JUDGMENT

SUJATA V. MANOHAR, J. - The appellants in this appeal are the heirs of the original plaintiff. The suit land being Survey No. 133 admeasuring 20 acres 37 guntas is situated in Amtur Village in Bailahongal Taluk in the State of Karnataka. It is vatan land. On the coming into force of the Karnataka Village Offices Abolition Act, 1961 on 1-2-1963 the said land was resumed by the State on abolition of all village offices. Section 5(1) of the said Act provides for regrant of land resumed under Section 4(3) to the holder of the village office. Accordingly, the land was regranted to the original plaintiff on 7-4-1978.

2. Prior, however, to the regrant of the land in favour of the plaintiff, the plaintiff had entered into an agreement dated 5-8-1977 with the defendant i.e., the present respondent under which she had agreed to sell this land to the defendant for a sum of sum of Rs. 60,000. The agreement recited that an amount of Rs. 40,000 was paid by the defendant to the plaintiff as earnest money. Possession of the land was also given to the defendant. Accordingly the defendant was in possession of the land since 5-8-1977. The present suit was filed by the plaintiff for possession of the suit land on the ground that the agreement of sale entered into by her was null and void in view of the provisions of the Karnataka Village Offices Abolition Act, 1961 and the Karnataka Act 13 of 1978 substantially amending the said Act which came into effect on 7-8-1978.

3. Under the Karnataka Village Offices Abolition Act, 1961 Section 5(1) provides for a land resumed under Section 4(3) being granted to the person who was the holder of the village office immediately prior to the appointed date on payment of the occupancy price as specified therein.

4. Under Section 5(3), as it stood before its amendment on 7-8-1978, the occupancy or the ryotwari patta of the land, as the case may be, regranted under sub-section (1) shall not be transferable otherwise than by partition among members of Hindu Joint Family, without the previous sanction of the Deputy Commissioner; and such sanction will be granted only on payment of an amount equal to 15 times the amount of full assessment of the land. By the amending Act, sub-section 5(3) was substantially amended. The amended Section 5(3) provides that occupancy or the ryotwari patta of the land, as the case may be, regranted under sub-section (1) shall not be transferable otherwise than by partition among members of the Hindu Joint Family for a period of fifteen years from the date of commencement of Section 1 of the Karnataka Village Offices Abolition (Amendment) Act, 1978. In other words, all transfers of regranted land are prohibited for a period of fifteen years after 7-8-1978 which is the date of commencement of Section 1 of Amending Act.

5. In the present case Section 5(3) is not attracted because there is no transfer of the occupancy or the ryotwari patta of the land regranted under sub-section (1). In the present case there is only an agreement of sale which was entered into prior to the regrant.

6. Under Section 5(6) which was introduced with effect from 7-8-1978 by virtue of the Amending Act, it is provided as follows :

"Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, any agreement for transfer of land resumed under clause (3) of Section 4, entered into prior to regrant thereof under sub-section (1), shall be null and void and any person in possession thereof in furtherance of such agreement shall be summarily evicted therefrom by the Deputy Commissioner."

There is, therefore, a clear bar on any agreement for transfer of land being made by the prospective patta-holder prior to regrant. Section 5(6) provides that if any such agreement is entered into, it shall be null and void and any person in possession in pursuance of such an agreement is liable to be summarily evicted as provided therein. The agreement of sale, therefore, which was entered into at the time when the s