In Brief
A cultivating tenant challenged the loss of his statutory right to purchase agricultural land when his landlord (a widow) died without notifying him. Under the Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948, tenants of disabled landlords (widows, minors, disabled persons) have a postponed right to purchase. The 1969 amendment required a landlord who attained majority to notify the tenant. The Court held that this intimation obligation extends equally to successors of widows and persons whose disability ceases, as the tenant cannot meaningfully exercise the purchase right without knowing when the disability ends. The Court overruled prior judgments, struck down discriminatory language, and allowed the tenant's 2008 purchase application to proceed, advancing the agrarian reform object of vesting land in tillers.
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