Madgavkar, J - (1.)The plaintiff's suit under the Dekkhan Agriculturists Relief Act was dismissed in both the lower Courts which held that she was not an agriculturist within the meaning of Section 2 of the Dekkhan Agriculturists Belief Act. She applies in revision.
(2.)The facts as found by both the lower Courts are that the plaintiff is a Maratha woman and that she was left a widow at an early age and returned to her parent's house and assisted in the cultivation of her brother's lands, which are situated close to the town of Satara, She has also been in the habit, for many years past, of taking her own milk along with that purchased from others, for selling it at a profit in the town. From the profits of the sale of milk she had purchased, and on the date of the institution of the suit was in possession of, some small lands of her own. The profit from these lands is, however, less than her profit from the sale of milk. It also appears not only from her own evidence but also from that of the defendant- opponent that on her return to her village she assists her brothers in the cultivation of their lands in the afternoon, and also takes some part personally in the cultivation of her own lands, even though her own part may be confined to work more suitable to a woman such as weeding. On these facts both the Courts held, firstly, that her agricultural income was less than the income derived from of the sale of milk, and secondly, that her personal labour in her own field or in those of her brothers did not suffice to cause her "ordinarily" to engage personally in agricultural labour.
(3.)On the question of jurisdiction, under Section 115, Civil Procedure Code, this Court is reluctant to interfere in cases under the Dekkhan Agriculturists Belief Act, where the revisional powers of the District Judge suffice: Gurubasaya V/s. Chanmalappa (1894) I.L.R. 19 Bom. 286. On the other hand, it is argued for the petitioner that the case now in question is one which repeatedly occurs in different parts of the Presidency and an authoritative decision is therefore a matter of some importance. As this application has been admitted, it must, I think, be disposed of on the merits.