In a significant move to enhance transparency and efficiency in land revenue proceedings in Maharashtra, the state’s Cabinet has sanctioned amendments to the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966. These amendments now permit the service of notices for revenue hearings via email, a decision aimed at expediting the process. Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule introduced the proposal.
Previously, notices for revenue hearings necessitated personal delivery or postal service under the existing provisions of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code. However, issues like delays, incorrect addresses, and non-receipt of notices often led to prolonged adjournments. With the alteration in Section 230, serving a notice to the party’s registered email ID will now be considered legally valid.
Around 12,000 land-related cases are pending at the secretariat level, with a significant portion of delays attributed to the time-consuming physical notice process. Minister Bawankule highlighted that the major bottleneck of ‘non-receipt of notice’ in revenue courts has been addressed through the acceptance of email-based notice service. This change is expected to streamline the justice delivery process in revenue matters, making it more efficient and reliable.
Minister Bawankule emphasized that the new provision will save time previously spent on postal dispatch or personal service, enhance transparency, offer technical evidence of email dispatch and delivery, eradicate the excuse of “notice not received,” prevent repeated adjournments, and ensure swifter justice delivery. This digitization of notice service aligns with the government’s commitment to a paperless and effective administration, supporting the Digital India initiative.
