RAMAN PILLAI BALKRISHNA PILLAI Vs. P VASUDEVAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The revision petitioner is the judgment debtor in O.S. No. 192 of 1967. The property of the revision petitioner was sold in court auction on 24-11-1969. On 2-1-1970 he filed an application to set aside the sale on the ground of material irregularity and fraud. The Kerala Agriculturists' Debt Relief Act, 1970 (Act 11 of 1970) (hereinafter referred to as the Act) came into force on 14-7-1970. The application for setting aside the sale was dismissed on 23-8-1971. The same day the revision petitioner filed E.A. No. 537 of 1971 under S.20 sub-s.(8) of the Act to set aside the sale depositing the amounts due for two instalments. The execution court overruling the objection of the decree holder that the application is not maintainable since the first instalment due under the Act had not been deposited by the judgment debtor as required by S.20(8) within the time stipulated in S.4(3) of the Act and that such a deposit was a condition precedent for setting aside the sale, allowed the application and set aside the sale. In appeal the Subordinate Judge held that in order to have the sale set aside the deposit of the first instalment must be made by the judgment debtor within the time specified in S.4(3) of the Act and allowed the appeal relying on the decision of this Court in Thankappan Nair v. Mathew ( 1962 KLT 267 ). This appeal is against that decision.

(2.) The learned single Judge before whom the appeal came up for hearing referred the case to a Division Bench which passed the following order of reference:

(3.) A reading of sub-s.(8) of the S.20 makes it clear that it is only on deposit of the first instalment that an execution sale (which of course had not been confirmed) could be set aside.