The Gazetteers Department

The Maharashtra Revenue Patils (Abolition of Office) Act, 1962 has been made applicable to this district from January 1, 1963. According to the provisions of this Act all the posts of hereditary revenue and police patils have been abolished from that date and stipendiary police patils have been appointed (under Section 5 of the B.V.P. Act, 1867 as per instructions contained in Government letter, H.D., No. BVP-3462-II-VI, dated 18th May 1962 read with Government Circular, R.D., No. WTN-1062-L, dated 6th August 1962). As the Prant Officers are competent to appoint stipendiary police patils (under Section 5 of the B.V. Police Act, 1867), orders of appointment of stipendiary police patils under the said Section have been issued appointing the patils who were doing duties of Police Patil as on December 31, 1962 and they are functioning as such from 1st January 1963.

The patil is the principal official in a village. The duties of the Patil fall under the following heads; (i) revenue; (ii) quasi-magisterial; and (iii) administrative. His revenue duties are—

(i) to collect the revenue due to Government from the rayats in conjunction with the talathi (village accountant);

(ii) to detect encroachments on Government land and protect trees and other property of Government;

(iii) to execute the orders received from the taluka office in connection with recovery of revenue and other matters;

(iv) to get the talathi to maintain properly the record of rights and village accounts and to get him to submit the periodical returns punctually; and

(v) to render assistance to high officials visiting the. village for inspection work and other purposes.

There are quasi-magisterial functions appertaining to the police patil. In a majority of villages the same person is both the police and the revenue patil. The police patil is responsible for the writing up of the birth and death register and for the care of unclaimed property found in the village. Several duties have been imposed on the police patil by the Bombay Village Police Act (VIII of 1867). The village police is under his charge and he has authority to require all village servants to aid him in performing the duties entrusted to him. He has to utilise the village establishment in a manner so as to afford the utmost possible security against robbery, breach of the peace and acts injurious to the public and to the village community. It is the police patil's duty to furnish the taluka magistrate with any returns of information called for and keep him constantly informed as to the state of crime and the health and general rendition of the community in his village. He has to afford police officers every assistance in his power when called upon by them for assistance. Further, he has to obey and execute all orders and warrants issued to him by an executive magistrate or a police officer: collect and communicate to the district police intelligence affecting the public peace; prevent within the limits of his village the commission of offences and public nuisances; and detect and bring offenders therein to justice. If a crime is committed within the limits of the village and the perpetrator of the crime escapes or is not known, he has to forward immediate information to the police officer in charge of the police station within the limits of which his village is situated, and himself proceed to investigate the matter and obtain all procurable evidence and forward it to the police officer. If any unnatural or sudden death occurs, or any corpse is found, the police patil is bound to assemble an inquest, to be composed of two or more intelligent persons belonging to the village or neighbourhood. The report of the inquest has then to be forwarded by him to the police officer. He has also to apprehend any person in the village who he has reason to believe has committed any serious offence and send him, together with all articles to be useful in evidence, to the police officer.

As regards the patil's administrative duties, he is expected to look to the sanitation and public health of the village. He must also report promptly the outbreak of any epidemic disease to the taluka office. He is expected to render every assistance to travellers, provided payment is duly tendered.

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