Murlidhar Sukhdeo Paliwal And Another vs Shri Padamprabhu Maharaj Jain Sansthan … on 13 July, 2026

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    Bombay High Court

    Murlidhar Sukhdeo Paliwal And Another vs Shri Padamprabhu Maharaj Jain Sansthan … on 13 July, 2026

    2026:BHC-NAG:9073
    
    
                                                      1                  WP 3230.19
    
                    IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                              NAGPUR BENCH : NAGPUR
    
                              WRIT PETITION NO.3230 OF 2019
    
    
                        1.   Shri Murlidhar Sukhdeo Paliwal,
                             Aged about 71 years,
                             Occupation-Cultivator.
    
                        2.   Shri Sunil Mohan Paliwal (Dead)
                             Aged about 46 years,
                             Occupation-Cultivator,
                             Both R/o. Belkhed, Tq. Telhara,
                             Distt. Akola.
    
                             Through L.Rs.
    
                             2-a) Smt. Maya wd/o Sunil Paliwal,
                                  Aged about 53 years,
                                  Occupation-Housewife.
    
                             2-b) Barkha d/o Sunil Paliwal,
                                  Aged about 30 years.
    
                             2-c) Deep s/o Sunil Paliwal,
                                  Aged about 29 years,
                                  Occupation-Business,
    
                                  All R/o. Shivaji Nagar,
                                  Tq. Telhara, Distt. Akola.   ..    Petitioners
    
    
                                              .. Versus ..
    
                        1.   Shri Padamprabhu Maharaj Jain
                             Sansthan Telhara, through its Trustee
                             Shri Rajendra Keshavlal Shaha,
                             Aged about 60 years,
                             Occupation-Agriculturist,
                                        2                  WP 3230.19
    
              R/o. Tower 4, Flat No.405, Capitol
              Heights, Baidhyanath Chowk,
              Nagpur.
    
         2.   Sub-Divisional Officer, Akot.
              Distt. Akola.
    
         3.   The Member, Maharashtra Revenue
              Tribunal, Civil Lines, Nagpur. ..       Respondents
    
                            ..........
         Shri V.K. Paliwal, Advocate for Petitioners.
         Shri S.S. Sitani, Advocate for Respondent No.1.
         Shri H.D. Marathe, AGP for Respondent Nos.2 and 3.
                            ..............
    
                               CORAM : PRAVIN S. PATIL, J.
                               DATED : 13.07.2026.
    
    
    JUDGMENT
    

    1. The challenge by way of present petition is to the

    judgment and order passed by the Member, Maharashtra

    SPONSORED

    Revenue Tribunal, Nagpur in Revision No.REV/TNC/AKO-

    29/2018, decided on 28.3.2019.

    2. In the present matter the facts of the present petition

    are summarized as under :

    The Respondent No.1-Trust is the owner of land

    ad-measuring 4.80 HR of Survey No.206 of Mouza Belkhed,

    Tahsil-Telhara, District-Akola. The said land was in cultivating

    3 WP 3230.19

    possession of one Sukhdeo Khushalidas Paliwal. The said

    Sukhdeo was expired on 24.8.1985.

    The present Respondent No.1-Trust, on the strength of

    Exemption Certificate obtained under Section 129(b) of the

    Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural land (Vidarbha Region)

    Act, 1958 (hereinafter referred to as ‘Act of 1958), filed the

    application under Section 120 of the Act of 1958 for possession

    against the present petitioners.

    3. It is the submission of Respondent No.1-Trust that after

    the death of original tenant, the legal heirs has no right to

    continue the tenancy and they are in illegal possession. Hence,

    on the strength of the certificate obtained under Section 129 (b)

    of the Act of 1958, the proceeding of summarily eviction and

    possession was filed before the Sub-Divisional Officer, Akot in

    the month of March-2014.

