Holding

The Supreme Court held that the Karta could file the termination applications and the lack of prior notice under the Bombay Act did not invalidate the proceedings, but the lease deed dated 30‑April‑1951 could not be deemed genuine without a trial‑court inquiry, and therefore the matter must be remanded for determination of its authenticity.

Summary

The dispute involved about 20 acres of agricultural land owned by Trimbak Bhikaji Patil (respondent) and cultivated by Pundlik Krishna, Keshao Krishna and Zipra Wanchhu (appellants) since 1951, who claimed protected‑lessee status under the Berar Regulation of Agricultural Leases Act, 1951 and the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Vidarbha Region) Act, 1958. The respondent relied on a lease deed dated 30‑April‑1951, alleging that the original lessee, Pundlik, had sub‑let portions to the other two occupants, and filed ejectment applications invoking Section 8(1)(c)(f) of the Berar Act. The Sub‑Divisional Officer, Collector and Revenue Tribunal rejected the ejectment, the Tribunal holding that the lease deed might be forged and that the applications were invalid as they were filed by Trimbak alone. The High Court set aside the Tribunal, holding that the Karta could file the applications without his brother, that prior notice under the Bombay Act was not required, and that the lease deed was genuine. The Supreme Court allowed the tenants’ special leave petitions, upheld the High Court’s findings on the Karta and notice, but reversed its conclusion on the deed’s genuineness, directing the trial court to determine the authenticity of the 30‑April‑1951 lease deed before deciding the ejectment.

Issues considered

Whether the Karta of a joint family can file termination/ejectment applications without joining his brother as a party.
Whether the requirement of prior notice under the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Vidarbha Region) Act, 1958 applies when proceedings are initiated under the Berar Regulation of Agricultural Leases Act, 1951.
Whether the lease deed dated 30‑April‑1951 is genuine and whether the trial court must be remanded to inquire into its authenticity.
Whether the High Court erred in holding the lease deed to be genuine and in setting aside the Revenue Tribunal’s order.

Legislation cited

Subjects

lease deed authenticityprotected lesseeBerar ActBombay Tenancy ActKartaejectmentagricultural leaseprior noticespecial leave petition

Judgment

PUNDLIK KRISHNA JI AND ORS. A
v.
~ TRIMBAK BHIKAJI PATIL AND ORS.

APRIL 23, 1992

[KULDIP SINGH AND M. FATHIMA BEEVI, JJ.] B

Berar Regulation ofAgricultural Leases Act, 1951-Section 8( l)(c)(f)-
-"'1
Tenancy-Tennination-Applications by Karta offamity-Legality of.

Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands (Vidarbha Region) Act, 1958
-Proceedings under-Non-Compliance of prior notice-Effect.
c
Constitution of India, 195(}-Article 136-Appeal by special leav~Ap-
predation of High Court's finding-Lease deed dated 30-4-1951, whether
~- genuine.

Respondent No.1 was the owner of the disputed land. The land was
D
in cultivating possession of the appellant-tenants since 1951. They ac·
quired the status of protected lessees under the Berar Regulation of
Agricultural Leases Act, 1951 and the Bombay Tenancy amt Agricultural
Lands (Vidarbha Region) Act, 1958.
' E
The respondent filing two separate applications against the appel~
lants. Initiated proceedings before the Sub-Divisional Officer for ejectme::it
of the appellants on the ground that predecessor of the appellant No.1
T created sub-leases in favour of appellant No.2 and another and as such
their tenancy was liable to be terminated in term of section 8(1)(c)(t) of
the Berar Act. F
_-.,.
The appellants resisted the applications contending that all the three

, persons were independent lessees in their own rights and as such there
was no question of appellant No.1 having crented sub-leases in favour of
the other two.

The respondent No.1 produced a lease deed dated April 30, 1951 to
prove that all the three tracts of land were leased to appellant No.1 and
G

no part of the land was ever leased to appellant No.2 and another; and
that the original lessee, appellant No.1, sub•leased part of the land to the
.. ~ other two occupants. H
749
750 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1992) 2 S.C.R.

A The Sub~Divisional Officer allowed the applications of th~ respon-
dent No.1.

The appellants filed appeals before the Sub-Deputy Collector against
the order of the Sub-Divisional Officer, which were dismissed.

