In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision annulling occupancy rights granted to land purchasers in 1982, finding that the protected tenants had acquired full ownership rights in 1975 under Section 38-E of the Tenancy Act. The Court held that the alleged surrender of protected tenancy rights—claimed to be made orally in 1954 and in writing in 1957—was invalid because it violated statutory requirements under Section 38-E(5) read with Section 19(1)(a), which mandate that surrender must be written, admitted before the Tahsildar, and made in good faith. The occupancy rights certificate granted in 1982 could not coexist with the ownership rights vested in the protected tenant and was void. The Court partially allowed the appeals only with respect to land in survey numbers 61 and 62, which was not claimed as part of the protected tenancy.
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