    4. The said application was strongly opposed by the

    present petitioners. It is the submission of the petitioners

    before the Sub-Divisional Officer that the father of Respondent

    No.1 namely, Manilal Shaha filed R.C. No.133/59/(10-F)

    (Belkhed) /1960-61 under Section 19 read with Section 36 of
    4 WP 3230.19

    the Act of 1958 against Sukhdeo Khusalidas Paliwal (deceased)

    for termination of tenancy and possession. The said application

    was rejected by the learned Sub-Divisional Officer by his order

    dated 22.12.1961. The revision filed against the said order by

    the said Manilal Shaha was also dismissed. As such, the said

    proceeding has attended the finality. Therefore, the application

    filed by the Respondent No.1-Trust for summarily eviction

    under Section 120 of the Act is itself not tenable.

    5. The learned Sub-Divisional Officer, by his order dated

    27.2.2018 has considered the rival submission and recorded the

    fact that the original tenant Sukhdeo expired on 24.8.1985.

    After his death, the present petitioners were in possession in the

    capacity of legal heirs of deceased Sukhdeo. It is further

    observed that by the provisions of the Act of 1958 the deceased

    Sukhdeo was declared as protected tenant of the land and,

    therefore, as per Section 46 of the Act of 1958, the deceased

    Sukhdeo was become the owner of the land. So also it is held

    by the learned Sub-Divisional Officer that one Manilal Shaha

    has filed the proceeding in the year 1961 for recovery of the

    possession and that proceedings were dismissed and confirmed
    5 WP 3230.19

    by the Revisional Court and, therefore, the proceedings filed by

    the Respondent No.1-Trust are not tenable and accordingly

    though the Respondent No.1-Trust has obtained the certificate

    under Section 129(b) of the Act of 1958, the possession of the

    land in question being in possession of the petitioners since year

    1958, the application filed by the Respondent No.1-Trust was

    rejected.

    6. The Respondent No.1-Trust against the order of Sub-

    Divisional Officer preferred the statutory revision before the

    Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal, Nagpur. The Respondent No.1-

    Trust has raised various grounds before the Tribunal and

    thereby pointed out the impugned order passed by the learned

    Sub-Divisional Officer is liable to be quashed and set aside.

    7. The petitioners, who appeared before the Revenue

    Tribunal, have raised ground of res judicata. According to

    petitioners, earlier proceeding filed by one Manilal Shaha

    against deceased Sukhdeo was rejected and said proceeding

    attended finality, therefore, application of trust is not tenable.

    It is further stated that the application filed by the respondent is

    barred by limitation and, therefore, the revision deserves to be
    6 WP 3230.19

    dismissed, along with this major ground supported the order

    passed by the Sub-Divisional Officer in the matter.

    8. The learned Tribunal, after considering the submission

    of both the parties, has recorded the findings that the

    respondent no.1-Trust, at the time of hearing, has produced the

    original certificate obtained under Section 129(b) of the Act of

    1958 and the property in dispute is mentioned in the said

    certificate. It is held that in view of certificate obtained under

    Section 129(b) of the Act of 1958, the provisions of Section 54

    of the Act of 1958 are not applicable in the matter, as held by

    the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of Shriram

    Mandir Sansthan alias Shri Shri Ram Sansthan Pusda .vs.

    Vatsalabai and others. In respect of res judicata, it is recorded

    that the proceedings which were filed by earlier occasion in the

    year 1960-61 was for termination of tenancy, whereas the

    proceedings which are filed by the respondent no.1-trust are

    under Section 120 of the Act of 1958 for the eviction of illegal

    possession of the deceased over the suit property. As such, by

    recording all these reasons, the revision application was

    allowed.

    7 WP 3230.19

    9. In this background, the petitioners approached before

    this court stating that learned Tribunal failed to consider the

    applicability of principle of res-judicata while deciding revision.

    Petitioners, in support of their submission, today handed over

    the pursis along with copy of order-sheet in R.C.

    No.133/59/(10-F)/60-61 of Belkhed. Petitioners from said

    proceeding pointed out that the application for possession was

    filed by Manilal Shaha in the capacity of a Manager of the Trust

    and said proceedings were dismissed on the ground that the

    application for possession of the field for personal cultivation is

    not permissible in view of the judgment of this court in the case

    of Buvasaheb Tatyasaheb Mathakari ,vs, Yesu Krishna Kadam,

    reported in 1959 SCC Online Bom 148 . As such, issue of

    possession attended finality in the matter, therefore, same

    cannot be agitated again by applying the principle of

    res-judicata.

