A.A. SHIRDONE ETC vs SAHEB H. TAJBHOKHARI

The Supreme Court held that mortgagees in possession do not acquire the status of 'deemed tenants' under Section 2A of the Bombay Tenancy Act of 1939, as amended in 1946, due to the exclusion of mortgagees from the definition of tenants in the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act of 1948. The Court overruled previous decisions that suggested otherwise, affirming that the suits must be governed by the 1939 Act, and the plaintiff's right to declare the defendants as non-tenants was lost due to failure to act within the stipulated time. The Court clarified that actual possession can only be granted by the revenue court, not the civil court, leading to a decree for symbolic possession only.