and therefore s. 29 ( 1) did
not apply to such a case.
Consequently, s. 29 (1) was not another provision providing for eviction which opponents I and 2
could avail of.
In Krishna Mahar v. Hussan Miya(') the respondent was the owner of the 0land in question.
He
applied
under s. 29(2) to the Mamlatdar.
The Mamlatdar passed an
order direciing the petitioner, the_ tenant, to hand over possession.
The petitioner appealed to the Collector under s. 7 4 of
the Act who set aside the Mamlatdar' s order.
But before the
Collector passed his said order the respondent
executed
the
Mamlatdar's order and obtained possession. The petitioner then
obtained possession in pursuance of tpe Collector's said order
but the respondent forcibly dispossessed him and thereupon on
January 10, 1952 the petitioner complained to the Mamlatdar.
The MamJatdar expressed his ~nability to assist him and thereupon the petitioner applied to the Collector under s. 84.
The
Collector held that the respondent was in
wrongful possession
and passed an order of eviction.
The Revenue Tribunal however, set aside that order holding that the petitioalier's application
was barred by limitation.
An application for
condonation of
delay was also rejected.
The petitioner, thereupon filed a petition under Art. 227. The High Court held that there was a clear
distinction between an application under s. 29 ( 1) and one under
s. 84. for, under s. 29(1) whereas the tenant would be claiming
the right to possession under the provisions of the Act, under
s. 84 he would be claiming the right to possession not under any
(1) Sp!. C.A. No. 20ior 1956. deed. by Shah and Vyas, JJ. in the High Coutt of
Bombay on June 19, 1956.
A
B
c
))
E
F
G
H
NATHABHAI· v, BAI 'JIVI (She/at, J,)
319
A
of the provisions of' the Act but on his own title to possession
as a. tenant. Such an application could be even against a
person who was ms landlord qua the land in question
if
such
landlord was in unauthorised occupation or wrqngful possession.
These two decisions again do not lay down anything inconsistent
to what we have said above on the scope and interpretaticm of
B
s. 29(1) and s. 84. We do not therefore see how either of
these two decisions can be availed oi by Mr. Bhandare in support
of hi• contentions.
In our view the High Court was correct in its interpretation
of the two sections and the conclusion which it arrived at in holding on the facts of the present case that the Collector had no
C
jurisdiction under s. 84 to entertain the tenant's application. The
result is that the appeal fails '8nd is dismissed with costs.
G.C.
Appeal dismissed.