D SUJATA Vs. CUSTODIAN OF EVACUEE PROPERTY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both the writ petitions can be disposed of by a common judgment since the facts also same arc the points raised in the writ petitions are and same.

(2.) The property bearing H.N. 9/368-70 situated at Khaleelwadi, Nizamabad was declared to be "evacuee property" under Section 2 (f) of the Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950 (Act No. 31 of 1950) (for short "the Act"). Thereafter, a Notification was issued under Section 7 (1) of the Act. By operation of sub-section (3) of Section 7 of the Act, the evacuee property so declared shall vest in the custodian of the evacuee property for the purpose of management etc. It is the case of the petitioners that after the Notification was so made, the Central Government in exercise of power under Section 12 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954 (Act No. 44 of 1954) (for short "the D.P. (C. R.) Act") expressed the intention of the Central Government to acquire the evacuee properly and by operation of sub-section 2 (2) of Section 12, the light, title and interest of the evacuee property spscified in thi notification shall, on and from the beginning of the date on which the notification is so published, be extinguished and the evacuee property shall vest sbsolutely in the Central Government free from all encumbrances. By operation of subsection (4) of Section 12, such property shall from part of the compensation pool. By operation of Section 20 (1) of the D.P. (C R.) Act, the managing officer or managing corporation subject to the rules made in that behalf may transfer any property out of the compensation pool by allotment of any such property to a displaced person or an association of displaced persons whether incorporated or not, or to any other person, on such valuation as the Settlement Commissioner may determine. In exercise of this power, the aforesaid property was transferred bv a Sale deed dated February 17, 1962 executed under Rule 91 (8) read with Appendix XXIV of the Displaced Persons (Compensation Rehabilitation) Rules, 1955 (for short "the D.P. (C.R.J Rules") by the managing Officer on behalf of the Presideat of India in favour of K.Bhoj Raj and thereby Bhoj Raj became the absolute owner of the property. The said Bhoj Raj sold 288.88 Sq. Yards of the property so acquired in favour of one Purasuram Rupani by a registered sale deed dated November 12, 1964 who in turn sold the property to one Ram Singh by a registered sale deed dated February 3,1967 The said Ram Singh sold the said property by a registered sale deed dated March 21, 1969 in favour of Smt. D. Sujata, the petitioner in W.P.No. 11814 of 1934 . Similarly the said Bhoj Raj sold 778 Sq. Yards. bat of the same property so acquired, under a sale deed dated December 13, 1966 to G.Raj Reddy , the petitioner in W.P.No. 11816 of 1984. The petitioner also applied for permission to construct a house on May 26, 1967 and constructed a house. Since then he has been in possession and enjoyment of the property so purchased. While so, the respondent issued a notice, dated July 10, 1984, under Section 8 (4) of the Act and calling upon the petitioners to deliver possession of the aforesaid property on the ground that it is the evacuee property. Assailing the jurisdction of the Custodian of the evacuee property these writ petitions have been filed.

(3.) Sri K. Subrahmanya Reddy, the learned senior counsel, has contended that under sub-section (3) of Section 7 of the Act the Custodian of evacuee property has got right to administer the property so long as the property remains to be in his custody as an evacuee property after a declaration published in the Gazette but once the Central Government expresses the intention on the part of the Government to acquire the aforesaid evacuee property by issuing a notification under Section 12 (1) of the D.R. (C.R.) Act, it forms part of the compensation pool. Under Section 20 of the D.P. (C.R.) Act, the Central Government is entitled to allot an evacuee property from the compensation pool to the purchaser in the manner prescribed under the D.P. (C.R.) Act and Rules nude thereunder. The sale deed under Rule 91 (8) read with Appendix XXIV has to be executed by the President of India in that regard after allotment. Once the sale deed has been executed the evacuee property is divested from the Central Government and the President of India confers absolute right, title and interest in the evacuee property to the purchaser free from all eneumbrances and thereby the purchasers be came absolute owners.