Mandatory tenancy surrender safeguards require strict compliance; non-observance of statutory procedure invalidates the surrender.

Statutory safeguards for surrender of tenancy were held mandatory: the surrender had to be in writing, verified before the Mamlatdar, and endorsed as voluntary and understood by the tenant. Those requirements were treated as substantive protections against coercion, undue influence, and improvidence, so mere recording of statements without the prescribed satisfaction or endorsement did not amount to substantial compliance. Applying the rule that a prescribed statutory mode must be followed exactly, the non-observance of the procedure vitiated the surrender. The tenancy therefore remained lawfully subsisting, and the surrender was invalid and ineffectual.

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Issues: Whether the alleged surrender of tenancy was valid despite non-compliance with the statutory requirements of writing, verification before the Mamlatdar, and endorsement of satisfaction regarding voluntariness and understanding of consequences.

Analysis: The statutory scheme protected tenants by requiring that a surrender be in writing, verified before the Mamlatdar, and endorsed as having been made voluntarily and with understanding of its nature and consequences. These requirements were enacted to guard against coercion, undue influence, and improvidence, and the language of the provision and the rule was held to be imperative. The officer's order merely recorded statements and did not contain the prescribed satisfaction or endorsement. Such verification was not an empty formality but the substance of the statutory safeguard, and there was no substantial compliance. Applying the settled principle that where the law prescribes a manner for doing a thing, it must be done in that manner or not at all, non-observance of the mandatory procedure vitiated the surrender.

Conclusion: The surrender was invalid and ineffectual; the tenancy was not lawfully terminated, and the appeals failed.

Final Conclusion: The statutory safeguards for surrender of tenancy were mandatory, their breach rendered the surrender void, and the tenant was entitled to succeed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute prescribes a protective procedure for surrender of tenancy in mandatory terms, strict compliance is essential, and failure to follow the prescribed mode renders the surrender invalid.

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