In Brief
The Supreme Court affirmed the High Court's decision quashing an exemption certificate granted to a public trust under Section 88B of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act. Although the Shree Maruti Deo Trust was validly registered as a public religious trust in 1984, tenants on the land had already become deemed purchasers on Tillers' Day (1 April 1957). The Court held that subsequent trust registration cannot divest rights that vested in tenants on the statutory vesting date. The phrase "deemed to be registered" applies only to trusts previously listed under specific enactments' schedules, not all public trusts. Once ownership vests in tenants by operation of law, it cannot be retroactively revested in a later-registered trust.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.