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1. On August 22, 1949, the respondent made an application in the Revenue Court of the Mamlatdar of Sirsi, District Kanara, praying for delivery of possession of property which the appellant was on that date possessing as the tenant under him, on the basis of a "Mulegeni" deed executed by the respondent's predecessor-in-interest in favour of the appellant's predecessor-in-interest. One of the terms of the lease was that if rent for three consecutive years fell in arrears the Mulegeni right will be void and the lessee should hand over possession of the property to the lessor. In the application made in the Mamlatdar's Court the respondent based his claim for possession on this express condition in the lease as also on an alleged termination by him of the tenancy. The Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948 (Bombay Act No. LXVII of 1948), hereinafter referred to as the Bombay Tenancy Act, which it is not disputed applied to this tenancy contained provision for termination of tenancy in its s. 14.

3. On appeal the Collector of Kanara held that the Mamlatdar who had made the order had no power under the Bombay Tenancy Act and so had no jurisdiction to make such an order. He also held that the plaintiff-respondent was not entitled to an order for possession as the tenancy had not been terminated by due notice. Accordingly, he allowed the appeal and set aside the order of the Mamlatdar.

4. Against this order the landlord (plaintiff-respondent) appealed to the Bombay Revenue Tribunal. Before that Tribunal the question of the Mamlatdar's jurisdiction does not appear to have been raised. The Tribunal held that the Bombay Tenancy Act was applicable to lands held on Mulegeni tenure but the landlord must fail because he had failed to terminate the tenancy by notice before instituting the action for ejectment. Accordingly, he rejected the application for possession.

5. The landlord (plaintiff-respondent) then made an application to the High Court of Bombay and prayed that it may be pleased "to exercise its power of superintendence over the Bombay Revenue Tribunal under Art. 227 of the Constitution of India, by calling for the record and proceedings in the case, and on perusal thereof set aside the order of the Tribunal and the Collector and restore the order of the Mamlatdar, by issuing the writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ." The High Court was of opinion that the Tribunal had committed an error which was apparent on the face of the record in holding that an order of possession could not be made unless a notice terminating the tenancy had been given before the institution of proceedings. In that view the Court issued a writ of certiorari, quashed the order of the Tribunal and restored the order of the Mamlatdar.

"14. Termination of tenancy : (1) Notwithstanding any agreement, usage, decree or order of a Court of law, the tenancy of any land held by a tenant shall not be terminated unless such tenant :-
(a) (i) has failed to pay in any year, within 15 days from the day fixed for the payment of the last instalment of land revenue in accordance with the rules made under the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879, for that year, the rent of such land for that year, or
(ii) if an application for the determination of reasonable rent is pending before the Mamlatdar or the Collector under section 12, has failed to deposit within 15 days from the aforesaid date with the Mamlatdar or the Collector, as the case may be, a sum equal to the amount of rent which he would have been liable to pay for that year if no such application has been made, or