The Petitioner, Debashish Devnarayan Ghosh, challenged orders passed by the Revenue Minister and Additional Commissioner, Konkan Division, which condoned a 34-year delay in filing an RTS Appeal and set aside a 1989 Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) order. The 1989 SDO order had held, after due inquiry, that Babu Nana Jadhav (the original tenant whose tenancy rights the Petitioner claims through adoption) belonged to the 'Sonkoli' caste and not a Scheduled Tribe, thereby finding no unlawful tribal-to-non-tribal land transfer. The Petitioner argued that the inordinate 34-year delay was wholly unexplained and ought not to have been condoned, and that the appellate authorities erred in setting aside the SDO's order on the ground that it was passed against a deceased person, since the SDO had wide suo motu inquisitorial powers under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code. The Petitioner further contended that the SDO's order was based on evidence including statements of Babu Jadhav's wife and daughter and school leaving certificates, all confirming the Sonkoli (non-tribal) identity, and that the order could not be voided merely because Babu Jadhav had died before it was passed. The judgment records the submissions of both sides but, as reproduced, does not yet set out the court's final findings and operative order.