LADURAM HAJARIMAL Vs. RAMRAO JANKIRAM KADAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE question referred to this Full Bench is whether when at a sale of land held under Section 155, Bombay Land Revenue Code, the land is purchased by Government on a nominal bid, that sale is, therefore, void or is voidable.

(2.) THE two appellants are purchasers from Government, who having purchased lands of a defaulter in payment of Abkari dues at a nominal bid of Re. 1, sold these lands to the appellants, and the sale is being challenged by the defaulter as being void. THE plaintiff in the suit was an Abkari contractor and he failed to pay the Government dues amounting to about Rs. 9,000. Under Section 34, Abkari Act, all dues under the Act can be recovered by the Government as if they were arrears of land revenue. THE mode of recovery under the Land Revenue Code is laid down in Section 150, and under Section 155, the Collector is given the right of selling the property of the defaulter. THE rules framed Under Section 214, Land Revenue Code deal with the sales to be held Under Section 155, and R. 123 provides. "where any land or other property is sold by public auction, an upset price shall, if the Collector thinks fit, be placed thereon. " And Rule 129 provides: " Every sale by auction under these rules, or in pursuance of any of the provisions of the Code, shall be conducted, so Far as may be, in accordance with SECTIONS 165, 166, 170 to 177 both inclusive and 180. " And when we turn to these sections, we find that Section 165 deals with a proclamation; Section 167 provides that sales shall be made by auction by such persons as the Collector may direct; Section 172 deals with the deposit that is to be made by the bidder at the auction; Section 178 deals with the mode of setting aside the sale for material irregularity, or mistake, or fraud; and Section 179 deals with the confirmation of the sale if no application has been made to set aside the sale or the application has been dismissed and also if the Collector does not think that that particular sale ought to be set aside.

(3.) IN this view of the case it is unnecessary to consider whether a sale which is made with-out intimation being given to the defaulter or which is in disregard of a reserve bid, is void or voidable. Therefore, the only answer we propose to give to the question referred to this Full Bench is that the sale in the particular case we are dealing with is a good sale. .