    10. The minute perusal of the application shows that the

    proceedings were filed before the Revenue Court under Section

    19 read with Section 36 of the Act of 1958. Section 19 provides

    the termination of tenancy on the ground enumerated under
    8 WP 3230.19

    said provision and Section 36 provides for procedure of taking

    possession. The perusal of these provision shows grounds

    under which the proceeding can be filed for termination of

    tenancy. So also Section 120 of the Act of 1958 states under

    which circumstances, proceeding can be filed for recovery of

    possession. It would be relevant to refer Section 19 of the Act

    of 1958 which reads as under :

    Section 19 : Termination of Tenancy :

    (1) Notwithstanding any agreement, usage,
    decree or order of a court of law, the tenancy of
    any land held by a tenant shall not be
    terminated-

    (1) unless such tenant –

    (a)(i) has failed to pay in any year, before
    the 31st day of March of that year, the rent of
    such land for that year, or

    (ii) if an application for the determination
    of reasonable rent is pending before the Tahsildar
    under section 12, has failed to deposit within
    thirty days from the aforesaid date with the
    Tahsildar, a sum equal to the amount of rent
    which he would have been liable to pay for that
    year if no such application had been made, or

    (iii) in case the reasonable rent determined
    under section 12 is higher than the sum
    deposited by him has failed to pay the balance
    due from him within two months from the date
    of decision of the Tahsildar.

    9 WP 3230.19

    (b) has done any act which is destructive or
    permanently injurious to the land ;

    (c) has sub-divided the land in contravention
    of Section 33;

    (d) has sub-let [for assigned] the land or failed
    to cultivate it personally; or

    (e) has used such land for a purpose other
    than agriculture [or allied pursuits]; and

    (II) unless the landlord has given three month’s
    notice in writing informing the tenant of his
    decision to terminate the tenancy and the
    particulars of the ground for such termination
    and within that period the tenant has failed to,
    remedy the breach for which the tenancy is liable
    to be terminated.

    (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-
    section (1), the tenancy of any land held by a
    tenant who is a widow or a minor or who is
    subject to physical or mental disability or who is
    a serving member of the armed force shall not be
    liable to be terminated under the said sub-section
    only on the ground that such land has been sub-
    let on behalf of the said tenant.

    Section 120 of the Act of 1958 is provided to claim the

    possession from the person who is having unauthorised

    occupation or wrongful possession of Trust land. Section 120

    reads as under :

    120. Any person unauthorizedly occupying or
    wrongfully in possession of any land.

    10 WP 3230.19

    (a) the transfer of which either by the act of parties or
    by the operation of law is invalid under the provisions
    of this Act,

    (b) the management of which has been 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
    person,

    may be summarily evicted by the Collector after such
    inquiry as he deems fit.

    From the perusal of both these provisions, it is clear that there

    are two different provisions are provided under the statute for

    termination of tenancy and seeking possession of a person who

    is having an unauthorized occupation.

    11. In the present case, the admitted fact is that the trust

    has obtained exemption certificate on 15.4.1967. As such, in

    absence of said certificate, the proceedings in the year 1960-61

    were filed by the Manager of the trust in a personal capacity

    under Section 19 of the Act of 1958, whereas the proceedings

    which were filed under Section 120 of the Act of 1958 were in

    the month of March-2014 on the basis of the exemption

    certificate which was received on 15.4.1967. Therefore, in my
    11 WP 3230.19

    opinion, both these proceedings were initiated on different

    cause of action. The proceeding under Section 120 of the Act of

    1958 is filed on behalf of trust for eviction of tenants whose

    possession is unauthorized immediately after the death of

    original tenant, whereas the proceedings under Section 19 of

    the Act of 1958 which were filed in personal capacity for

    termination of tenancy in the capacity of Manager of the Trust

    for cultivation purpose, therefore, the principle of res judicata

    or constructive res judicata is not applicable in the matter. It is

    further pertinent to note that there is no such bar to file

    proceeding under Section 120 of the Act of 1958, once the

    proceeding under Section 19 of the Act of 1958 are filed or

    decided. The bare perusal of both the provisions which

    reproduced above show the different cause of action to the trust

    for termination of tenancy and for seeking possession from the

    person who is unauthorizedly occupying the land. Therefore,

    prima facie, it is clear that the principle of res judicata is not

    applicable in the matter.