B The appellants-tenants went in revision before the Revenue. Tribunal •.
The Tribunal allowed the revision petitions of the appellants. .~

The respondent challenged the order of the Tribunal dated 25.3.1970
in the High Court on 4.8.1971. In order to get over the delay in tiling the
C writ petition the land-owner filed an affidavit stating that the papers in his
office remained unattended du~ to oversight and pressure of work and as
such the filing of the petitions was delayed.

The High Court allowed the petitions of the land-owner. These
appeals were filed by the tenants by way of special leave petitions against
D the judgment of the High Court.

Allowing the appeals of the tenants, this Court,

HELD : 1. There is no infirmity in the finding of the High Court that
the respondent No.I being the Karta of the family could file the applica- ·
E tions for termination of the tenancy without associating his brother.
[155 li-756 AJ ·~
2 The High Court was also right in rejecting the contention of the
tenant that the proceedings under the Bombay Act were illegal as the
requirement of prior notice .under the said Act was not complied with.
F ~M
3.01. The High Court erred in holding that the lease deed dated April
30, 1951 was a genuine document. No enquiry was held at any stage
regarding the genuineness of the lease deed. The Sub· ,Divisional Officer
refused to go into the question on the ground that there were no pleadings
G on the point. The Sub-Divisional Officer was obviously wrong because the
lease deed was filed by the respondent-land-owner after the pleadings were
completed. The Appellate Court was wholly unjustified in observing that
the appellants-tenants had admitted the execution of the le:o-se deed. The
appellants' case throughout had been that the lease deed was a forged
H document. [756 8-C]
PUNDLIK KRISHNA JI v. T.B. PATIL [KULDIP SINGH, J.] 751

~ 3.02. The High Court should have remanded the case to Trial Court A
for determining the genuineness of the lease deed dated April 30, 1951
specially when the case of the respondent-land-owner was wholly based on
the document. The High Court had no material before it to come to the
conclusion that the lease deed was a genuine document. [756 D-E]

---·( CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 349-50 of B
1978.

From the Judgment and Order dated 10.8.1977 of the Bombay High

- Court in Special Civil Application Nos. 230 and 235 of 1972.

Udai U. Lalit and C.K. Ratnaparkhi for the Appellants. c
~ P.K. Goswami, P.H. Parekh and Sunil Dogra for the Respondents-.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

KULDIP SINGH, J. These appeals are directed against the judg- D
ment of the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court directing the ejectment
of the appellants from three tracts of agricultural-land which the appellants
are in cultivating possession since 1951.

Respondent Bhikaji is the owner of about 20 acres of land subject-
matter of the dispute. The said land is in cultivating possession of the
E
appellants since 1951 and according to them, they have acquired the status
of protected lessees under the Berar Regulation of Agricultural Leases
Act, 1951 (hereinafter called 'the Berar Act') and the Bombay Tenancy
and Agricultural Lands (Vidarbha Region) Act, 1958 (hereinafter called
'the Bombay Act'). F
The respondent Bhikaji initiated proceedings before the Sub-
Divisional Officer Buldana for ejectment of the appellant~ on the ground
that predecessor of the first appellants created sub-leases in favour of
second appellant and one Zipra Wanchu and as such their tenancy was
liable to be terminated in terms of Section 8(1)(c)(f) of the Berar Act. G
Bhikaji filed two separate applications against the appellants. The applica-
tions were resisted by the appellants inter alia on the ground that all the
three persons, namely, Pundlik Krishna, Keshao Krishna and Zipra
Wanchhu were independent lessees in their own rights and as such there
was no question of Pundlik Krishnaji having created sub-leases in favour H
752 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992] 2 S.C.R.

A of the other two. Before the Sub-Divisional Officer, the respondent Bhikaji
produced a lease deed dated April 3(), 1951 to prove that all the three tracts
of land were leased to late Pundlik Krishnaji and no part of the land was
ever leased to Keshao Krishnaji and Zipra Wanchhu. It was sought to be
shown from the lease deed that the original lessee Pundlik Krishnaji
sub-leased part of the land to the other two occupants. The Sub-Divisional
B Officer accepted the contention of the respondent and ordered the eject-
ment of the appellants. The Sub-Divisional Officer proceeded on the
following reasoning:-

c
"The contention of the defendant Nos.1 and 2 that the lease of
the remaining half share of the suit land was created by the
plaintiff's brother Keshav Bhikaji with the defendant Nos.2 and
3 has no force ......
-
The defendant Nos. 1 and 2 contend that the original lease
deed dated 30.4.51 is a forged one, but they have failed to
D mention this fact in all their written statements or to show any
reason when questioned by the plaintiff's counsel... .. "

Pundlik Krishnaji and Keshao Krishnaji went in appeal before the
Sub-Deputy Collector against the order of the Sub-Divisional Officer. The
Collector dismissed the appeals. Regarding the lease deed relied upon by
E the respondent Bhikaji, the Collector observed as under:-

"The very fact that the appellant Pundlik executed a lease deed
of all these fields in favour of respondent Trimbak goes to prove
that he was the Karta of the family and his brother Keshao had
F no hand in the management on leasing out the property......

