JAMKHANDI MUNICIPALITY Vs. LAXMAVVA VENKAPPA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Jamkhandi Municipality constituted under the Bombay District Municipal Act, 1901, is the defendant No.1 in the suit out of which this RSA.662/65 from RA.58/64 Civil Judge, Bijapur. second appeal arises. That was a suit brought by the plaintiff for an injunction restraining the Municipality froni disturbing her possession and enjoyment of the suit property and from creating a fresh lease in respect of it. It is admitted that there was a lease of the suit property by the Municipality to the plaintiff on the 6th of June 1957. The term of that lease was five years and on its expiry, the Municipality purported to terminate the lease by a notice issued in that regard and announced a sale of the lease right by public auction. It was at that stage the plaintiff brought her suit.

(2.) It was asserted by the plaintiff that under S. 4B o'f the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, it was not within the competence of the Municipality to terminate the lease in her favour merely on the ground that the term of the lease had expired and that she had a right to continue to be in possession of the property. But the Municipality contended that the provisions of BT. & AL. Act do not govern the lease granted by it and that in any event the suit which was not preceded by the issue of a notice under S.167A of the Bombay District Municipal Act was not maintainable.

(3.) It was also maintained by the Municipality that the jurisdiction to decide the question whether the land was agricultural land so as to attract the provisions of the BT. & AL. Act did not reside in the Civil Court and that that issue had to be referred to a Tenancy authority under S.85A of the BT. & AL. Act. The Courts below repelled these defences to the suit and gave the plaintiff the decree which she wanted and so the Municipality appeals. It is abundantly clear that the argument advanced on behalf of the Municipality that the Courts below had no jurisdiction to decide whether the land was agricultural land is without substance. S.88B of the BT. & AL. Act exempts leases granted by a local authority from all the provisions of that Act other than those expressly enumerated in that section, which reads :