DHANPATO DEVI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are vendees/purchasers, whose purchase has been sought to be pre-empted by private respondents no. 5 to 11. Private respondent no.12 is the vendor. All parties have appeared and have been heard and with their consent, this writ petition is being disposed of at this stage itself.

(2.) The pre-emption application of private respondents no. 5 to 11 was allowed by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Siwan acting as the Collector under section 16(3) of the Bihar (Land Fixation of Ceiling Area and Acquisition of Surplus) Act, 1961 (for short 'the Ceiling Act'). On appeal by the petitioners, who were vendees/purchasers, the Collector of the district allowed the appeal and rejected the pre-emption application. The matter was then carried to the Board of Revenue by the pre-emptor and their pre-emption application was allowed. Thus, the vendees/ purchasers having lost are before this Court challenging the order of the Board of Revenue, which affirms the order of the Sub-Divisional Officer at the first instance allowing the pre-emption.

(3.) On behalf of the petitioners primarily three contentions have been raised. The first contention was that the document was registered in the year 1968. Pre-emption application was filed in 1965 itself. Thus, it was invalid and the application ought not to have been considered. The second contention was that the joint pre-emption application cannot be filed. The pre-emption application was, in fact, filed by six persons and it was a joint pre-emption application. His third contention was that the pre-emption has to be allowed as a whole and not in part; inasmuch as the sale-deed contained 10 dhurs of land of another place in respect of which the pre-emptors claimed no privilege situation.