It would clearly indicate that the legislature intended to protect the leasehold rights of a protected tenant and the surrender being in derogation of the right, Section 6(1) enjoins to divest that right only when the tenant surrenders agricultural leases only by a registered document executed in favour of the landholder surrendering tenancy rights thereunder. Then only the protected tenant ceases to be a lessee of the agricultural lands. Admittedly, though the document Annexure I marked in this paper book was executed on January 3, 1956 surrendering his rights in the aforesaid land it was not through a registered instrument and that, therefore, the surrender is clearly illegal and in violation of mandatory provision. The contention of Shri Joshi is that the evidence on record shows that the appellant had voluntarily surrendered and it is not vitiated by any fraud or coercion and, therefore, the finding is well justified. We find no force in the contention. It is seen that only if the document is a registered instrument the question of enquiry into fraud or coercion would arise and the Tribunals need to go into that question. If the instrument is not a registered instrument, then the question of genuineness or fraud or coercion need not be gone into as the surrender gets crushed under the fringing facts of Section 6(1) of Berar Act.
Supreme Court of India
Junjaram vs Bhaurao & Ors on 22 February, 1996
Equivalent citations: 1996 AIR 1885, JT 1996 (3) 55
Bench: Ramaswamy, K.
