BARU Vs. SECOND ADDITIONAL DISTRICT JUDGE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) 1. Heard learned counsel for the parties. Prescribed authority under Ceiling Act/Sub Divisional Officer, Deoband District Saharanpur issued notice to the original petitioner under Section 10(2) of U.P. Imposition of Ceiling on Land Holdings Act 1960. Original petitioner filed objections and matter was registered as case no.488 of 1978. The Prescribed Authority through order dated 26.8.1983 held that original petitioner did not possess any surplus land and discharged the notice. Against the said order State-respondent no.2 filed Ceiling Misc. Appeal No.391 of 1983. IInd Additional District Judge, Saharanpur through judgment and order dated 2.8.1984 allowed the appeal set aside the judgment of the Prescribed Authority and remanded the matter back to the Prescribed Authority to decide certain points. The said judgment of appellate court has been challenged through this writ petition.

(2.) One of the objections taken by the petitioner was that the two sale deeds executed by him on 15.12.1971 and 1.7.1976 were quite bonafide and the land covered by the said sale deed should not be treated to be his land. Prescribed Authority had accepted the contention of the petitioner.

(3.) However, appellate court did not accept the said contention and finally decided that the first sale deed of 15.12.1971 was not bonafide and second sale deed of 1.7.1976 was utterly void. The matter was remanded by the appellate court to decide other objections of the petitioner. It is provided under Section 5(8) of the Ceiling Act that any transfer made by a tenure holder during continuance of proceedings shall be void. By virtue of explanation to the said sub-section proceedings are deemed to have commenced on the date of publication of notice under Section 9(2) of the Ceiling Act. Section 9(2) of the Act was inserted by U.P. Act No.18 of 1973. From the judgments of both the courts below it is not clear that when notice under Section 9(2) was published. If notice under Section 9(2) was published after 1.7.1976 then the sale deed of 1.7.1976 should not be hit by Section 5(8) of the Act, in that eventuality the said sale deed will have to be adjudged on the touch stone Section 5(6) of the Act.