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Bhimabai Mahadeo Kambekar vs Arthur Import & Export Co.

Supreme Court31 January 2019R. Subhash Reddy · Abhay Manohar Sapre

Ratio decidendi

The rule this decision rests on

Mutation of land in revenue records does not create, extinguish, or alter the title to such land; it has no presumptive value on questions of title and serves only to enable the person in whose favour the mutation is recorded to pay land revenue.

Written by Miss Lucy from the judgment below, not taken from a headnote.

Judgment

As delivered

REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL No.1330 OF 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P.(c) No.9394 of 2012)

Smt. Bhimabai Mahadeo Kambekar (D) Th. LR ….Appellant(s)

VERSUS

Arthur Import and Export Company & Ors. …Respondent(s)

JUDGMENT

Abhay Manohar Sapre, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal is directed against the final

judgment and order dated 30.09.2011 passed by

the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Writ

Petition No.6235 of 2011 whereby the Single Judge

of the High Court dismissed the writ petition filed by Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by ANITA MALHOTRA the appellants herein.

Date: 2019.01.31 17:34:25 IST Reason: 1

3. Few facts need mention infra to appreciate the

short controversy involved in this appeal.

4. The dispute, which has reached to this Court

in this appeal at the instance of one party to such

dispute, arises out of and relates to the entries

made in the revenue records in relation to the

disputed land.

5. The dispute began from the Court of

Superintendent of land records. Thereafter it

reached to the Deputy Director of Land Records in

appeal. It then reached to the State in revision and

lastly, in the High Court in writ petition resulting in

passing the impugned order which has given rise to

filing of the present appeal by way of special leave in

this Court by the appellants.

6. Heard learned counsel for the parties.

7. The law on the question of mutation in the

revenue records pertaining to any land and what is

its legal value while deciding the rights of the

2 parties is fairly well settled by a series of decisions

of this Court.

8. This Court has consistently held that mutation

of a land in the revenue records does not create or

extinguish the title over such land nor it has any

presumptive value on the title. It only enables the

person in whose favour mutation is ordered to pay

the land revenue in question. (See Sawarni(Smt.)

vs. Inder Kaur, (1996) 6 SCC 223, Balwant Singh

& Anr. Vs. Daulat Singh(dead) by L.Rs. & Ors.,

(1997) 7 SCC 137 and Narasamma & Ors. vs. State

of Karnataka & Ors., (2009) 5 SCC 591).

9. The High Court while dismissing the writ

petition placed reliance on the aforementioned law

laid down by this Court and we find no good ground

to differ with the reasoning and the conclusion

arrived at by the High Court. It is just and proper

calling for no interference.

10. It is not in dispute that the civil suits in

relation to the land in question are pending in the

3 Courts between the parties. Therefore, it would not

be proper to embark upon any factual inquiries into

the question as to whether the entries were properly

made or not and at whose instance they were made

etc. in this appeal. It is more so when they neither

decide the title nor extinguish the title of the parties

in relation to the land.

11. In the light of the foregoing discussion, we are

not inclined to entertain the submission of Mr.

Naphade, learned senior counsel for the appellants

when he urged the issues on the facts.

12. To conclude, we find no merit in this appeal.

It fails and is accordingly dismissed.

………...................................J. [ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE]

…...……..................................J. [R. SUBHASH REDDY]

New Delhi;

January 31, 2019

4

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