    12. It is further pertinent to note that admittedly the

    present petitioners are the legal heirs of deceased Sukhdeo.

    12 WP 3230.19

    The said Sukhdeo expired on 24.8.1985. The proceedings

    which were filed in the year 1960-61 were against deceased

    Sukhdeo and same was dismissed, by holding that the person,

    who has filed the proceeding, has no right to file the

    proceeding. As such, the said proceedings are not decided on

    merits and on the technical reasons, the proceedings were

    rightly rejected, on this count also principle of res-judicata is

    not applicable in the matter.

    13. Respondent No.1 further specifically states that the

    proceedings, which are filed against the present petitioners in

    the year 2014 was on relying upon the judgment of Hon’ble

    Supreme Court of India in the case of Shriram Mandir Sansthan

    alias Shri Ram Sansthan Pusda .vs. Vatsalabai and others,

    reported in (1999) 1 SCC 657 , whereby it is held that after the

    death of the tenant, the tenancy of the land is not inherited in

    favour of the legal heirs. The tenancy came to an end

    immediately after the death of the petitioner tenant. Hence,

    from the death of original tenant, the possession of the legal

    heirs becomes illegal. The Hon’ble Supreme in this judgment in

    Para 13 and 14 observed as under :

    13 WP 3230.19

    13. The High Court was, therefore, not right
    when it held that although Section 54 is
    excluded, the ordinary law of succession and
    inheritance is not. And, therefore, the tenancy of
    lands belonging to the institutions covered by
    Section 129(b) would be heritable under the
    ordinary law if not under Section 54. In fact, the
    Bombay High Court from 1958 to 1980 had
    consistently held the view that the tenancy of a
    public trust was not heritable. But in 1980, the
    High Court held that Section 40 of the Bombay
    Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act was not the
    only source of inheritance and as such the
    tenancy of a public trust was heritable under that
    Act. The present Section 54 is the relevant
    section as far as lands in the Vidarbha Region are
    concerned. The Full Bench upheld the view taken
    in 1980. In our view, the exclusion of Section 54
    by necessary implication also excludes the
    provisions of the ordinary law of succession and
    inheritance from the tenancy of agricultural lands
    of institutions falling under Section 129(b)

    14. Section 129 clearly seeks to protect certain
    lands from the provisions of the Tenancy Act of
    1958. The section thus protects lands held or
    leased by a local authority or a university, lands
    which are the property of a trust for an
    educational purpose, hospital, panjrapole,
    gaushala or an institution for public religious
    worship, provided the entire income of such land
    is appropriated for the purposes of such trust. It
    also protects lands assigned or donated by any
    person before the commencement of the said Act
    for the purpose of rendering services useful to the
    community, namely, maintenance of waterworks,
    lighting or filling of water-troughs for cattle. It
    also protects any land taken under management
    by a civil, revenue or criminal court as set out
    therein. There is a further safeguard ensuring

    14 WP 3230.19

    that the income from such lands is appropriated
    for the purposes of a trust covered by Section
    129(b). The explanation provides for the grant of
    a certificate by the Collector after holding an
    inquiry. Thus, the clear intention of Section 129
    is to protect certain lands from tenancy
    legislation where the lands or income from such
    lands is being utilised for public purposes set out
    there. In this context, if the tenancy of such lands
    is not made heritable, this would clearly be in
    furtherance of the purpose of exempting such
    lands under Section 129.

    14. In view of the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court,

    it is clear that since 24.8.1985 the possession of the petitioners

    on the land owned by the trust was illegal. It is not the case of

    the petitioners that immediately after the tillers’ day or till the

    filing of the proceeding by the present respondent no.1, they

    have taken the positive steps to confirm their ownership by any

    provision of the Act of 1958. As such, till the filing of the

    proceedings, the petitioners were found to be illegal in

    possession of the land, therefore, the proceedings which were

    filed under Section 120 of the Act of 1958 are independent in

    nature and by no stretch of imagination, the principle of res

    judicata is not applicable in the matter.

