Case Note & Summary
The writ petition challenged a judgment and order dated 31/08/2017 passed by the District Judge, Mapusa in Tenancy Appeal No.264/2015. That appeal arose from an order of the Mamlatdar of Bicholim under the Goa, Daman and Diu Agricultural Tenancy Act, 1964. Initially, the appeal was filed before the Deputy Collector but, due to a previous amendment, it stood transferred to the District Court. Subsequently, the Goa Agricultural Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 2017 was enacted. Section 9(2) of the Amendment Act provided that all appeals and revisions pending before the District Court immediately before the commencement of the Amendment Act shall stand transferred to the Collector. The Amendment Act was published in the official gazette and came into force on 31/08/2017, the very day on which the impugned judgment was delivered. Thus, on the date of decision, the District Judge had been divested of jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. The High Court noted that the impugned judgment was rendered without jurisdiction and set it aside. The appeal was restored to the file of the District Judge with a direction to transfer it to the Deputy Collector, Bicholim for disposal according to law. The parties were directed to appear before the Deputy Collector on 14/06/2018. Rule was made absolute with no order as to costs.
Headnote
A) Civil Procedure - Jurisdiction of District Judge in Tenancy Appeal - Effect of Statutory Transfer of Pending Appeals - Goa Agricultural Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 2017, Section 9(2) - The Mamlatdar's order was challenged in appeal before the District Judge. However, on the very day the judgment was delivered, the Amendment Act came into force, providing that all pending appeals shall stand transferred to the Collector. Held that the District Judge had ceased to have jurisdiction, rendering the impugned judgment void, and the appeal was restored to be transferred to the Deputy Collector (Paras 2-4).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the District Judge had jurisdiction to decide Tenancy Appeal No.264/2015 on 31/08/2017 in light of the Goa Agricultural Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 2017 which came into force on that day and transferred all pending appeals to the Collector.
Final Decision
The petition was partly allowed. The impugned judgment and order was set aside. The appeal was restored to the file of the District Judge with a direction to transfer it to the Deputy Collector, Bicholim for disposal according to law. Parties to appear before the Deputy Collector on 14/06/2018. Rule made absolute with no order as to costs.
Law Points
- Amendment Act 2017 transferred pending appeals from District Judge to Collector
- impugned judgment passed on same day of amendment's commencement lacked jurisdiction
- void order
- statutory transfer of jurisdiction
Case Details
2018 LawText (BOM) (04) 119
Writ Petition No.999 of 2017
C. Padgaonkar, G. Shirodkar
Smt. Mali alias Malini Namdeo Naik & Ors.
Shri Ravindra Raghunath Samant & Ors.
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Nature of Litigation
Writ petition challenging the judgment and order of the District Judge in a tenancy appeal.
Remedy Sought
Petitioners sought to set aside the District Judge's order for lack of jurisdiction and to have the appeal transferred to the appropriate authority.
Filing Reason
The District Judge passed the impugned judgment on the same day the Goa Agricultural Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 2017 came into force, which transferred pending appeals from the District Court to the Collector, thereby divesting the District Judge of jurisdiction.
Previous Decisions
The Mamlatdar of Bicholim passed an order under the Agricultural Tenancy Act, against which an appeal was filed initially before the Deputy Collector, later transferred to the District Court and numbered as Tenancy Appeal No.264/2015. The District Judge decided it on 31/08/2017.
Issues
Whether the District Judge had jurisdiction to decide Tenancy Appeal No.264/2015 on 31/08/2017 in light of the Goa Agricultural Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 2017 which came into force on that day and transferred all pending appeals to the Collector.
Ratio Decidendi
The Goa Agricultural Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 2017, Section 9(2) provided for automatic transfer of pending appeals from the District Court to the Collector. Since the amendment came into force on 31/08/2017, the day the impugned judgment was delivered, the District Judge had ceased to have jurisdiction, rendering the judgment void.
Judgment Excerpts
Section 9(2). All appeals and revisions against the orders passed by the Mamlatdar, pertaining to the applications and/ or proceedings referred to in sub- section (1), filed and pending with the District Court, if any, immediately before the commencement of the Goa Agricultural Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 2017, shall, on such commencement, stand transferred to the Collector having jurisdiction over such matters...
It can, thus, clearly be seen that the day on which the appeal came to be decided, the learned District Judge by virtue of the Amendment Act, had ceased to have jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. In such circumstances, the impugned judgment would be rendered without jurisdiction.
Procedural History
The Mamlatdar of Bicholim passed an order under the Goa, Daman and Diu Agricultural Tenancy Act, 1964. An appeal was filed initially before the Deputy Collector, which was later transferred to the District Court and numbered as Tenancy Appeal No.264/2015. The Goa Agricultural Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 2017 came into force on 31/08/2017, transferring all pending appeals to the Collector. On the same day, the District Judge decided the appeal. The petitioners filed Writ Petition No.999 of 2017 before the High Court challenging the District Judge's order.
Acts & Sections
- Goa, Daman and Diu Agricultural Tenancy Act, 1964:
- Goa Agricultural Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 2017: Section 9(2)
