FULJAHARI DEVI Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this Rule which was obtained without any interim order on 5th August, 1977, the petitioners, a lady, claiming to have sold her properties as mentioned hereinafter, in distress has challenged an order dated 27th May 1977, made an appeal in the proceedings under the provisions of the West Bengal Restoration of alienated Land Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act ). .

(2.) IT was the case of the petitioner that she had to sell. 08 1 /2 decimals of lands comprising of pucca building (hereinafter referred to as the said properties), by registered Kobala, dated 27th March 1972, for a sum of Rs. 9,500/- and there was an oral agreement for re-conveyance. It was her case that she had considerable properties, but due to the devastating1 flood in the year 1971, her previous residential house was completely destroyed and in such circumstances, she tried her best to get loan from the Collector of Malda on the various application made on that behalf by her but such attempts produced no result.

(3.) IT has been stated that the petitioner's husband was an ordinary businessman and was also not in a position to maintain his family with his little income and on the upper floor of the residential house, which was so washed away, staff of the local Block Development Officer were staying as monthly tenants and the receipt of such rent also helped the petitioner and her husband to maintain the family. It was stated by the petitioner that after the residential house as mentioned, was washed away, there was in fact, no shelter for the family and in such circumstances and also because of the paucity of funds and bad financial position, the petitioner was finally compelled to sell the said properties to Respondent No. 4 viz Bamangola S. K. U. S. Limited (hereinafter referred to as the said Respondents ). It was the further case of the petitioner that she took loan from, the said respondent only to support her family and while she had sold away the said properties to the said Respondent, she had only 11 3/4 chataks of land of her own and the sale in the instant case was effected only for the purpose of repaying the loan of the said respondents and as such, such sale was a distressed one, under the provisions of the said Act.