    15 WP 3230.19

    15. The other issue which is raised by the petitioners is that

    while issuing the certificate under Section 129 (b) of the act of

    1958, the notice which is mandatory to be issued to the tenant

    was not served on them and, therefore, the certificate which is

    obtained by the petitioners is not tenable in the eyes of law.

    In this regard, it would be pertinent to note that the certificate

    which is relied by the respondent no.1 is of dated 15.4.1967.

    The respondent no.1 has pointed out that as per the prevailing

    law, at the relevant time, the notice was not mandatory to be

    served on the tenant as the certification proceeding is between

    the trust and the Collector and no role is to be played by the

    tenant while issuing such notice. In support of this submission

    relied upon the judgment of Hon’ble Single Bench of this court

    in the case of Shrimant Jagdeorao Anandrao Pawar .vs. Kisan

    Namdeo Pawar and others, reported in 1979 Mh,L,J, 687.

    16. The respondent no.1 has pointed out that the said legal

    position first time in the year 1990 by the judgment of Division

    Bench of this court in the case of Keraba Dattu Borachate and

    others .vs. Shri Sheshashai and Vishnu Trust, reported in 1990

    Mh.L.J. 1183 was reversed by holding that the law laid down in
    16 WP 3230.19

    the case of Shrimant Jagdeorao Anandrao Pawar .vs. Kisan

    Namdeo Pawar and others (supra) is not a good law and

    thereby the judgment of the Hon’ble Single Judge was

    overruled. Hence, it is the submission of the respondent that

    while issuing the certificate in the year 1967, as per the

    prevailing law, the notice was not necessary to be served on the

    petitioner-tenant and, therefore, on this count the certificate

    issued in favour of trust cannot be held illegal. In my opinion,

    considering then legal position, notice was not necessary to

    issue to tenant, subsequent change in legal position would not

    made proceeding void.

    17. The third ground which the petitioners have raised

    before this court about the limitation of filing of such

    proceeding at the instance of the respondent-trust. According

    to the petitioners, the proceedings are not filed within a

    reasonable time after obtaining the certificate. The certificate

    was obtained in the year 1967 and the proceedings were filed in

    the year 2014 i.e. almost after period of 40 to 45 years. Hence,

    such proceeding cannot be held to be tenable in the eyes of law.

    In this regard, the respondent has pointed out that for filing the
    17 WP 3230.19

    proceeding under Section 120 of the Act of 1958, there is no

    limitation is prescribed. According to the respondent no.1-trust,

    the day on which the petitioners were found to be

    unauthorizedly occupying the land, from that date the cause of

    action was recurring one. There is no provision under the Act,

    by efflux of time, they became the owner of the land which was

    unauthorizedly occupied by them. In support of this submission,

    the petitioner has relied upon the two judgments of this court in

    the case of Kalidas alias Madhaorao Pande .vs. Wamanrao

    Narayan Pande, reported in 1979 Mh.L.J. 887 and Janrao

    Ganpatrao Ohe and others .vs. Bhimrao Madhavrao Aware,

    reported in 1986 Mh.L.J. 516, wherein this issue was

    considered elaborately and held that the provisions of the

    Limitation Act are not applicable to the proceedings filed under

    Section 120 of the Act of 1958. It would be relevant to refer

    Paras 10 and 11 of the judgment in the case of Janrao

    Ganpatrao Ohe and others .vs. Bhimrao Madhavrao Aware

    (supra) reads thus :

    10. The real question however, to be considered
    in my view is whether such a wider concept of
    the ‘Court’ is contemplated under the provisions
    of the Limitation Act. of the various judgments of
    the Supreme Court would show that a ‘Court’

    18 WP 3230.19

    contemplated under the provisions of the
    Limitation Act is an ordinary civil or criminal
    Court as is generally understood. I may for
    instance refer to the decision of the Supreme
    Court in the case of Nityanand M. Joshi and
    another v. The Life Insurance Corporation of
    India and others
    (AIR 1970 S.C. 209) in which it
    is held that the Limitation Act is applicable to the
    ordinary Courts. Even in the judgment in the
    case of The Kerala State Electricity Board
    Trivandrum v. T. P. Kunhatiumuna
    (AIR 1977 SC

