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TMI Blog2003 (1) TMI 758X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in favour of the petitioners claiming right of occupation to the suit premises based on the registered Sale Deed dated 15-7-1998. The said Order was passed while exercising the powers under the provisions of law contained in Section 149 read with Section 150 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 (hereinafter called the said Code ). 3. Though the impugned order is sought to be challenged on various grounds, it is not necessary to consider all those grounds and suffice to refer to the ground regarding the scope of powers of the Revenue Officers under Section 149 read with Section 150 of the said Code and the contention of the petitioners about patently illegal exercise of the powers by the Revenue authorities and more particularly by Sub-Divisional Officer Gadhinglaj while allowing the appeal against the order of the Tahsildar as well as by the Additional Commissioner, Pune, while confirming the said order of the Sub-Divisional Officer. 4. Section 149 of the said Code provides that any person acquiring by succession, Survivorship, inheritance, partition, purchase, mortgage, gift, lease or otherwise, any right as holder, occupant, owner, mortgagee, land, Government lessee ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he Talathi to enter the particulars of such objection in a register of disputed cases and Talathi shall at once give a written acknowledgment for the objection to the person making it in the prescribed form. Sub-section (4) of Section 150 provides that the disputes entered in the register of disputed cases shall as far as possible be disposed of within one year by a revenue or survey officer not below the rank of an Aval Karkun and orders disposing of objections entered in such register shall be recorded in the register of mutations by such officer in such manner as may be prescribed by the rules made by the State Government in that behalf Sub-section (5) of Section 150 provides that the transfer of entries from the register of mutations to the record of rights shall be effected subject to such Rules as may be made by the State Government in that behalf, provided that entry in the register of mutations shall not be transferred to the record of rights until such entry has been duly certified. Sub-section (6) of Section 150 deals with the certification of the entries by the Revenue officer; and Sub-section (7) speaks of State Government's power to direct for maintenance of regist ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to Certification of entries in a register, the entries are required to be made in pencil as per Rule 13. 7. As per Rule 14 of the said rules, the intimation which a Talathi is required to give under Sub-section (2) of Section 150 of the Code should be in form IX, whereas the acknowledgment for objections received in respect of entries made under Sub-section (1) of Section 150 of the Code should be in form X. hi terms of form IX the intimation of entry in the register of mutation regarding acquisition of the right in land has to be specified in three columns of said form. The first column thereof to have serial number or date, of entry in the register, second column to disclose the nature of rights acquired and the third column to reveal survey numbers or sub-division number in which the rights have been acquired. The notice in the said form is to be issued to the persons interested or believed to be interested in the mutation. Form X is the format of acknowledgment of objections to mutation entry. Rule 16 specifies the Form III to be register of disputed cases referred to in Sub-section (3) of Section 150 of the Code. The said form is to comprise of six columns. The first colum ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... place and time fixed for deciding disputes about the entry or entries, as the case may be, the certifying officer is expected to read out the mutation entries which are undisputed in the presence of the persons present. If the correctness of such entries is admitted by all the persons present, the certifying officer should record such admission in the register of mutations, and add an endorsement under his signature that the entries have been duly certified. If any error in respect of any entry entered in the register of mutations is noticed by the certifying officer, and such error is admitted by the persons interested in the entry who may be present, the certifying officer may correct that entry and certify the corrected entry as aforesaid. The certifying officer shall then hold a summary enquiry and decide each dispute entered in the register of disputed cases on the basis of possession, that is to say if a person actually holds possession under a claim of title, he shall be recorded as Occupant Class I, Occupant Class II or, as the case may be, Government lessee in the register of disputed cases. If there is a doubt as to the actual possession, the person with the strongest tit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e register of mutations and if found correct or after correction the same to be certified ................ in such manner as may be prescribed . Thus, the objections which are to be entertained and to be dealt with under Section 150 of the said Code by such Revenue officers are in relation to the entries proposed to be made pursuant to acquisition of rights by the parties intimated under the report made by the parties or by the registering authorities to the Talathi and not in relation to the right itself of the parties in or to the immovable properties. The enquiry pursuant to such reports to the Revenue Officers, has to be restricted to the matters pertaining to the mutation of the entries in the revenue records. Such enquiry cannot travel beyond the power given to the authorities under the said provision of law. Such power being restricted to ascertain the veracity of the proposed entry, based on the document produced by the parties, the authorities cannot adjudicate upon the rights acquired by the parties to such properties in respect of which the mutation of entry is requested for. In other words the Authorities in such enquiry will have to ascertain as to whether document ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ciding disputes relating to the mutation in the entries, and not of decision relating to the rights of the parties in or to the properties. It further speaks of fixing the matter for hearing consequent to the objections raised to the entries, in order to decide the dispute for the purpose of certifying the entries and not to decide the rights of parties to the properties. Only other issue which can be dealt with by the revenue authorities under the said provisions of law is the issue of actual possession of the properties. In that respect also, the Revenue Officer acting under Sections 149 and 150 of the said Code while deciding the issue of possession has to give due credence to the documentary evidence and the person having documentary proof of title to the property either in the form of valid and lawful registered deed or a decree of the court, then such person shall be held to be in actual possession. This conclusion is inevitable in view of the provisions of law contained in part D of the said rules and particularly Rule 17 thereof which provides that The certifying officer shall then hold a summary enquiry and decide each dispute entered in the register of disputed cases on ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ved that: So far as the proceedings under Rule 108 of the Rules, popularly known as RTS proceedings, are concerned, it is well settled that the entries made in the revenue records have primarily a fiscal value and they do not create any title. Such mutations have to follow either the documents of title or the orders passed by competent authorities under special enactments. Independently the Revenue Authorities, as mentioned in Rule 108 of the Rules, cannot pass orders of cancelling the entries on an assumption that the transaction recorded in the entry are against the provisions of a particular enactment. Whether the transaction is valid or not has to be examined by the competent authority under the particular enactment by followings the procedure prescribed therein and by giving an opportunity of hearing to the concerned parties likely to be affected by any order that may be passed. 15. In the case in hand it is not in dispute that the petitioners had produced a registered sale deed dated 15-7-1998 while requesting for entry in their favour in mutation register. The Talathi based on the said document had allowed the application filed by the petitioners and had carried ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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