The execution of lease deed dated 30.4.51 by appellant Pundlik
in favour of the respondent Trimbak has been admitted by the
appellants ......

G On the other hand there is document "Lease Deed" dated
30.4.51 which clearly shows that appellant .Pundlik was the sole
lessee of the fields in question. I, therefore, agree with the
finding of the lower court that appellant Pundlik was a tenant
of the fields in question."

H The tenants further went in revision before the Revenue Tribunal.
P.UNDLIK KRISHNA JI v. T.B. PATIL [KULDIP SINGH, J.] 753

The Tribunal set aside the orders of the Sub-Divisional Officer and of the A
Sub-Collector and dismissed the ejectment applications of the respondent-
landlord. The Tribunal noticed the arguments of the appellants-tenants in
the following words:-

"Feeling aggrieved by this order, applicants filed two separate
' appeals. In their appeals, they urged that neither Keshao nor B
-(
Zipra Wanchhu was the sub-tenant of the fields in question.
Pundlik had not sublet the fields to them. The alleged lease
deed dated 30.4.51 was a forged document and adverse ~

-- ference against them should not have been drawn for their
failure to plead that the document dated 30.4.51 was a forged · C
one as the same was produced after written statements by the
applicants were already filed. Zipra Wanchhu was colluding
with landholder Trimbak Bhikaji and the story put up, by hi.m
should have been discarded .....

The Tribunal finally held as under:- D

"It has been contended by the applicants that the lease deed of
30.4.51 was a forgery. This contention of the applicants had not
been inquired into upon the short ground that it was not made
in the written statements of the applicants. The applicants say
that the lease deed dated 30.4.51 was filed after their written
E
statements. It is true that they could have amended their written
statements so as to allege forgery of the lease deed dated

-
30.4.51 when the same was filed. None-the-less, it appears to
me that the contention of forgery should have been inquired
into when the same was made by the applicants. It has been F
the case of applicants that Pundlik was the lessee of half of the
share in the fields survey numbers, whereas applicant No.2
Keshao Krishnaji and Zipra Wanchhu cultivated as the lessee
of the other half of the fields. They never said that they were
the lessees under any lease-deed. It was, therefore, necessary G
to find out as to whether the lease deed dated 30.4.51 was
genuine or forged document.

In the result, applications made by Trimbak Bhikaji alone
without joining Keshao Bhikaji, who was a necessary party ~o
the applications, are rejected." H
754 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1992] 2 S.C.R.

A The tenant challenged the order of the Tribunal. by way of two
petitions under Article 227 of the Ccnstitution of India before the Nagpur
Bench of the Bombay High Court. The order of the Tribunal dated March
25, 1970 was challenged in the Hir;h Court on August 4, 1971. In order to
get over the delay in filing the writ petition counsel for the land-owner filed
an affidavit stating that the papers in his office remained unattended due
B to oversight and pressure of work and as such the filing of the petitions
was delayed. The High Court allowed the petitions on the following
grounds:-

(1) The reasons f9r not filing the writ petitions diligently having been
C explained by the petitioner's advocate by filing an affidavit the petition
could not be dismissed on the ground of delay and latches.

(2) The Tribunal rejected the claim of the tenant-petitioner on the
only ground that the original applications were bad as petitioner's brother
D was not joined as a party. The High Court held that "Trimbak Bhikaji_Patil
being the Karta of the family could file the applications for ejectment in
that capacity".