    282) on which heavy reliance is placed on behalf
    of the petitioners to support their contention that
    Art. 137 of the that the Limitation Act is
    applicable to the applicants under any Act and
    not necessarily to the applications under the
    Code of Civil Procedure
    , the Supreme Court has
    taken the view that the Limitation Act would
    apply to any petitions, applications filed under
    the Act before a ‘Civil Court’ (see para 22 of the
    report). It may be seen that although the
    application in the said case was under the
    Telegraph Act, it lay before the District Judge
    who as found in the said case was an ordinary
    Court of civil jurisdiction.

    11. I may also observe that in the latest decision
    of the Supreme Court in the case of Sakuru v.
    Tanaji
    (cited supra) the view taken by the
    Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court
    in the case of K Venkaiah y. K. Venkateshwara
    Rao (AIR 1978 Andhra Pradesh 1661 is affirmed.
    The view taken by the Andhra Pradesh High
    Court in the said case is that the Limitation Act
    applies to any proceedings before the Civil or
    Criminal Courts and not to the proceedings
    before the Collector, who is not a Civil or a
    Criminal Court. It is therefore clear that for the
    application of the provisions of the Limitation Act
    is not enough that an authority of a tribunal
    19 WP 3230.19

    should be a ‘Court’ as is legally understood, but it
    must be an ordinary civil or criminal Court of the
    Land as the said expression is normally
    understood. The authorities under the Rent
    Control Order or under the Tenancy Act are not
    Civil or Criminal Court as they are generally
    understood. Hence, the provisions of the
    Limitation Act are not directly attracted to the
    proceedings under the said enactments. In this
    view of the matter, the contention raised on
    behalf of the petitioners that Art. 137 of the
    Limitation Act is applicable to the proceedings
    under section 120(c) of the Tenancy Act deserves
    to be rejected.

    In view of the law laid down by this court, the issue of

    limitation remains no more res integra and, therefore, it cannot

    be said that the proceedings which were filed by the petitioners

    are barred by limitation.

    18. The another ground which the petitioner has raised

    that he has filed the proceeding under Section 43 of the Act of

    1958 for determination the purchase price of the land and the

    proceeding has attended the finality and, therefore, the

    application filed under Section 20 of the Act of 1958 is not

    tenable. The perusal of the record shows that the proceedings

    under Section 43 of the Act of 1958 were filed by the petitioner

    after the decision of the Sub-Divisional Officer dated 27.2.2018.

    It is pertinent to note that the respondent no.1 immediately
    20 WP 3230.19

    after the decision of the Sub-Divisional Officer, dated 27.2.2018

    preferred the statutory revision before the Maharashtra

    Revenue Tribunal, Nagpur. During the pendency of such

    proceeding, the application was filed and same was decided

    during pendency of proceeding. In this regard, it would be

    relevant to refer the judgment of Hon’ble Single Bench of this

    court in the case of Vidarbha Maharogi Seva Mandal, Tapovan,

    Amravati .vs. Member, Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal, Nagpur

    and others, reported in 2016 (4) Mh.L.J. 645 . In Paras 40, 41

    and 42 of the judgment, the coordinate bench by recording the

    various provisions of the Act of 1958 and the judgment

    delivered by various benches has summed up the position of

    law which reads as under :

    40. The position of law can be summed up as
    under:

    (1) In order to claim exemption under section
    129(b) of the said Act, what is essential is that

    (i) the land in question is the property of a Trust
    for an educational purpose, hospital, panjarpole,
    Gaushala or an institution for public religious
    worship; and (ii) the entire income of the land is
    appropriated for the purposes of such Trust.

    (2) It is the factum of existence of Public Trust
    on or before 1-4-1961 and utilisation of the
    income from the land for the purposes of the
    Trust, which is required to be established, and it

    21 WP 3230.19

    is not necessary that such Public Trust should
    have been actually registered as such on or
    before the tillers’ day. Such requirement cannot
    be read in the Statute.

