K.K. Usha, J.

Revision Petition is at the instance of the judgment debtors in O.S.1037/89 of the Sub Court, Thrissur. Respondent-decree holder applied for sale of 30 cents of land comprised in Sy. No. 81/1 of Nedumpura village of Thalappilly Taluk in execution of the money decree. Judgment debtors filed objection to the notice under O. XXI R.66 CPC, contending that the property sought to be sold is not liable to be sold since the property is that of a school. The above objection was disposed of by the Execution Court with the direction to incorporate the objection in sale paper. Upset price was fixed and sale was posted on 23.9.1996. The above order is under challenge in the revision petition.

2. It is contended by the revision petitioner that 30 cents of land which was directed to be sold in court auction is part of 99 cents of land belonging to Sree Narayana L.P. School, Vettikkattiri. S.6 of the Kerala Education Act, 1958 contains a bar for sale, mortgage, lease, pledge, charge or transfer of possession of any property of an aided school. Therefore, according to the revision petitioners, the order directing sale of the property is unsustainable in law. An interim order of stay granted by this Court was vacated on 8.10.1996 and the execution court was allowed to proceed with the execution.

3. C.M.A. 27/98 is filed by the decree holder in O.S.1037/89 before the Sub Court, Thrissur, who is the respondent in E.A. 247/97 and petitioner in E.P. 906/92. The judgment and decree in O.S.1037/89 was under appeal in A.S.92/92. In C.M.P. 978/ 92. this Court had passed a conditional order of stay on 10.10.1995 directing the appellants judgment debtors to furnish security for the decree amount within one month. Since the above direction was not complied with, stay was vacated. The property having an extent of 30 cents in Sy. No. 81/1 in Vettikkattiri desom, Nedumbura village, Talappilly taluk, Trichur district which was under attachment before judgment, was proclaimed for sale. As mentioned earlier, judgment debtors approached this Court by filing C.R.P. 1928/96 challenging the order passed on their objection to notice under 0. XXI R.66 CPC. Since the order of stay granted in the C.R.P. was vacated on 8.10.1996, the property was sold on 25.1.1997 and it was purchased by the decree holder.

4. Respondents judgment debtors thereupon filed E.A. 247/97 under O. XXI R.90 CPC for setting aside the sale on the ground that since the property belongs to an aided school, it cannot be brought to sale in view of the provisions contained in under S.6 of the Kerala Education Act. The application was allowed by order dated 14.10.1997 and the sale was set aside. Aggrieved by the above, decree holder has filed the above appeal.

6. It was submitted by both sides that the only question to be decided in the revision petition as well as in the appeal is whether the provisions of S.6 of the Kerala Education Act imposing restriction on alienation of property of aided school would apply to a court sale. Since the issue involve disinter pretation of S.6oftheKeralaEducationAct,1958, and since a decision on the above issue in these two cases would have general application, we issued notice to the Advocate General on 10.2.1998. The case was then adjourned on several occasions for the convenience of the learned Advocate General and ultimately, on 11.1.1999, this Court passed an order directing the cases to be posted on 18.1.1999 and if, on that day, learned Advocate General was not available, learned Addl. Advocate General to appear to assist the Court. Thus we heard learned counsel appearing for parties in these two cases as also Sri. T.M. Mohammed Youseff, learned Addl. Advocate General.

7. S.6 of the Kerala Education Act reads as follows:

"6. Restriction on alienation of property of aided school:- (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any law for the time being in force, no sale, mortgage, lease, pledge, charge or transfer of possession in