Welcome to Maharashtra Revenue Tribunal

Sec. 296(2) of the Government of India Act, 1935, provided that if in any Province no Provision is made to entertain appeals or revision applications against the decisions in Revenue Cases, the Governor shall in the first instance constitute a Tribunal for that purpose. The members of the Federal and the Provincial Legislatures were debarred from being Members of the Tribunal, and power was given to the Provincial Legislature to pass a law to constitute such Tribunal, Accordingly, on the coming into force of the Government of India Act, i.e. on 1st April 1937, the Governor of Bombay by G.N.R.D. No. 4877/33, of that date, constituted a Tribunal which consisted .. of three Commissioners of three Divisions, (viz., Northern, Central and Southern) and the Commissioner of Excise, to excise appellate and revision jurisdiction in revenue cases. Sec. 296 of the Government of India Act, however, did not define what a revenue case was the Tribunal thus set up, continued to decide revenue cases until the Bombay Revenue Tribunal Act, 1939, was passed by the Bombay Legislature. Section 3 of the said Act empowered Government to constitute a Tribunal, but the number, and qualifications of the Members of the Tribunal were left to be determined by rules to be made by Government under the said Act. Section 4 provided that the Tribunal was exercise such jurisdiction to entertain appeals and revise decisions in revenue cases as was vasted in Government immediately before the 1st April, 1937 under any law for the time being in force. Sub-section (2) of that section empowered the Tribunal to exercise jurisdiction under several Acts which were mentioned in the Schedule to the Act. Accordingly, rules were made for the construction of the Tribunal. The said rules provided that the President shall be a person who is or has been a judge of High Court, or the Principle judge of the City Civil Court, Bombay, and the other Members may be officials and non-officials who were to be appointed by the state Government.

The Bombay Revenue Tribunal Act, 1939 continued to be in force until 31st may 1958. But the jurisdiction of under various Land Tenure Abolition Acts and also under the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948. As stated before the Tribunal continued to work under the Act decided by circulation of notes ad in few cases only where the Members of the Tribunal considered that the parties should be represented by pleaders and heard, were so heard. But since 1955 all cases are heard in open court and the parties are allowed to be represented by pleaders.