    (3) The grant of certificate of registration of
    Public Trust under section 20 of the Maharashtra
    Public Trusts Act, 1950 relates back to the date
    of formation or constitution of the Trust, as it is
    merely a recognition of the existing Trust.

    (4) The certificate of exemption issued under
    section 129(b) of the said Act operates on the
    facts which were in existence on the date of its
    issuance and it cannot be construed that the
    Trust became entitled to exemption only from
    the date of its issuance, i.e. prospectively.

    “(5) Once the certificate of exemption is granted
    under section 129(b), section 54 under Chapter
    III of the said Act ceases to apply and the legal
    heirs of the tenant shall not be entitled to inherit
    the tenancy, as the applicability of the ordinary
    law of inheritance is excluded”.

    41. The grant of exemption under section 129(b)
    of the said Act is the conclusive evidence of the
    fact that the land in question is the property of
    the Public Trust and the entire income therefrom
    is appropriated for the purposes of such Trust. In
    the absence of such certificate, the factum of
    existence of the Trust on or before the tillers’
    day, ie. 1-4-1961, and its utilisation of income
    from the land for the purposes of the Trust, will
    have to be established. There conditions are sine
    qua non to claim exemption from the
    applicability of Chapter III of the said Act.

    42. Though the tenant satisfies the requirement
    of sub-section (1) of section 46 or sub-section
    22
    WP 3230.19

    (1) of section 49-A under Chapter III of the said
    Act, the exemption under section 129(b) of the
    said Act can be claimed only after coming into
    force of the said Act. Once it is held that the
    Trust is entitled to exemption under section
    129(b) of the said Act, the provisions of Chapter
    III therein shall cease to apply to such land with
    effect from the tillers’ day, i.e. 1-4-1961 and
    [neither the legal heirs of the tenant shall be
    entitled to inherit the tenancy rights under
    section 54, nor shall be entitled to protection
    under section 120 of the said Act]. The Question
    No. (1) is, therefore, answered accordingly.

    In view of this legal position, proceeding filed by petitioners are

    nothing but non-est in the eyes of law.

    19. The last attempt made by the petitioners before this

    court by stating that the certificate which is obtained by the

    respondent no.1-trust found to be false and bogus. According

    to the petitioners, they have specifically moved application

    before the Collector, Akola to get the record of the proceeding

    under which the exemption certificate was obtained by the

    respondent no.1-trust. It is pointed out that the said application

    was made on 30.8.2018 before the Collector, Akola and it was

    informed by the Collector Office, Akola that on demand of the

    record from the concerned office, it was informed that as per
    23 WP 3230.19

    the report that the record is not available and, therefore, the

    details of the same cannot be supplied to him. On the strength

    of this application, it is their submission that the certificate

    obtained by the respondent no.1-trust found to be false and

    fabricated.

    20. The respondent no.1-trust has produced before the

    Revenue Tribunal as well as before this court the original copy

    of the certificate. The same was also objected by the petitioners

    stating that the seal and the signature of the officer seems to be

    doubtful. According to them, the respondent no.1 should

    produce the certified copy to demonstrate its validity before this

    court. The respondent no.1 from his docket has produced the

    certified copy of the exemption certificate before this court. The

    perusal of the said certified copy matched with Annexure-E

    (Page 26 and 27) filed by the petitioner himself with the

    petition. The perusal of certified copy shows same was

    obtained on 28.2.2016 and same is an authenticate copy

    obtained from the Sub-Divisional Officer, Akot. As such, there is

    no force in the submission of the petitioners that the certificate

    obtained by the petitioners is false and bogus.

    24 WP 3230.19

    21. In the light of above discussion, in my considered

    opinion, the judgment delivered by the Maharashtra Revenue

    Tribunal do not find any illegality or perversity on the face of

    the record. Moreover, the observations recorded in the

    judgment shows that by applying the judicial mind, the Tribunal

    has decided the proceeding. In the circumstances, it is not a fit

    case of any interference in the matter. Accordingly, the writ

    petition stands dismissed.

    (Pravin S. Patil, J.)
    Gulande

    Signed by: A.S. GULANDE
    Designation: Senior Pvt. Secretary
    Date: 17/07/2026 20:01:40



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