(3) Regarding the lease deed April 30, 1951, the High Court held as
under :-
E
"There is one more circumstance. The lease deed that was
executed in respect of the suit lands was in favour of the
petitioner. It is dated 30.4.51. The lessee is respondent No.1.
Thus, the relationship of the landlord and tenant came into
F existence between the petitioner and respondent No.1. It will
not be normally open for respondent No.l to urge that the
petitioner alone is not his landlord. To get over this difficulty,
it was suggested at the time of the arguments that this lease
deed is forged one. The M.R.T. has considered this question
in a slip-shod-manner. The point as to the alleged forgery of
G lease deed was not taken in the written statement by any of the
respondents. In spite of that the M.R.T. has stated that the
contention of forgery should have been enquired into. I am not
able to accept this reasoning particularly when the Niab Tah-
sildar and the S.D.O. have accepted the lease deed as genuine
H one."
PUNDLIK KRISHNA JI v. T.B. PATIL [KULDIP SINGH, J.) 755

(4) Under the Berar Act, before initiating ejectment proceedings, no A
notice was required to be sent to the tenant but under the Bombay Act
there is requirement of the notice. It was argued on behalf of the tenant
that since in the year 1958. The Bombay Act had come into force repealing
the Berar Act and the proceedings, though initiated under the Berar Act,
were deemed to be under the Bombay Act, and becau~e no prior notice as
B
required by the Bombay Act was given, the proceedings were bad in law.
The High Court rejected the argument on the ground that the proceedings
having already been initiated under the Berar Act no notice was necessary

-
and the proceedings were rightly taken to be under the Bombay Act. ·

The High Court allowed the petition and set aside the order of the C
Tribunal. It is in these circumstances that these appeals by the tenants by
way of special leave petitions are before us.

We have heard learned counsel for the parties at length. We are of
the view that the High Court was not justified in reaching the conclusion
that the lease deed dated April 30, 1951 was a genuine document. D
The Tirbunal allowed the tenants' revision on the following grounds:-

(1) The land in question belonged to the. two brothers jointly. The
applications for ejectment were filed onty by Trimbak Bhikaji. The other
E
brother had not made the applications for terminating the tenancy either
,r separately or by joining his brother. The Tribunal came to the conclusion
that the applications by Trimbak Bhikaji alone were not competent and on
this ground the Tribunal rejected the applications.

(2) The Tribunal after examining the pleadings and the evidence on· F
the record came to the conclusion that the Courts below should have
enquired into the genuineness of the lease deed. The Tribunal reached the

-· finding "it was, therefore, necessary to .find out as to whether the lease deed
dated 30.4.51 was genuine or forged document".

A bare reading of the Tribunal's order shows that the Tribunal G
granted relief to the appellant-tenant on the above two grounds. We are
of the view that the High Court was justified in setting aside the Tribunal's
finding on the first point mentioned above. The High Court found that
.... l.. Trimbak Bhikaji being the Karta of the family could file the applications
for termination of the tenancy without associating his brother. We see no H
756 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1992] 2 S.C.R.

A infirmity in the said finding of the High Court. The High Court was also )....
right in rejecting the contention of the tenant that the proceedings under
the Bombay Act were illegal as the requirement of prior notice under the
said Act was not complied with. We are, however, of the view that the High
Court erred in holding that the lease deed dated April 30, 1951 was a
genuine document. No enquiry was held at any stage regarding the
B genuineness of the lease deed. The Sub-Divisional Officer refused to go ~
into the question on the ground that there were no pleadings on the point.
The Sub-Divisional Officer was obviously wrong because the lease deed
was filed by the respondent-land-owner after the pleadings were com-
pleted. The Appellate Court was wholly unjustifie.d in observing that the
c appellants-tenants had admitted the execution of the lease deed. The
~
appellant's case throughout had been that the. lease deed was a forged
document.
~
The Tribunal could not remand the case for enquiry into the genuine-
ness of the lease deed because it had allowed the revisions on two grounds.
D The High Court, having reversed the finding of the Tribunal on the first
point, should have remanded the case to the Trial Court for determining
the genuineness of the lease deed dated April 30, 1951 specially when the
case of the respondent-land-owner was wholly based on the said document.
The High Court had no material before it to come to the conclusion that
E the lease deed was a genuine document.

We, therefore, set aside the High Court judgment and also of the ~'
Courts below and remand the case to the concerned trial court for deciding
the ejectment applications filed by the respondent-land owner afresh after
affording opportunity to the parties in accordance with law. The trial court
F shall afford full opport~nity to the parties to produce evidence on the issue
of the genuineness or otherwise of the lease deed dated April 30, 1951.

V.P.R.
The appeals are allowed in the above terms with no order as to costs.

Appeals allowed .
---

•